Why Wenger needs to spend big money on the Arsenal defence ASAP

Saed Kolasinac was a fantastic free addition to the Arsenal side this summer, but surely it is about time that Arsene Wenger should be looking to bring in some top, top class defenders, especially if we are going to stick with the new formation of three at the back.

Looking at yesterday’s three in the centre we had Laurent Koscielny (32 years old with ongoing achilles problems); Per Mertesacker (33 and in his last year of competitive football, could he get even slower?); Nacho Monreal (the youngster at 31, but although he seems to be our most consistent and effective defender he is also getting on in years.

Considering the ages of these three you could say it was surprising that the only backup we had on the bench was the youngster Rob Holding, who has looked very nervous this season after his heroics of last season. He could hardly be considered good enough to be in our starting XI every week.

Yes we have Shkrodan Mustafi out injured at the moment, but if the rumours were right he was very close to leaving the Emirates in the summer, and he has hardly lived up to his reputation of being a top German international.

Of course we also have Calum Chambers, who kept Holding out of the England U21 side in last summers Euro Under-21 Championships in Poland, but although he has been injured with a recurring hip problem since the beginning of the season, he seems to be totally untrusted by Wenger going by previous seasons.

You could also include Matthieu Debuchy in our list of possible backups, but he is also 32 and suffering from more injuries than the rest of our defence put together, and has indicated his desire to leave Arsenal on many occasions.

So next season it is fully possible that our present back three are either retired or slowing down with age, and Mustafi, Holding and Chambers could be our first choice back three (if Mustafi is even still at the club). Do you think that trio is good enough to improve our defence? I don’t!

It Wenger is going to spend any big money in January or next summer, then he really needs to be looking for top-class centre-backs as a matter of urgency….

Admin

15 Comments

  1. Hasn’t Wenger already spent a fair amount on the defence in recent years? And what’s even the point, when our manager doesn’t even know how to coach the defensive side of the game, not to mention the fact he doesn’t even have the desire too! Even if by some miracle Wenger did sort out the defence, who’ll be protecting it? Wenger HATES DM’s, so no protection!

    Even if we signed Van Dijk nothing would really change. Individually, he’d be an upgrade on the likes of Holding, Mertesacker, Mustafi, etc, but it’s a team game, and he’d be expected to follow team instructions such as: zonal marking, take unnecessary risks at the back to retain possession, do not be over physical, etc.

    If you want to truly sort the defence out, then get a new manager like Simeone!

    1. Agreed. It’s not just about spending the money. What’s the point of spending 50 million on a player, only for the manager to play him out of position?

  2. JM Gimenez and Stephan de Vrij are free agents next summer. Also Kostas Manolas will have one year left in his contract.

    If Wenger wants to bargain with his buys, well the quality is certainly available.

    We also need a new goalie. Butland?

    1. Exactly we could get both at 40mill max combined or one on pre agreement

      If we were to buy it would have to be koulibally

  3. Sadly we need A very long buy list- and wherever you stand on Wenger his not likely to buy 5 + players anytime soon

    But totally agree – our defence needs attention for future (perhaps this is of less concern to Wenger who’s leaving after next season)

    Plus we need an alternative right back after Ox sale (still think he was mad to leave)

    Plus need to replace Ozil, Sanchez – and still need a defensive midfield Marshall

    I fear – our challenges are increasing not deminishing

  4. Didn’t Wenger say he didn’t need a dc sometime ago.The gunners were letting in goals by
    the bucketload. He further said he had 30 years coaching experience and didnt need any one.
    This arrogance was/is costing dearly in terms of trophies won. His condescending attitude
    is well known.
    His record against the top sides is well known. And I am glad his future will be reviewed
    end May.

  5. Agree wholeheartedly Admin. A top quality keeper and at least one centre back is required if Arsenal are to challenge the Manchester clubs. Holding and Beiliek are promising youngsters who I feel will make the grade in due course but the likes of Chambers andMustafi are bang average defenders who need to be unloaded.

  6. As much as we are having issues in defence, it is not really down to the structure of the back five, but more to little individual errors in our game, Mert speed has not really come in to question from the games played, but more his indecisions as arsenal last line of defense.

    I really feel our spending must be focus on replacements for Ozil and Sanchez, at the end of the season we can focus on getting in players to compete for Mert and often injured Kos the boss spots. I think someone mention replacement for Bellerin which i do not see the need because we still have debuchy and the very talented Maitland-Niles who could easily make that position his own base on his abilities.

    Ozil has had two fairly good games lately, but Wenger must be smart and use Welbeck or Iwobi in that vital position, mancity main strength is in the wide areas if we nullify these areas I guarantee we will leave with 1 or 3 points

    1. What does Steve Bould do, or what does Arsene Wenger allow him to do with regards to coaching defense? Given Steve Bould’s experience and pedigree, there is no evidence of his input on matchday. Good little earner for little result.

    2. I thought I’d seen everything but ‘Danny Welbeck in the number 10 position’ brings out a whole new level of amusement. Iwobi no better at the moment either, although he has time on his side. Neither of them have half the class of Ozil, no matter how much the media and the bandwagon jumpers like to spout to the contrary. Wonder if Everton could use Welbeck? Certainly no top 6 club would, apart from Arsene’s Arsenal of course.

  7. Useless to even talk about Wenger bringing in quality defenders. In his entire Arsenal career he has brought in only two proven top class long term quality; one paid for in Koscielny and one on a free in Campbell. I do not YET include Kolasinac who has not been here long enough yet, but who looks the real deal. All the other top defenders, he either inherited from George Graham or they were were already coming through, Cole for example, when Wenger first came here. His defensive buy flops are numerous and would take me too long to list on this site. Currently we have just one proven top class CB and he , Kos , is chronically injured with his achilles and is 32. All the other CB’s are not any good at the level we need. Holding MAY , I say, MAY come through in time but as yet is far too raw. Merts is retiring , thank God and Mustafi and Chambers are no good. This is tragic when you compare us to all our other top five rivals, except maybe Liverpool in defence. We also have not had a quality CDM since Gilberto almost a decade ago and have the awful Xhaka, a complete dud, as our star buy last year. HEAVEN HELP US! You either have a good defence or you have Wenger. He has amply proven you cannot have both together. IN ANY CASE HE DOES NOT EVEN RATE THE NEED TO DEFEND, WHICH SAYS IT ALL!

  8. Time for Arsenal to look within for its next players………..promote and give some of the young players the opportunity………

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