Arsenal Would Not Find Defensive Solution In Marcelo Brozovic

Arsenal are yet again tied to Croatian midfielder Marcelo Brozovic but with his small stature, is he really the answer Arsenal is looking for?

Throughout all of the recent success Arsenal have been finding, there has been one underlying, negative theme. They still cannot defend from that late, painful goal. Before Francis Coquelin got hurt, we saw Arsenal fight out two tough matches against Watford and Swansea City, yet shut them both out 3-0. We saw Arsenal manhandle the men from Manchester United 3-0. We even saw Arsenal hold Bayern Munich scoreless at 2-0 (via WhoScored).

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Francis Coquelin gets hurt and look what happens. Arsenal score a goal against West Brom and the Baggies flip on the switch and rebound immediately, scoring two to beat the Gunners. Arsenal score against Norwich and the Canaries flip on the switch and score one almost immediately following. Those 1-0 leads that Arsenal used to turn into 2-0 or 3-0 wins are now turning into 1-1 and 1-2 finishes.

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I will bet an entire Manchester United spending spree that Coquelin’s injury and Arsenal’s results are not unrelated. Arsenal’s defense is incredibly susceptible to quick rebounds after taking the lead because there is no strong midfielder to shut those attacks down and muffle the momentum.

Arsenal may be looking to dive into that defensive midfield transfer pot this January and one name that has emerged is Dinamo Zagreb man (test him!) Marcelo Brozovic. The Croatian was linked to the Gunners before but he instead went on a loan deal to Inter Milan. In spite of it all, Brozovic’s agent is still preaching how his client wants to move to England, according to the Telegraph.

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Brozovic is a talented player but in terms of filling this defensive void that Arsenal is stuck in? No way. Brozovic is a skinny midfielder at just 65 kg and his defensive skills leave much to be desired. He is averaging just over one tackle and one interception per game. And that’s in Serie A. What hope would he find at the base of Arsenal’s midfield? About the same hope that Flamini is finding.

Brozovic would be better suited for an offensive role at a club that needs a central offensive midfielder. Arsenal do not need a central offensive midfielder. Unless it’s Isco. They need Isco. But Isco is different, he can play all over the place. He can even play defensively, he is a whole 10 kg bigger than Brozovic.

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All that being said, it seems like a signing that Arsene Wenger would make. Ever since Patrick Vieira and Gilberto moved on, we have not had a big, physical presence in the midfield until Francis Coquelin. We have instead opted for small, creative guys like Flamini and Arteta, whose lack of defensive qualities gets Arsenal in trouble more times than not. Brozovic would be the next one to do that. He is no sort of cover for Coquelin. He may make a perfect partner for Coquelin, but we don’t really need to figure that out, do we?