Arsenal
Five goals in two matches: What Emery must do to help his leaky defense
Arsenal manager Unai Emery was made to pay for his team’s defensive fragility by Tottenham last night. His local rivals scored two goals against his side in yesterday’s EFL Cup fixture.
The former Sevilla manager has a very strong attacking frontline that scores goals for fun but his defence has left so much to be desired.
To be fair to the Gunners boss, injuries to key players has depleted the team but that isn’t a good excuse for the recent shocking display we’ve seen at the back since the start of the campaign.
The ability to find quick solutions to any problem is what makes a great manager but we’ve not been seeing that with Emery whom many believe ”is a manager in equal class with Mourinho, Guardiola, Ancelotti and Zidane”
Arsenal’s unwanted record at the back begins right from the start of the season but no one showed the desire to solve it, not even Emery.
Their unbeaten record overshadowed the fact that the defence has been shaky and leaky all through the season.
Thanks to a 3-2 defeat to Southampton last weekend, everyone’s eyes and mind got opened to the truth that there is a need to shake things up at the back if they are to qualify for next season’s Champions League competition.
Yesterday’s poor showing was the peak of it all, the Gunners lacked organization at the back. They let Tottenham enjoy much space to cause havoc and they were made to pay as Heung-min Son and Dele Alli scored in each half of the encounter.
There’s no point having a deadly attacking frontline when your defense is as leaky as a basket. In the end, the goals scored will count for nothing if the team conceded a higher number of goals.
To this effect, Emery must find quick solution to his defence. If promoting young defenders from academy is the best option before the upcoming transfer market, then, he should do it so as to rest the tired legs of the so called ‘experienced players’
Youngsters such as Tolaji Bola, Daniel Ballard, and Joseph Olowu have all been impressive with the reserve team, Emery should give one of them benefit of the doubt in the last two matches to the winter transaction period.
As soon as the winter window commences, the manager must make a swift move for two quality defenders who are capable of adding more calmness and organization to the team.
With yesterday’s result, Arsenal are ultimately ruled out of EFL Cup, leaving them with three trophies — Premier League, Europa League, and FA Cup — to fight for.
