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Arsenal’s Defense is Becoming the True Strength of the Gunners

By Josh Sippie

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Arsene Wenger did the smart and logical thing against Stoke City by ignoring the health of Per Mertesacker and starting Gabriel Paulista and Laurent Koscielny for Arsenal. This partnership has proven strong in the past and yet again the duo looked nearly unstoppable.

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Combined, Koscielny and Gabriel put together 10 interceptions and 7 clearances (via WhoScored.com). What is great about those numbers it that they are not out of the ordinary. That is what the duo does anytime they take to the pitch. On the season they are averaging about 8 interceptions and 12 clearances a match.

They made some crucial tackles against Stoke and neither one at any point looked weak or exposed. This is a fearsome duo that the Premier League needs to start taking note of. This is a pair that is not going to break and it is going to provide a much more threatening dynamic than the Koscielny/Mertesacker partnership that guided us for so long.

This is a time to get excited. Arsenal could use a fearsome duo commandeering the back of the pitch. The defense has been exposed over the past couple of years due to injury problems and ineffective defenders but this is a new look Arsenal. With that new look comes a new defense. Having the trifecta of Gabriel-Koscielny-Coquelin in the middle of the defense gives the Gunners three of the best intercepting defenders in the game today. Start calling it the Bermuda Triangle, because no one that gets into it is coming out.

This new defense is built on aggression and anticipation. With the two center backs so similar, it does not allow the opposition to pinpoint where to attack the center with what tactics. They have to deal with the same thing across the board. Plus, they have to get through Coquelin to get there. He does not just let people through.

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Per Mertesacker is going to find it hard to get back into the first team’s starting XI. In fact, this may have just kicked off the start of Mertesacker’s permanent move to the second team. However, he still has massive usefulness on this squad. For starters, he is a veteran with World Cup experience. No matter how much pace he lacked and how frustrating he could be at times, the BFG was still a composed defender that went into tackles well. He was an expert at positioning.

That being said though, with the way Arsenal now plays and with the prestige they hope to wield, this is the best case scenario. Gabriel and Koscielny are both incredibly battle-hardened players that give Arsenal that edge at the back. Gabriel even got into a bit of a spat with Marko Arnautovic and it was pretty clear that Gabriel came out the better end, as he remained on the pitch while the Austrian had to come off the pitch momentarily.

Arsenal’s defense used to be at the butt-end of a lot of jokes. Their lack of a defensive midfielder left them exposed. Late on in games the Gunners would look unable to hold a lead. Not only that, but even with Per Mertesacker’s undoubted qualities, he too often found himself at ridicule for his pace. There will be no putting Gabriel, Koscielny or Coquelin at the butt-end of jokes or ridicule.

Next: Arsenal's Midfield Mass Finally Makes Sense

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