AC Milan vs Arsenal: 5 point preview

#3 A tale of two contrasting defensive units

The Arsenal defense has been in utter shambles recently

A bulk of Arsenal's abject form is down to its shambolic defense that has leaked 10 times in the last four games, six of which came against City in two games. But on all occasions, the Gunners were caught painfully off guard.

The center-back partnership of Shkodran Mustafi and Laurent Koscielny have completely switched off, whereas Sead Kolasinac has become more error-prone than ever. Plus, he's developed a penchant for yellow cards too.

The ease with which teams are slicing through the backline is jaw-dropping, to say the least. In fact, even a mid-table side like Brighton mustered 13 attempts in their 2-1 victory over Arsenal last Sunday. Such is the dire state of the Arsenal rearguard.

AC Milan on the other hand, have conceded only thrice since the turn of the year and none in the last six, a terrific defensive figure that includes clean-sheets against AS Roma and twice against the blistering Lazio. Reason? Gattuso has reverted to a 4-man defense, ditching the back-three that conceded 18 goals in the first 14 games.

At the heart of this is the defensive pairing of Leonardo Bonucci and Alessio Romagnoli, who've established a resounding partnership over the weeks and boast a kind of communication that their aforementioned Arsenal counterparts might want to take note of. And another robust showing on Thursday would hold them in good stead for the deciding leg at the Emirates.