Does Wenger Have A Clue About Defending?

[TomasCR]

I can get over a lot of things but saying that Arsenal don´t have a coach who´s there to manage the defensive problems is just a bit too much for me to swallow DaG. I think you have no idea if there is anybody to coach the defense to begin with.

If Gallas is on his way then you might be right about the number of defeders there will be need for.

 

[DaGunners]

I think you have no idea if there is anybody to coach the defense to begin with.

Of course its all speculation on my part, but some of the basics we just have no idea about says to me that we just aren't working on things in training.

 

[SPF103]

Such a topic like this can only lead to speculation, because unless one of us indeed watches training up close then we have no idea how the coaching of our defenders occurs. I think adding Keown with another CB or two is a good idea, but this is just from my perspective.

 

[DaGunners]

Senderos must be brought back to the club at all costs IMO. He is the type of defender we are crying out for. We need to partner him with another similar defender, and of course the first choice is Chiellini.

 

[M+D]

Gallas is a certainty to be off IMO, and Touré is just crap these days.

Think you're wrong on both counts tbh. Gallas is a quality defender and will stay imo, while Toure has had a very good 2009 I would say.

What's wrong with the defence is that the two do not make a good partnership and so we need another defender who can complement those two.

Then there's the shielding of the defence from the midfield, which has been poor and probably our weakest aspect. Get these two things sorted out and we'll be fine I think.

If Gallas does levave as you believe then we will need two defenders (assuming Senderos is sold, if not then one)

 

[DaGunners]

M+D, why should midfielders be shielding the defense? Shouldn't defenders who can do their jobs without the help of midfielders be a requirement of this great football club?

Central midfielders should only ever be defending the central midfield. Our CMs have been doing that for the most part; its our center defense that has been very poor this season and is our biggest problem.

 

[M+D]

As a midfielder you simply can't let the opposition midfield runners and expect the defence to cope. Too often our central players have not put the effort in and harried, tracked and closed down as they should, and with a high line you can't play without a high pressure game in midfield and expect to get away with it.

 

[DaGunners]

You're right about midfielders tracking midfield runners, but when have our midfielders failed to do that? I cannot remember many times this season when an oppositions central midfield ran riot on us...

 

[fabo]

And what happens once our midfielders get by-passed? Who tracks the runners? Do the midfielders stop and let the defence step up?

The midfield have got to be more disciplined as a unit defensively, not in the sense that they shield the back 4 by sitting directly infront of them but working to get the ball back.

 

[M+D]

Well my personal opinion is that there has not been enough pressure on the opposition when they have had the ball and allowed them to do more or less what they wanted, whether this is true or whether it's just that I've percieved it wrongly is up for debate I guess.

But I think there has been a lethargic attitude in general towards pressuring and tracking in midfield throughout the season and has cost us, not just in defence but also in attack.

Remember the days when someone (normally Paddy) would break up play early in the opposition's possession and pass to the attacking players nice and early allowing us to rip through defences which couldn't organise themselves in time? And contrast that with any game you choose to watch from this season and I think you'll see my point better perhaps.

 

[sabret00the]

IMO, Sol was very different than Kolo.. Sol was bigger, stronger and marshalled the defence..

I'm with DaGunners on this. Not only is Campbell is overrated, but he was also just another pace merchant defender who could recover well.

 

[asajoseph]

Sol was immense for us. A class act for quite a while.

 

[DOUBLE-YOU]

Yes the midfield do have to be more disciplined, but the defenders must also marshall them as they see the bigger picture. I think we have good defenders, but they could be world class if they would organise better. I wouldn't say Wenger doesn't have a clue about defending, i just think he doesn't do enough boring drills during training sessions.

 

[DaGunners]

Sol was immense for us. A class act for quite a while.

Of course he was good, but that had more to do with the presence of Vieira and our stellar attack. We have neither of those things at the moment.

 

[fabo]

Well my personal opinion is that there has not been enough pressure on the opposition when they have had the ball and allowed them to do more or less what they wanted, whether this is true or whether it's just that I've percieved it wrongly is up for debate I guess.

But I think there has been a lethargic attitude in general towards pressuring and tracking in midfield throughout the season and has cost us, not just in defence but also in attack.

Definitely true. Whether it's just naivity and inexperience, there is a very casual feel about our work off the ball, especially the midfielders.

Hell, you only have to look at the United CL match at OT to see the number of attempts they had outside the box under no pressure from our players - Ronaldo's shot off the bar and one from Carrick off the top of my head. And the fact that our midfielders were on the edge of the box waiting for a counter-attack after Arshavin made it 4-3 at Anfield in the 90th minute, shows there is something fundamentally wrong. If the roles were reversed, they would have 10 men camped in the box trying to clear.

The defence is a problem but the midfield certainly needs more discipline next season - especially closing out leads.

 

[asajoseph]

Sol was immense for us. A class act for quite a while.

Of course he was good, but that had more to do with the presence of Vieira and our stellar attack. We have neither of those things at the moment.

Sol had none of those things for Sp**s, England or Portsmouth, and proved his class there as well.

Because of the way he left us, and was also overshadowed by greater players whilst he was here, I think it's a bit of an injustice that Sol never really gets the credit he deserves.

 

[Shredder]

Wenger is probably as good as anyone else at organizing a defense, but the problem is that it's way way way down on his list of priorities and has been for a while. In my opinion, our ineptness defensively is mainly due to a lack of quality players and not so much organization.

 

[DaGunners]

The fact that Wenger opted for Djourou instead of Senderos this season tells me that he doesn't want to coach defending and would rather let athletes use their pace to get out of trouble.

 

[fabo]

Maybe Senderos just didn't listen when he was being coached - if Ashley Cole's book is anything to go by. Senderos is stronger in the air but Djourou is far more athletic and that goes quite a long way in our back-line. Plus he appears to be more switched on mentally than Senderos who was always teetering on the brink of a breakdown. Granted both are liable to make a game changing errors.

I really wouldn't have either near the starting line-up if we have serious title aspirations next season.

 

[DaGunners]

The only thing Djourou has on Senderos is pace. Phillipe wins everything else by a land slide. Djourou has the chance of becoming a rich man's Toure, but that's about it. He will never become the type of defender I would like to see. Song has a chance though.