Arsenal: Nacho Monreal absence could be blessing in disguise

Arsenal are set to miss out on the services of Nacho Monreal for the upcoming match with Crystal Palace, but this may be the hidden blessing we need.

Arsenal’s defensive woes are not hard to spot. Whether it’s the back three or the back four, no combination has been consistent enough to invest confidence in. And, with only three true centerbacks to choose from (plus Nacho Monreal) the options are limited.

And pretty damn old.

But now, with Monreal out, we may have an opportunity to address a problem we may not even have known we had – that of playing Monreal at centerback.

I was proven completely wrong by the Spaniard, who has been one of our more consistent players thus far into the season. That said, though, there are two problems that consistently plague this defense (among many others). One is a lack of size and strength, neither of which Monreal boasts in abundance.

The other is a bit of over-aggressiveness that can leave the defense exposed to runs in behind. Just like Liverpool. Monreal is a guilty part there as well.

I’m not saying that Monreal is the source of our problems. Far from it. I’m just saying that the old adage of “if it isn’t broke, don’t fix it,” isn’t always true. It’s more accurate to say “if there is room for improvement, improve.”

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And Arsenal can certainly improve in the defense, even if that improvement is replacing the one “central” defender that has been consistent.

Since he has been so consistent, there has been no real chance to see what life would be like without him. But we’ve been trying to many other combinations of defenders and nothing has worked that maybe it’s time to try something more extreme.

And since Arsene Wenger is not one to take out an established veteran for no reason, this could be that nudge towards a potential fix to a broken defense.

What form could that solution take? Well, that’s a great question. If we stick with the back four, then the options are limited. Laurent Koscielny and Shkodran Mustafi are going to be the new partnership. It’s when you introduce the back three again that you get to explore some seriously exciting options.

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Calum Chambers. Rob Holding. Two guys that have the world to prove and a career to build for. Those are the kinds of guys that can revitalize a tired, old defense. But then again, we still have Per Mertesacker, so why am I hoping for exotic defensive solutions?

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