So how about the rest of the defence? In Laurent Koscielny and Per Mertesacker we have two of the best defenders individually in the league, but as a unit they are even more impressive. The way they complement each other is very good. Mertesacker is the leader, the cool head, who reads the game excellently and uses his height to good advantage on corners and his periscope legs to make impossible tackles. Koscielny has the pace, one of the best last-ditch tackles in the world, the ability to win the ball back off anyone and has man marked players like Aguero, Torres and Rooney into insignificance. Both of them have decent ballplaying skills, which puts a slight onus on getting the ball to the midfielders, rather than playing the long ball Vermaelen likes to do. This fits our system better, even if it at times does put the midfielders under pressure from harrying opponents. The two not only fit well together in the theory but also in the actual working of the game. In fact to me it seems almost like the combination of Campbell and

Much has been made (mostly by media) over the last few seasons of the defensive issues Arsenal have struggled with. Players like Vermaelen, Djourou, Santos and Squillaci have ultimately come up short and we conceded more goals over the last few seasons than any of our competitors. This season we are more or less on par with Chelsea and ManU and only really behind Man City in the goals conceded column, even though at times we still look very suspect. Our recent strong run of form can be put down to good attacking, midfield stability (which the defence profits from a lot) but mainly a strong and confident, well balanced defensive quintet. Most of this has been down to Wenger being quite ruthless, finally, when he needed to be.

Perhaps the biggest issue our defence has had over the last season has been the captaincy of Thomas Vermaelen. Now Vermaelen has always been an interesting player. When he joined the club he was the central defender we had been waiting for, with a good leap (although usually only really used in attacking scenarios), ferocious shot, desire to get forward and aggressive, all-action defensive style. And whilst I will admit to being a big fan of Vermaelen during his first season or so at the club, these characteristics hid a few systematic flaws in his play. His positional play can be flaky to say the least, his understanding of the offside trap seems to be based on the idea that opposition attackers are very slow and his rash decisions cost us dearly from time to time. At set pieces he seems to lack organisational skills and rarely uses his significant jumping ability to actually beat opponents to the ball. Now, with all due respect to what is still a very good player (if just not right for Arsenal), those are some pretty serious flaws to have as a central defender. When he was at Ajax he was exposed quite often, but in a league where Ajax usually are quite comfortable in possession and dominant in victory, that wasn’t as noticeable as in the tough PL. Jan Vertonghen, much fancied over at the Scum this season, will to my mind be found out in the same way. Remember all the furore over Vermaelen when he made those swashbuckling runs? Vertonghen has the same basic errors in is game. Some may disagree with me on this, but I feel that the current Ajax setup focuses too much on making defenders ballplayers and too little on teaching them defensive basics. It is no wonder they have recently hired Jaap Stam.  Anyway, with Vermaelen it shows.

But Vermaelen was also central to the team, being vice captain and a well liked part of the dressing room, and was as such a natural successor when the twat left over the summer. The thing is, not only is he arguably the weakest of our three main defenders, but to my mind and what I see on the pitch, the dressing room dynamic has shifted. Both Song and RvP were good friends of Vermaelen, who has also gotten himself a sweet new plaything in Polly Parsons, and I can’t but think he has (oh so ironically, considering he does that all the time in matches) taken his eye of the ball. Having him as captain meant he started most of the time, and Wenger seemed hesitant to strip his captain of a starting position. Something had to give, though, and in the end Wenger was ruthless. I think it worked out well.

Another area where Wenger was ruthless was at left back.  Now I have addressed the wonderous nature of Nacho Monreal in my previous article but it should still be noted just how amazingly quickly he has adapted, like a cod to the waters of the Bay of Biscay. His stable, assured nature is exactly what our defence needs, especially compared to his predecessor. Now I really liked Andre Santos and was indeed very excited when we signed him. But much like quite a few similar players he never managed to adapt to the left back position as it is used in the PL. Backs in England are required to do a lot more defending than players from some cultures seem used to, and keep up with the attack too. Now Santos could do one of those things, but most certainly not two, and even more he couldn’t do two things at a time. Obviously he was a signing we made when no real other options were available and he certainly didn’t have an awful first season but by the time the second came along it was clear he was out of his depth. The decision to get rid of him was unlike Wenger in its decisiveness, but it was absolutely the right one. Replacing him with Monreal was never a particularly risky decision but how well he would adapt to the English game was anybody’s guess. He has done so spectacularly and the calm, stable nature of his play has really helped the team move forward. In his time he has also shown some attacking potency which will always help out nicely but the way he balances the defence is his best attribute. Much like Sagna he is such a rounded, capable player.

The last piece of ruthless Wenger behaviour was in goal. Now, let me be clear that I have always liked Fabianski, so I’m a bit biased. He is to me one of the finest shotstoppers in Europe (when on form) and has made some absolutely blinding saves in his time at Arsenal (Wigan comes to mind), whilst also at times being a disaster waiting to happen. In the past his confidence was as fragile as fine bone china, and his ability to flap haplessly at high balls was a sight we were glad to be rid of.  And yet, as with any very talented player who is underperforming, I always wanted him to be given a chance. Our other Pole is a big fan favourite, with his passion, interactive nature and cocky assurance, not to mention his goalkeeping qualities in the air and on the line. Yet it seems that Woj too has taken his eye off the ball. His cocksure behaviour has gone too far in the direction of overassurance and his lack of improvement seems to be a sign he might not be as dedicated as he used to be. His distribution, his out and out shot stopping, his communication and organisation, all seem to be lagging behind Fabianski’s at the moment. Woj is only 22 (23 this week) which is a puppy in goalkeeping terms but after being first choice for two years I would have expected more progress, more maturity. Fabianski has somehow found a new lease on life. He is still far from perfect (both Reading, WBA and Norwich at times probed his aerial ability) but he seems to give the defence a much needed sense of security that was obviously missing with Sczcesny behind them. The big question now is what do we do with them? Fabianski is either out of contract this summer or the next (there are contradictory reports on that) and I am all for keeping him, IF this form continues. But perhaps signing a new goalkeeper is not a bad idea, someone slightly older, so that Woj gets to learn in his shadows. Either way, by dropping him, Wenger has put Sczcesny in a position w
here he needs to buck up and get down to working hard again, which is probably what he needs. Wenger, who so long persevered with players who weren’t performing for him, seems intent not to make that mistake again. A sign the great man still has that fire in his belly.

So how about the rest of the defence? In Laurent Koscielny and Per Mertesacker we have two of the best defenders individually in the league, but as a unit they are even more impressive. The way they complement each other is very good. Mertesacker is the leader, the cool head, who reads the game excellently and uses his height to good advantage on corners and his periscope legs to make impossible tackles. Koscielny has the pace, one of the best last-ditch tackles in the world, the ability to win the ball back off anyone and has man marked players like Aguero, Torres and Rooney into insignificance. Both of them have decent ballplaying skills, which puts a slight onus on getting the ball to the midfielders, rather than playing the long ball Vermaelen likes to do. This fits our system better, even if it at times does put the midfielders under pressure from harrying opponents. The two not only fit well together in the theory but also in the actual working of the game. In fact to me it seems almost like the combination of Campbell and Toure in the Invincibles season. Mertesacker is Campbell, aggressive towards the ball, a good header, big and tall, reading the game well, but not the fastest. Koscielny is Toure, with the pace and ability to chase, as well as make the vital last gasp tackles. (I realise the comparison is a slight oversimplification but bear with me) (Some disagree with me. They may well be right). They fit together well as a duo and I can see both of them being our defensive duo for the next three or four years. Certainly as a central duo they belong to the best in the CL, but they need to show consistency and focus. Koscielny makes a few mistakes per season, often culminating in OGs, and Per can still be found out with balls over the top to fast runners. Wenger and Bould need to coach them well on that, and make sure that they are aware that when they are playing such opposition that is an area of focus. As the comparison between the game at home to Reading and the game at home to Norwich shows , the defence was more jittery, Koscielny and Vermaelen sometimes going for the same ball, letting the most offensive Norwich midfielder get too much space, something that almost cost us a goal on two occasions. With Per and Koscielny we have an excellently balanced duo. The question remains, what do we do about Vermaelen. Sell him? Keep him, but what about the captaincy? And who do we buy as a fourth choice defender? In my mind Wenger has a lot of decisions to make in the summer.

To show how well the club is doing in terms of depth we only need to look at the fullbacks. Both on the right side as well as the left side we have a very strong occupancy with Gibbs and Monreal and Sagna and Jenkinson. Sagna has seemingly recovered from the injuries and lack of form to be showing some of his old workhorse ability. Yet his contract is up in a year and most speculation seems to be pointing to him leaving in the summer. I personally would keep him but I’d also not mourn his departure. I love me some Bac but his form has generally become more inconsistent since his two broken legs. If we can buy the right replacement (some like Corchia seems to fit the bill) then I can see him leave and see Jenkinson, and in the long term, Bellerin, fight for that position. Competition breeds improvement and to me that is a very exciting prospect. On the left side we have Gibbs who is only 23 and finally seems done with the worst of his injuries (again those injuries) who can learn from, and rotate with, the experienced and assured Monreal. We have the best left back depth in the league and with the way both seem to slot in nicely after a week or two out is very encouraging.

Making Steve Bould assistant manager this summer was probably also a positive step.  His influence was not immediately noticeable (no matter what the media said) but as the season has progressed he definitely seems to have instilled some form of defensive awareness, both in the team as a whole, as in the defenders as a unit. All these stories of Bould not being listened to by Wenger are absolute codswallop and Wenger would not have appointed the man if he wasn’t intent on using his expertise. As time goes on Bould’s ideas will start pervading the club more and more and as all the recent champions have shown defensive stability is the basis of any realistic title challenge. It is also where all our recent tilts at that particular windmill have ultimately fallen down.

Even though it will blamed on Wenger this summer if we sell Sagna and Vermaelen (two important players, after all) I think that might have to be the way forward. If we sell Vermaelen and sign someone of a similar price, and for the fourth spot we sign someone young and exciting, we have an excellent strength in depth in the central part of defence, and it won’t matter that we sold a first team player. If we sell Sagna and replace him well, it might take a few months of adapting for his replacement, which makes it good that Jenkinson has made such strides this season. Even in the GK area some decisive action needs to be taken on who gets to stay, who gets to go, and who we want as replacement. It is said every year that this is the summer that is important. With the stability in the team now, and the defence plays a very large part in that, we can actually look to build and improve this summer. If we sell players there is a reason for it, not something we did not want to do. All the chopping and changing in the first half of the season meant we conceded a lot of goals, so that makes our goals against column even more impressive. A bit more stability, a bit more certainty, and next season our defence could well the foundation on which we build a challenge for silverware. Ever since shutting out the best team in Europe (arguably) in March we have looked a different team and our defence has been so important in that. Maybe it is me but with the influence of Steve Bould, as well as the ruthless nature of Wenger making decisions like he hasn’t done in a while, we look a far better side defensively than we have seemed in years. Who should be credited?  Tell me what you think in the comments.