Arsenal’s defensive struggle against Chelsea termed same as in “the past 15 years.”

One of Arsenal’s biggest problems is their poor defence and they have spent the last few transfer windows trying to fix it.

They broke their transfer record for a defender to sign Ben White in this transfer window.

The Englishman is one of the better defenders in the country and is being tipped to help the Gunners become a top club again.

He played in their opening league game of the season against Brentford, but he missed the match against Chelsea because he tested positive for coronavirus hours before the game.

In his absence, Rob Holding partnered Pablo Mari in the Arsenal defence and they were bullied by a Chelsea attack led by the returning Romelu Lukaku.

However, their poor defensive performance is all too familiar and The Independent says it is the same problem that has plagued them for the last 15 years despite their best efforts to solve it.

They write: “Arsenal’s encouraging start was undone by Lukaku’s early goal and the way the Chelsea striker dominated his opposing defenders was reminiscent of the Gunners’ struggles of the past 15 years.

“Didier Drogba dominated Arsenal during his time at Stamford Bridge while Diego Costa also had a similar effect during his shorter spell in the Premier League. Arsenal’s defenders would be bullied and it contributed to the club’s poor record in North London derbies – although that has improved recently under Mikel Arteta.

“The difference now, however, is that Chelsea once again have a striker to fear while Arsenal are yet to find a centre back who can stand up to the challenge. Arteta’s side have spent £50m on Ben White this window but with the England international out ill, Pablo Mari and Rob Holding were faced with the task.

“Mari, in particular, struggled and the uncertainty of his performance and the ease of which Lukaku was able to win their individual battle spread around the team as well as the stadium. Unfortunately for Arsenal fans, it was nothing new.”