3 Things We Learnt from Arsenal’s Singapore Excursion

3. Arsenal need a quick, agile centre-back

Arsenal v Paris Saint Germain - International Champions Cup 2018

Arsenal were impressive in their pre-season friendlies but their defensive shortcomings reared its ugly head once again. Mustafi started both games at the heart of the defence. Against Atletico, he partnered Holding whereas against PSG, he had the experienced Sokratis alongside him. While Arsenal were relatively untroubled throughout, they faced real problems on the counter.

In the game against Atletico, Correa exposed the Gunners’ lack of pace on a few occasions, and Timothy Weah did the same for PSG. Both goals that Arsenal conceded were due to the lack of pace in their back line.

Arsenal have been defensively fragile for quite a while. In order to address this issue, Emery went out and bought Lichtsteiner and Sokratis. Though the pair have bags of experience, they are a little short in the pace department. Apart from Koscielny, who is injured till the end of the year, Arsenal do not have a quick centre-back who can ward off attacks by pacey forwards. If Arsenal are to mount a title challenge, they need to act quickly in the transfer market and get their hands on a quick, agile centre-back.

Emery has a reputation of being proactive in the market. The sooner this issue is addressed, the better placed Arsenal would be to win the title that has eluded them for 15 years.