Arsenal: Alex Iwobi casting light on need for upgraded defense

Arsenal brought on Alex Iwobi for Shkodran Mustafi to give the offense that extra thump. The results shed light on the need to adapt.

Arsenal’s loss against Manchester United did not take on the look of a traditional Arsenal let-down. They were completely domineering on the day, controlling 75% of possession and firing off 33 shots in an unprecedented show of unrequited dominance.

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However, it would be foolish not to take some positives from this match, and to take them hand-in-hand with some lessons that we learned in the process. The majority of those lessons have been covered in depth, as have the positives, but one positive – Alex Iwobi – has been less talked about.

The young Nigerian came on in the 14th minute for an injured (yes, injured) Shkodran Mustafi and the numbers speak for themselves. He fired six shots, three on target, created three chances, 90% of his passes and, my favorite stat of all time – he did not lose the ball once.

In a match where guys were getting into the box and surrendering possession left and right (mainly Alexis Sanchez), this was a huge positive.

You can make the argument that anyone could have been dominant in such a one sided match (er… loss) but he still had to follow through, and Iwobi followed through in a bit way.

The creative center of this attack and midfield was on point aside from their ability to get past David de Gea, who was quite literally not beatable. In the process, though, Iwobi stepped up like he had not been able to do all year. He was so solid in possession, not trying to do too much.

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To me, it was evidence that adding another midfielder to the puzzle and swapping to a back four is something worth exploring. We have talked about the potential to do so in the past, but understandably, swapping from what had been an effective back three isn’t the most intriguing thing.

Until we managed 33 shots and 75% of possession. Sure, Manchester United sat back and allowed this to happen, but again, we still had to accept that invitation and we did. There were so many chances against the “best” defense in the Premier League.

The problem is, we are clearly not equipped to run a back four with the personnel that we have. Not in their volatile state where no one is all that reliable. We need a tip-top defender (more like three) to merit swapping to a back four.

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It was certainly a frustrating loss, but let’s appreciate Alex Iwobi’s rise to the situation as well as the accompanying lesson regarding a potential formation adjustment.