Arsenal: Season so far - Spotlight on the defenders

The typical Arsenal fan you’re likely to bump into won’t be excessively happy with how the 2012-2013 season has panned out for his side so far. It’s not been the best of seasons and we see ourselves a good 3 places off where we finished last season. That said, I’m completely sure that the Arsenal fan won’t be short of optimism and hope about the near future. Saying that Arsenal are starting to look better is a sort of a cliche and I’ll avoid that. I’ll say that the coveted and much loved top four finish position is looking possible.

The Defence:

The start to the season was really deceptive. Fans were overly positive after the string of clean sheets that were put together by the team. Much was said of the defensive performances and how it seemed to be a direct result of the presence of Bould (He’s got no hair but we don’t care!). Much has gone wrong since then.

Too many goals have come as a result of poor defending and it’s been more or less the same Arsenal we’ve seen in the past few years. Is it because of the lack of a Vieira-esque figure? Perhaps. It’s not even a case of there being a problem with quality at the back. We have 3 world class centre backs, but they probably do not like the routine 1-0 wins and love the adrenaline-boosting high scoring games! Jenkinson has been, according to me, the defensive find of the season. I honestly never expected him to come this good and I’m genuinely delighted that he proved me wrong. Gibbs has been just short of excellent and I say that because he still makes poor decisions at times, and that is one part of his game he needs to look into. That said, he has been a great driving force for the team going forward and one can clearly see the difference when he’s on the pitch. Sagna’s had a lot of work to do lately, especially in the games where both Giroud and Walcott start. Walcott tends to go more central than he did earlier and Sagna’s had a lot of running to do down that right hand side. By his standards, I’d say he’s been poor in certain big games and that has cost the team dearly. We’ve seen Monreal in just one game and I won’t make too many comments about him, except that it looks like Gibbs has some serious competition. In case you’re wondering, I’ve deliberately avoided Santos and I don’t think I need to say why.

At face value, the defence is probably not as bad as it sounds above. Only three teams have conceded lesser goals than Arsenal (29) in the league. Not too bad a stat.

Ratings

Mertesacker: 7/10

The big German’s finally settling into playing in the BPL and is looking much better than he did last season. He has made quite a few mistakes this season as well, but I’ll still say he’s been good enough for a 7.

Vermaelen: 6.5/10

Vermaelen has been brilliant in certain games, and downright dismal in others. I’m not sure if captaincy’s gotten into him but he hasn’t been as dependable as he ought to be. He often gives away unnecessary freekicks in dangerous area and he must look into that. In his defence though, I’d say he’s looking better now than in the early part of the season.

Koscielny: 6.5/10

The boss prefers ‘Vertesacker’ these days and that means the French international has had to sit out most games. He was exceptional last season and has been pretty decent this time as well.

Gibbs: 7.5/10

Adds a new dimension to the attack. He, along with Podolski, were much appreciated for the work on the left hand side during the early part of the season. He got injured and everyone could see the difference in the team. Another injury means he’ll have to sit out for another 2 months.

Sagna: 6/10

Sagn’s had his share of injury woes and it has, in a way, impacted his performance on the pitch. Among the best right backs in the league and Mr. Dependable for Arsenal for so long, he’s not been at his best this season.

Jenkinson: 7.5/10

Jenkinson has come out really strongly and silenced both critics and apprehensive fans. It was great to see him sign a new contract with the club. One for the future.

Santos: 4/10

Very disappointing. Period.

The next part of this article will deal with the Arsenal midfield. Till then, feedback and comments are welcome.