Arsenal: Jonny Evans is still not the solution

Arsenal are reportedly pushing ahead in their attempts to sign Jonny Evans. However, while the West Brom defender would be an astute addition, he is still short of the defensive solution necessary.

After replacing Alexis Sanchez with Henrikh Mkhitaryan and pursuing the signing of Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang to improve on Theo Walcott and Olivier Giroud, who have respectively left and are expected to leave in this January window, Arsenal are now, reportedly, turning their attentions to other issues in their squad.

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Mkhitaryan and Aubameyang, while excellent players who certainly improve the overall quality of the squad, are both attacking options. And, in reality, that is not necessarily where Arsene Wenger needs to improve this team. It is at the other end where the Gunners’ issues are most pertinent.

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And so, they are, per the most recent reports, pushing hard to sign West Bromwich Albion’s Jonny Evans after Manchester City, the other prominent pursuers of the defender’s services, turned their focus to Aymeric Laporte instead. The 29-year-old is an extremely accomplished and experienced defender, having played at Manchester United for several seasons during his younger years. Certainly, Sir Alex Ferguson was a strong admirer of his abilities.

The Northern Irish international and West Brom captain is a natural leader, a solid, defend-first player who adds a much-needed steel and girt to an Arsenal team that is painfully vulnerable and soft in defensive areas. He is strong in the air, authoritative in the tackle, positionally sound, and an excellent organiser and communicator, all traits that will complement what Wenger already has available to him

The problem, though, is that personnel is not necessarily the cause of Arsenal’s defensive debacles. While it would be foolish to say that the players in the squad are any better than, say, at Manchester United or Manchester City, they are not much worse. These are not bad defenders. But they are made to look like bad defenders because of the system that they play in.

Most importantly, Wenger does not prioritise the defensive side of the game. He will always be an attack-first manager, focusing on what his side can do with the ball, not without it. And that philosophy has an influence on the whole set up of the team.

The midfield, for example, is geared towards to creativity, not security. The attacking players are not the most diligent in their defensive duties. The first thought of almost every player in the team is an attacking one: ‘What can I do to further the attack?’ Rarely does Wenger, or his players, choose to prioritise defending.

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And that will be a problem for as long as Wenger is a manager whose principles, plans, and preparations are unchallenged. The personnel will help; signing will Evans will help. But it would be foolish and naive to think that he is the solution. No player, including Evans, is the solution. That is the sad fact of the matter.