Arsenal: Back-Three the essential difference maker

Arsenal have begun to turn the corner after a rough start to the year. The difference is a simple one: The consistent playing of a balanced and accomplished back-three.

Defensive resolve has never been a strong point of the modern Arsenal. Techincal quality, creative talent, pretty football are all a staple of Arsene Wenger’s more recent sides. But shape and structure, industry and energy, will and determination, are often found wanting.

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This season, though, there has been a shift. While a quick glance at the Premier League table may tell you that the Gunners have conceded 16 goals on the season, a mark that is worse than sides like Brighton, Bournemouth and Swansea, that only tells half the story. Delve a little deeper, and you will find a team with surprising defensive stability.

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As was the case during Sunday’s gritty 1-0 win over Burnley, Arsenal are yet to concede a goal when their starting back-three have taken the pitch. That three is Laurent Koscielny, Shkodran Mustafi and Nacho Monreal. It is possible, in fact, to extend that line of thinking even further: When the aforementioned back-three are on the pitch, along with Granit Xhaka and Aaron Ramsey in midfield, flanked by Sead Kolasinac and Hector Bellerin, in four games, Arsenal have won three, drawn one, conceded no goals and scored six.

And the back three have started one more game together this season, a 2-0 win against West Bromwich Albion. This is a team that, when built on the foundations that a well-balanced and experienced back-three provide, begins to purr.

Football is a game of compromise and symmetry. There must be a blend and a balance, a variance from player to player that creates a well-rounded, polished team, capable of winning in many different ways.

For many, many years, Arsenal have not had that. But in Koscielny, Mustafi and Monreal, they have a defensive trio that offers a steel and stability that is a little unusual. The shared willingness to be physical in the challenge, the aggressiveness to battle for and come away with the ball, the athleticism, the game-understanding, the stability in stature, all bring a different element to a team that is littered with the small and the technical.

Mustafi, especially, has had a clear influence on the defensive success of this side. In the seven Premier League games that he has played, the Gunners have conceded just one goal; in the six that he has missed, that figure rises to a worrying 15. It is no coincidence that with his return have come two clean sheets.

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There seems to be a different edge to this year’s team. The character that was shown in Sunday’s win is proof of that. Before we get ahead of ourselves, it is not even December. There is still plenty of time for Arsenal to do what do they best and ‘Arsenal-it-up’. But there has been a change, and it all starts with the defence.