Arsenal: Youthful defense is all guts and no guile

Arsenal’s youthful defense brought an intensity and attitude that, while exciting, exposed a naivety that nearly cost them the match.

Arsenal’s youthfulness was on display Wednesday as the likes of Calum Chambers and Rob Holding took the field against Chelsea. They brought an unrelenting intensity and aggressiveness to the game, complete with full-blooded challenges and aggressive ball-winning. While their efforts should be commended, their awareness, particularly out of possession, was nothing short of terrifying at times.

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The Gunners set out to press Chelsea as they tried to play out of the back. This often took the shape of a 3-5-2, with Mesut Ozil dropping into midfield. Alexis Sanchez and Alexandre Lacazette were tasked with forcing Chelsea’s back three into uncomfortable situations. With the forwards forcing play wide, and the three central-midfielders denying play through the middle, the athletic wing-backs squeezed up the pitch to deny the wide ball to their opposite numbers.

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That left a three vs two — Arsenal’s back-three up against Alvaro Morata and Eden Hazard — at the back. Now, why the weak-side wing-back was not tucking in to help their back line is a curious decision, one likely made to pin back Chelsea’s wing-backs. Nevertheless, this left the back-three, whose starting position was no closer than 50 yards to goal, with only a slight numerical advantage and a lot of space to cover.

Individually, pressing absolutely suited the back-three, who did well to close down anything in front of them. They challenged for every 50:50, were willing to track their marks into midfield, and created a good number of interceptions. But their play, bordering on over-aggressiveness, along with the acres of space that was left behind, was their Achilles heel.

In the 14th minute, Chambers was so concerned with Hazard checking back to the ball, he drifted out of position and obliviously left Shkodran Mustafi 1v1 with Morata on the halfway line. After a simple layoff, Tiemoue Bakayoko played it long and Mustafi, expecting cover from Chambers, let Morata run free. Morata was then left 1v1 with Cech, and, not for the last time in the match, was wasteful.

Similarly, in the 49th minute, both Mustafi and Holding closed towards Morata as he received a ball around the half-way line. Mustafi correctly applied pressure to Morata, but Holding never had a chance of getting there. After Morata’s flick and a first-time ball into Holding’s now vacated channel, Chambers was left exposed in a 1v1 against Hazard, that ultimately forced a good save from Petr Cech.

This trend continued throughout the match and surely will be addressed before the next outing. Even in a pressing scheme, there must be more balance and awareness to cover the space behind. Mustafi’s “cavalier” approach works well when surrounded by mature players like Nacho Monreal and Laurent Koscielny who often cover for his rash decisions. But Holding and Chambers approached the match like Mustafi clones, leaving no one to clean up.

It was exciting to see the vigor the youthful side brought to the match. Tackles were flying in, and they were dead-set to win the ball at all cost. But they also looked naive. The perfect example arose in the 45th minute, as the entire back-three simultaneously left their feet in an attempt to block a Hazard shot. Exposing their foolishness, Hazard deftly backheeled to a wide-open Fabregas at the top of the box, who, thankfully, miscued his shot high and wide.

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So while the defensive personnel showed promise, and the pressing scheme certainly allowed Arsenal to be on the front foot on the day, it also came with its concerns. Going forward, the challenge for Holding and Chambers will be to add awareness but keep their intensity. If they can do that, they may successfully usher in a much overdue attitude to the Emirates.