Five PL games into the season and Arsenal have conceded only two goals. One was a give-away by our goalkeeper (against the Saints) and one was a genuine goal scored against us (yesterday against Citeh). Two goals conceded in five games means we are leaking a meagre 0.4 goals per game at the moment. If you multiply that with 38 (PL games), we could end up this season with a total of ‘goals conceded’ as low as 15.
Compared to last season, that would mean an incredible reduction of 34 goals conceded this season: from 49 to 15.
Of course, it is still early days and it would not be wise to use the relatively short period since the start of the PL as an objective basis to support the title of the post, but there are nevertheless signs that we might end up with the tightest defence in the league this season.
Firstly, we played three away games and only conceded one goal; whereas last season we conceded in each of those away games – a total of three goals. Stoke, Liverpool and Man City are tough places to go to, so to only concede one goal in those games is a sign of a solid defence.
Secondly, Arsenal has not been able to benefit yet from playing their strongest/most experienced ‘back-five’ since the start of the season, and yet we have been solid in all games. The strongest/most experienced defence would be: Szczesny – Sagna – Mertesacker – TV or Koz – Gibbs or Santos. This is not meant to be a criticism of Jenkinson or Mannone – they both have done extremely well – but I reckon, once Szczesny and Sagna are fully fit again, our defence will become even more solid. But it also great to know Arsenal has great back-up players who are pushing for first team action!
Thirdly, and probably most importantly, Steve Bould has made a real difference. Our back five looks so much more disciplined and organised and all defenders have come out with quotes stating how fantastic it is to work with Bould. Arsene stated recently he has given Steve the task to improve our defence, and I am sure that did not just mean improving our back-five. Arsene is a holistic kind of a guy and knows better than anybody that a defence can only be good if and when the whole team knows how to defend and work their socks off for each other. The way the likes of Gervinho, Podolski and also Giroud have been tracking back this season has simply been phenomenal. This team works so well for each other at the moment, and clearly, Bould has had a lot to do with it.
Fourthly, with the departure of Song, Arteta has now taken on full and permanent responsibility to sit in front of our defence in order to protect it. Next to him, Diaby is the second deeper-laying midfielder whose discipline and physicality have helped Arteta tremendously in protecting our defence. With Coquelin on the bench and both Frimpong and Wilshere being almost fit to return to the first team, we should have plenty of cover once Arteta and Diaby need a break.
Last season, Arsenal struggled once Arteta got injured as Song was given the difficult task to both help protect our defence and support our attack as much as possible: an almost impossible task for which he was not given enough credit. Now, with Arteta dedicated to the deepest midfielder role, and the creative midfield position occupied by the truly fantastic Cazorla, there is so much more structure to our midfield. In between these two we can play Ramsey, Diaby or Wilshere and all of them have good attacking as well as defensive qualities.
Fifthly, Arsene said towards the end of the transfer window he was still looking for a top quality midfielder with strong defensive qualities. So, there is a good chance Arsenal will sign a DM-type of player in January, if Arsene still reckons we need one.
All in all, I reckon there are solid foundations at Arsenal to continue and improve our lean, mean defending machine this season. Whether Arsenal will leak as little as 15 goals this season remains to be seen, but there is every reason to be upbeat about the strength of our defending.
Total Arsenal.
Bergkampesque 
Your usual indepth quality analysis Total.
Spot on with all your 5 points. This season has started with something I have begged for ages, we must be hard to beat, everything will click into gear after that. Teams must not be able to think they`re getting an easy ride against us.
The deeper thinkers like yourself and most on AA ( is it classed as a sister site ? 🙂
) know that we have been setting the concrete foundations over the last few years for a bright long future, not a quick recipe to disaster. It may not be this year, but we`re on the right track. Good times ahead my friend. 🙂
Hi Glic 🙂
I agree with you: being hard to beat is so important. And it also feels really good when we are watching games: much better for our blood pressure haha 🙂
You are good at managing your expectations and I should follow you in thinking it may not be this year. However, the early signs are very good! 😛
Oh how I wish TA. I have to pinch myself when watching us play at the moment. The team has a greater work ethic and tracks back in numbers now, it’s great to see. For the whole game I saw people sprinting to get back and help out our defense, especially on the break. Getting caught out on the counter now is a thing of the past, and I definitely agree, the departure of song has strengthened us at the back significantly.
Who needs another defensive midfielder. We just need discipline, and Bould will be marshaling that with an iron fist! Knowing we have Ramsey, Jack, and Coquelin to fill in for Arteta or Diaby is very comforting. I haven’t included Frimpong because I still feel he needs to go out on loan to work on his positional sense. He was playing magnificently for Wolves, so hopefully he can get his body right and fight for a spot.
Happy Happy days!
‘Morning’ Oz 🙂
Agreed on Frimpong: a great prospect but needs to develop further now.
Re Song, I am still gutted we let him go, but his departure has helped Arteta in taking on the most defensive midfield position. It provided clarity. Diaby is a more all-round footballer than Song so that seems to work out better as well at the moment. However, I am still convinced Song would have been happy to just be in Arteta’s current position and be as disciplined as he needed to be. I also felt we really missed him in the second half against Montpellier last week. He would have helped us to regain control and we were lucky to escape that night….
Very efficiently written post. It will be valuable to anybody who usess it, as well as yours truly :). Keep up the good work – i will definitely read more posts.