‘1-0 to the Arsenal’ the old refrain goes. A chant that when it was created back in the seventies signalled the end for the opposing team, a belief that the Arsenal’s defensive solidity would be enough to see the game out.
When sung today, however, fans sing with a certain air of caution knowing that this current Arsenal team are capable of implosion at any time. This isn’t to solely single out the back four, in order for a team to be successful all eleven players must work as a unit and work for each other. It all starts from the back, however, and last season there were numerous defensive blunders that had Arsenal fans plunging their heads deep down into their hands.
Lack of concentration
I’m not referring to the 8-2 defeat as the team were undergoing some rather serious changes at the time but, for example, the 3-3 draw with Norwich at home towards the end of last season. 2-0 down and, as we did many times last season, we were able to come from behind and gain the lead but a static, slow back line allowed Norwich to pop a simple ball over the top and all that hard work was undone.
An away game against Fulham in January was another that left this particular Gooner cursing the team’s awful habit of letting a lead slip. Leading 1-0, Arsenal became complacent and allowed Fulham to equalise and then Bobby Zamora (ugh) scored the winner in injury time. To be fair, the team were able to pull together last season for long enough to secure third but even the final game against West Brom highlighted our deficiencies at the back. Concentration is absolutely crucial for the full 90 minutes and so many times last season we were criticised for lacking it at too many vital moments.
‘Replacing Rice’
With Pat Rice retiring as Arsene’s right hand man this past summer after 48 years of amazing service to the club, as a player and coach, it was down to Wenger to find a suitable replacement for such a legend. Enter Steve Bould, an Arsenal man through and through and, as a coach, he has had remarkable success at youth level. Also, having worked closely with the club for so long, he is the natural replacement, someone who understands the coaching methods and philosophies of Arsenal Football Club.
As a member of the ‘Fantastic Four’ Arsenal back line, Bould played under George Graham whose teams were renowned for their defensive superiority and stability. Along with Adams, Winterburn and Dixon, Bould won two league titles under Graham and the Double when Wenger arrived in 1997 in the twilight of his playing career. Standing at six foot four, Bould was a physically imposing centre back that played with grit, determination and, most importantly, was extremely consistent.
‘He has to be allowed to do his defensive work’
In recent years, Arsenal’s goals allowed column has made for rather unsettling viewing. Starting with last year we can see that the amount of goals conceding correlates with the team’s league position:
Season
11-12: Goals conceded: 49 Pos: 3rd
10-11: Goals conceded: 43 Pos: 4th
09-10: Goals conceded: 42 Pos: 3rd
08-09: Goals conceded: 37 Pos: 4th
07-08: Goals conceded: 31 Pos: 3rd
03-04: Goals conceded: 26 Pos 1st
90-91: Goals conceded: 18 Pos 1st
I know that this is a fairly obvious point to make but it really is that simple; if you don’t concede, you will have a very good chance of winning the league as you can see with the unbeaten season and 90-91 season when Bould was in his prime under Graham.
Also, I believe that William Gallas had his best season in an Arsenal shirt during the 07-08 season where we were very close to winning the league had it not been, in my opinion, for Eduardo’s leg break.
So the task for Bould is to work with the first team players and add his own invaluable input with regards to defensive work. Lee Dixon, Bould’s old teammate, agrees, saying:
“He has to be allowed to do his defensive work, otherwise there’s absolutely no point. There’s no point in bringing in anyone who is just going to go down the Arsene Wenger way because it is clear over the last few years that hasn’t worked.”
What can Bould bring?
With his experience and strong work ethic, can Bould make this current defensive unit into the consistent, strong and hard – working one that he was an integral member of? Only time will tell but the appointment of Bould is widely regarded across Arsenaldom as a step in the right direction to fixing some of the problems at the back. Bould is someone who can work with the more experienced defenders and add something to their game by using his experience and knowledge of defensive discipline which he displayed as a player.
Whilst some players probably don’t need too much work (Sagna, Koscielny) it will be interesting to see how he helps the younger players such as Kieran Gibbs and Kyle Bartley. Gibbs’ career has been blighted by injuries so far but when he has played and Arsene’s first choice back four are all healthy they look a formidable force (I think back to a 1-0 away win against Everton last season as an example) and it will be fascinating to see how Bould helps Gibbs’ development at left-back.
Vermaelen and Koscielny
This past season we have seen Laurent Koscielny emerge as an outstanding defender and having Steve Bould around will only enhance his already impressive game. The same can be said for Sagna but with Thomas Vermaelen I’d like to see Bould instil some restraint on the Belgium’s attacking tendencies. Yes, they do pay off at times (the winner against Newcastle last season) but too often he would leave Koscielny isolated and, with Song sometimes forgetting that he was a defensive midfielder, it left us outnumbered at the back.
Vermaelen is a great player, no doubt, but if Bould can help curb his attacking urges so that he can strike the right balance between going forward and staying loyal to his role at centre back then he and Koscielny could form quite the partnership. This all remains to be seen, of course, but this was certainly the right move by Wenger to bring in an experienced Arsenal man who has already worked with some of the first team players and can augment their skills ahead of, and during, the new season.
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