Arsenal: How one touch made Zech Medley notable

Arsenal didn’t start Zech Medley on the defense, but with one touch, he did something that no one else managed to do, and hasn’t been able to do.

Arsenal‘s defense was not the solid force we needed it to be against Blackpool. Sure, they kept the clean sheet, but they didn’t do a lot to inspire confidence in the least. Maybe Laurent Koscielny’s late injury in the warm-ups did something to jingle the game plan, but more likely it was just a matter of the defense not being good enough.

Again. But then, that shouldn’t be much of a surprise. This is how they’ve been all year. They’ve been shaky, and they’ve been lucky to skirt out of numerous near-disasters.

Blackpool had several opportunities to make this game uglier than it ended up being. Mostly, it came in the air, with their two 6’4″ attackers that made Sokratis and Lichtsteiner look like Santi Cazorla (in the air, that is).

One such occasion, with Gnanduillet, involved a completely unopposed header that, had he put anywhere else, would have been a goal, hands down.

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Even the commentators, who were pretty awful, made it clear that all Blackpool had to do was attack aerially and they’d have more opportunities. There was just no competition. Gnanduillet alone won seven aerials, which is more than any two Gunners combined.

It didn’t come back to bite them. That’s the big thing. But what I wanted to draw attention to was Zech Medley, and how he did what so few defenders have been able to do this year – he looked dominant in the air.

Again – it was one touch, so I’m trying not to blow this out of proportion, but he got higher up in the air than any defender this year. He won a header and had himself quite a tumble afterwards, but in the meantime, he did get, like I said, incredibly high up in the air, and made it clear that, given the right opportunity, he could learn to boss the airwaves.

Also, he is 6’5″ so, that’s kind of a good thing too.

Medley has been begging for a chance to be a solution for this defense, and at that height, and with the athleticism he boosts, he may be the perfect installation in the back.

It was just one touch. So pardon my unbridled enthusiasm, but after seeing this club dominated in the air for so long, even one touch is enough to get be jazzed up.