Arsenal need to change their back three or keep leaking goals!

Arsene Wenger is always going on about how his wonderful rotation policy is going to help the Arsenal team this season, well now it is time for him to prove it and improve the first team while he is at it.

With Mustafi out injured since the Man United debacle, Wenger had stuck with his ageing defence of Koscielny, Mertesacker and Monreal for the next Premier League game against Southampton, and we all know how that worked out don’t we? The combined age of those defenders is 96 years, and they are not getting any younger as we all know. Wenger may say that he prefers to go with experienced players when he is in a pressure situation (which he is in tonight) but perhaps he should be thinking of going with younger and fresher legs instead, especially as our EPL side have played 4 games in the last 2 weeks.

West Ham had a big boost having beaten Chelsea at the weekend, and the Gunners can ill afford to fall behind to defensive errors for the third game in a row, so I am thinking that it is time to bring the England U21 players Calum Chambers and Rob Holding into the side for tonight’s match. If Wenger wants to keep a little bit of experience in the mix then why not Matthieu Debuchy who played so well in last weeks game against BATE. Or he could stick with Monreal who has not looked as tired and flat-footed as Koscielny and Mertesacker recently.

Chambers and Holding have been in our Europa League side, and although I admit that the opponents are not as strong as the English sides, they have still only conceded one goal in their last four matches. At least we can be certain that they are fresher and fitter than the oldies we are currently using….

Who agrees?

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15 Comments

  1. Agree, the first team defenders must have been tired mentally and physically, after the consecutive tough away matches and defeats. I like your idea about Chambers, Holding and Debuchy, but I think Wenger would only use one of them tonight, because he usually doesn’t want to lower his first team players’ confidence by benching them directly after the blunder.

  2. Agree. We play with 5 defenders and still let in goals. Also, we aren’t scoring a lot either.

    I suggest play 4 at the back. Play Kolsanic at LB. He is our best LB. Don’t play Monreal in CB position. Play CB specialists. Let Monreal battle Kolsanic for LB. Kolsanic was one of the top LB in the Bundesliga last season.

    I know Wenger loves versatile players but I think we should play our best players in their best positions. Versatility is good when we have injuries.

    So I would play :
    Debuchy..Koscielny. Mustafi..Kolsanic
    (or bellerin)

    1. I agree Mitch. 4 at the back and Coq in front of those 4 defenders to protect them leaves 5 players for creative attacking and goal scoring. All you ask Coq to do is to disrupt the play and win the ball back and then lay it off to Wilshire or Ozil. He was great at that a few seasons ago when he often played with Santi. He is less effective when he plays alongside another DM like Xhaka or Elneney but why would we need 2 DM when we play West Ham?

      Same for Sanchez. Move him to the right. Last year he was scoring at will when he was played in the middle. Then Wenger got pissed with him when Sanchez was upset with the effort of his teammates against Bayern and moved him to the left wing, immediately his numbers dropped. Sanchez like most right footed players is more easily defended on the left than on the right. On the left everyone in the stadium knows he has to cut back at some point to his right foot meaning he will rarely go for the by-line, whilst of the right, he can choose to pass the defender either side because he can put in across with his right foot.

      Part of the reason his numbers have dropped is that he being utilized in his worst position.

      Both Bellerin and Kolasinac are better when played in a 4 at the back. Play players you have to their strengths don’t force them into a system that they have trouble with.

      1. Exactly we need to play our players where they are more efficient.
        …………………Cech
        Bellerin…Chambers…Koscielny…Monreal or Kola
        ………………….Coquelin
        ………Ozil…………………….Wilshere
        Alexis……………………………..Iwobi or Welbeck
        ……………….Lacazette
        Mustafi is probably out so Chambers in or Holding

  3. Notting wrong with our defender
    It beyond logic we play without a dm
    I dont want blame xhaka for his bad performance,
    Since he must be confused, what on earth, hes playing as deep lying
    Playmaker, have to learn tackle and defending.
    He have nice passing and long shot skill, the ytube of him is so good.
    Hope we secure nzonzi, so the burden defending on xhaka is reduce.

  4. I agree we should go with youth and play at least one of Holding or Chambers. Personally, I think we would do better tonight with 4 at the back. Not only does it only require 2 CD it is also a system that plays more to the strengths of Bellerin and Kolasinac.

    The argue meant to go for experience when you are dealing with a pressure situation is bullocks IMO. First of all the ability to deal with pressure is very much temperament related as much as experience. Often young players (Cesc, Messi, Seedorf, Ronaldo) have fewer problems dealing with the pressure than when these same players are experienced and have the added pressure of expectations of having to deliver.

    Secondly, throwing an experienced player like Mert without any pace into a pressure situation with a team that will seek to expose your weakness with pacy counter attacks is plain dumb IMO.

    Both Chambers and Holding came on the scene with great promise and showed their undoubted talent and then for no apparent reason have been side-lined and have seen their minutes reduced and thus their progress halted. If we can not give them minutes against the likes of West Ham when we key injuries and a heavy schedule, we should question the reason they are included in the first team at all.

  5. west ham will put our defense under pressure from the first minuet and try and score and than concentrate on defending and keep the points it happened with united and southhampton it is a successful method to beat Arsenal so our defense and midfield better be tuned on

  6. The truth is we only Excel at matches we play with 3 CB at back bcoz all our defenders and midfielders available n inform… I feel we should switch back to 4-4-2 when we don’t have our top defenders available. After all, I don’t know why Wenger can’t play giroud n lacazette upfront… Wenger pls stop fustrating the fans n supporters.

    1. Just need more running less passing from some. They all played the ball on, but no-one was making diagonal runs or last shoulder moves nor of any kind. Static shimmying of the ball, over and over. Bellerin Kolasinac Alexis Welbeck Lacazette were the worst offenders.

  7. 3 at the back should give us insurance to leak less goals, it works when wing backs are mobile and effective when attacking? Bellerin was a winger but his final ball is poor, we all know his defending!

  8. I am sorry but with this line up against
    West Ham with the side passing and backwards and never shooting
    I dont want to be negative but I have my reservations!!
    Cheers!!!

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