Arsenal fans, especially on JustArsenal, have been banging on about our abysmal defensive record for the last couple of years, but despite losing Koscielny, Monreal, Lichtsteiner, Bielik and Jenkinson in the summer, we only brought in David Luiz and an injured Kieran Tierney to replace them all, until William Saliba arrives next year.
This has hardly improved things in the slightest, and since the start of the season we have been pinning our hopes on the return from injuries of Rob Holding, Kieran Tierney and Hector Bellerin to give us a bit more stability at the back. Now they have all just about recovered and are in contention for the first team again, we are expecting great things to start happening very quickly, but aren’t you all a bit worried that it may still take a couple of months for the new line-up to gel and gain peak match fitness?
Rob Holding has already spoken to new-boy Tierney about the pressure that Arsenal fans lay on the players. “I was speaking with Kieran,” Holding told Goal. “We were saying there is actually a bit of pressure on me, Hector and him.
“Obviously the fans have been putting a lot of pressure on saying: ‘We need those three back, hopefully they can perform’. It is a healthy pressure. It’s not a draining pressure. It is pushing everyone to be better.”
Nowadays we all know rgat there are a large percentage of Arsenal fans that are always wanting a quick fix and expect perfection straight away, but in real life that rarely happens in my experience. I just hope that they give all three time to re-adjust to playing at the top level and don’t jump down their throats if nothing improves straight away.
What do you think?
Sam P
How will some react? By throwing all of thier toys out of the crib. Everyone else will give it the time it needs.
Even if we beat United, the Emery Out brigade will continue.
As for our defence, it needs time to adjust to Bellerin, Tierney and Holding with Chambers or Luiz
We will almost have a totally new defence with Bellerin, Holding and Tierney back. No Niles, Kolsanic and maybe no Sokratis/Mustafi
starting
Give it a chance to gel
The question I want you to answer is…is Emery doing a good job with the set of players he has?
We have Mustafiiiiii!! 😁😁😁
The root of the problem lies in how easily, you can play straight to our third. This gives the defense too much work and too much pressure. So I really don’t expect our defense to improve unless the defending and pressing from the rest of the team improves.
But if that part improves, our defense will improve almost no matter, who UE selects.
@AndersS
Finally, someone who gets it… Well stated Gooner… 👍🏿
No matter who’s fit, Emery can’t put a team together. More players available will just have him more confused, for more wrong choices.
How can sokratis, Luiz, Niles out of position and midfield players can be picked as RB, CB and DM when Chambers is available on bench?
He will play Niles again before Chambers nor play him as CB nor DM.
I think some of our defending problems are a result of team defense and a lack of cohesive pressing not necessarily the result of our poor defenders.
So although better defenders will improve some of the defending the bigger problem can only be addressed by the manager getting the whole team to defend better and keeping his midfield players from exposing his defenders and leaving less space between our lines.
So I don’t expect too much improvement but hope for fewer personal errors once we don’t see Luiz, Sokrtatis or Xhaka too often. These three are a big part of our problems IMO.
I willbe livid. Wenger has never improved the defence. He inherited the mean defence. When those defenders
retired, he was exposed.
When you have your best players injured, you will flood the md and hit
on the break. That’s what ithink MU
will play.
So Emery better be wary of the sucker
punch which had helped MU to win
against Arsenal time and again.
Malaysian gunner was, so we don’t count the Invincible defence as being the most successful of all time then?
You know, the one that Wenger put together after he was exposed when the previous defence retired?
As for reaction to our defence not improving immediately – well there are only two answers to consider:
1. BLAME MESUT OZIL – HE SHOULD BE OUR FIRST DEFENDER – EVEN IF HE’S NOT SELECTED – EARNS £350,000 A WEEK – LOOKS ILL – MENTALLY FRAIL – HIS 400 PLUS ASSIST HAVE ALL BEEN AGAINST RUBBISH TEAMS – PLAYED 140 MINUTES ALREADY THIS SEASON LONG ENOUGH TO JUDGE HIM ETC ETC
2. BLAME WENGER’S DROSS DEADWOOD OF BELLERIN-HOLDING-CHAMBERS – THE THREE PLAYERS THAT UE HAS BEEN WAITING TO RETURN IN ORDER THAT WE CAN JUDGE HIM FAIRLY – WHILE WASTING MONEY ON LICHSTENIER-LUIZ-SOKRATIS
But it won’t happen, because Xhaka is our new captain and will lead us forward to glory, isn’t that what we should all be hoping for?
Ken😁
I guess if we lose today 8 it would be Wenger’s fault for not leaving good defenders and midfielders for Emery.
Never appreciate what you have until you loose it.#Ramsey
out with the old in with the new,Chambers,Holding ,Tierney,willock,Saka,Martinelli. Alex Ferguson’s job was on the line when he introduced Beckham Butt the Nevilles giggs,he didn’t mess about they saved his job,Mr Emery would be wise not too keep ponsing about with the likes of Luiz,and socratis any longer when these hungry youngsters want to do well for our beloved club,Ferguson would not have put up with Ozil and Xhaka they would have been long gone,play the youngsters Unai they are hungry to do well.
If he had introduced youngsters last season instead of playing Ozil, Mustafi, Xhaka towards end of season I’m sure we would’ve finished better. Instead he kept relying on proven letdowns. Even now, he is still relying on Xhaka. A player who is only good in a handful of games, sporadically scattered throughout the season. You cannot win anything with a player like that.
I believe they will make an immediate improvement on our defence purely because the three of them are less prone to individual errors than those they will replace, plus they will have a certain familiarity with each other (and Mavro) where they were training separately from the first team during their rehab.
However as many on here have said, the players themselves are only part of the problem, they will need to gel with the rest of the team properly and for the midfield to do its job to truly solve our defensive woes which will take time….. So imo a small improvement to begin with which can only get better as time goes on.
I think they will make an immediate improvement too.
I just hope Holding, Tierney and perhaps Chambers start tonight’s game…and just wish Xhaka will stop with the silly fouls, since he is now captain and will start each game:(
Ozil have play only 70 minute in epl and some pple blame him blame Niles,nelson,willock,sokratis,leno,emert
If Emery doesn’t stick to his fixated script, he will do well to play Holding, Chambers, Tierney and either Luiz or Sokratis (for want of choice).
If he goes in with Xhaka we are on the back foot from the word go. If he decides to go with Ceballos and either Torreira/Guendozi, these guys will marshall the DM.
Willock, Ozil and Pepe in CAM, with Auba upfront. Should any substitution is required, we have enough on the bench to come on, especially for midfield. I see our midfield as key in today’s match at OT, simply because weaker ManU teams have beaten us there.
Emery will do well to stick with the game plan on the pitch against Forest, instead of his namby pamby formations that he keeps tinkering with. Auba may have saved his career against Villa, but Emery doesn’t have any cushion now.
Fix the issues and midfield and how the team defends and presses, or even VVD will look average in this side.
I was thinking a bit on this the other week when Holding was talked to be coming back fairly soon. Fans were waiting on him like they’ve waited for no-other, I think Cazorla was the last time such a large following were anticipating one player to make a tremendous difference, it is too much pressure for a young player who isn’t really a regular fixture all that long. Of course our fullbacks too, when you think about all three of them, I don’t think it’s hyperbole to imagine an improvement because these are our best full-backs even if Tierney is brand new to things. The CB position is a toughie though, it’s not like it used to be and someone highlighted how teams are making it to edge of our box without much muss. Rules are all in favor of forward play it seems so defending is tough in this quicker football higher percentage of chances football and teams being more cash rich than ever before. Holding is arguably our best CB there’s a case for himself or Chambers if CC could get a chance centrally. Teams will still create chances though so it might be wise to take a step back and let them have a bit of time to sort things out.
The real problem lies in our midfield, they aren’t protecting the defense well enough. I’ll challenge any defense in the PL to to come and keep clean sheet with our porous midfield.
Our DM/Captain is not just talented enough to hold forth. This is not to absolve our defense line of the obvious laxity.
Abi, You hit the nail on the head! 200% agree: the real problem (in our defense) lies in our midfield! Xhaka is not a DM and did not and will not give us the protection for the back four! Emery is making a catastrophic mistake by naming him the captain meaning he will continuously use him as DM!
Early rumours are that Ozil & Tierney have not travelled as they were not spotted amongst the 18 players. This will mean the team will look like this👇:
Leno
AMN. Luiz. Sokratis. Kolasinac
Xhaka. Guendozi. Torreira
Pepe. Auba. Willock
That would be my resigned take on what Emery will choose as his death wish.
Xhaka, AMN and Sokratis on the same 11 means Emery being Emery.. also means we have to outscore them because that back 4 with Xhaka playing DM will concede at least 2 goals
If he picks Nile’s over Chambers he’s worse than I thought.
Our defense won’t improve until Emery figures out that Xhaka is not a defensive midfielder. He doesn’t know how to tackle and he is very prone to error. But our manager doesn’t think Torreira is tall enough to play as DM (apparently he never watched Makelele or Kante play). We will continue to allow 25 shots a match and people will continue to ignore the fact that we are the worst team in the premier league in that statistic. Not subjective, a fact.
The key is not on Holding, Tierney and Bellerin coming back, the key is on sacking Emery.
AMN Niles is not available. Suspended red card last game.
Don’t want to see him for time been as well.
No1 weak link in the team.
no, he was banned for Forest game. He can play today…