To say that Arsene Wenger was an unknown quantity when he took over at Arsenal in 1996 would be an understatement.
The London Evening Standard famously greeted the Frenchman with the headline “Arsene Who?” after the club announced his appointment.
Although he replaced Bruce Rioch, it was George Graham who Wenger would inevitably be compared to. Three league titles and six FA Cups later, the comparison seems almost laughable.
At the start of his Arsenal career, Wenger’s nutritional and attacking innovations gave his team the edge in the Premier League. But 19 years on from his arrival, those marginal gains have been largely been co-opted or countered by his rivals.
He tried to reinvent his style around the time of the move to the Emirates by relying more on youth as a cost-saving measure. It is generally accepted that Wenger always operated this way, but it’s not true. He has always appreciated experience, particularly in defence.
When David Seaman left for Manchester City, he was replaced by the 33-year-old Jens Lehmann. Sol Campbell was signed from bitter rivals Tottenham at the age of 27 to replace the retiring Tony Adams. When the 26-year-old Ashley Cole left for Chelsea, Wenger made sure to get the soon-to-be 29 William Gallas in return.
The problem with top defenders and goalkeepers is that, even more than midfielders and attackers, they are a scarce commodity. There was only one defender and no goalkeepers in this year’s Ballon D’Or shortlist.
This is partly due to a lack of appreciation for top-class defending, but also because a strong defence is usually less down to individual brilliance and more thanks to cohesion and familiarity.
Per Mertesacker turned 31 last month, while Laurent Koscielny is now 30. Nacho Monreal turns 30 this season and Petr Cech is already 33-years-old.
Of those four, two – Mertesacker and Monreal – were established players pinched from faltering teams, while Cech’s battle with Thibaut Courtois has been well-documented. Koscielny, meanwhile, was a classic Wenger signing as a relative unknown from Ligue 1.
The only exception to this older Arsenal backline is the 20-year-old Hector Bellerin. But his emergence – like Francis Coquelin’s – can largely be attributed to a stroke of good fortune after an injury to the now 30-year-old Mathieu Debuchy.
This is the most settled Arsenal backline since the Invincibles – and it’s starting to show.
The biggest criticism of the Gunners in recent years has been their inability to perform under pressure. This has seen them choke in big games even against vastly inferior teams such as the infamous League Cup final defeat to Birmingham in 2011.
It looked set to repeat itself in the 2014 FA Cup final when Arsenal allowed Hull to take an early two-goal lead. But they clawed their way back and kick-started a change which has seen them raise back-to-back FA Cups.
This year, Arsenal have kept clean sheets in wins over Bayern Munich, Manchester United, Chelsea (in the Community Shield) and Manchester City. Although they blitzed United in a scintillating opening 20 minutes in their 3-0 win, the other games have shown an Arsenal side much more willing to defend.
Against Bayern, they ceded more than 70% of possession to the Germans as they were out-passed four to one. While that might seem like a very un-Wenger approach, it is becoming increasingly common.
Bayern join Crystal Palace, Aston Villa, Newcastle & 7 other teams this year in losing to Arsenal despite having more possession.
— Duncan Alexander (@oilysailor) October 20, 2015
Where the Gunners used to defend a shaky back four by holding onto the ball for dear life, they are now more comfortable without it. The old cliche is that the best form of defence is attack, but building from the back has afforded more licence to Arsenal’s forward line.
For what feels like the first time in a decade, Wenger finally has competition for places in the defensive line rather than just picking the players he think will screw up the least.
A back four of Kieran Gibbs, Gabriel Paulista, Calum Chambers and Debuchy, with David Ospina in goal, would be on par with what has been on show at the Emirates in recent seasons but instead they are all fighting to merely get game time – with Gabriel looking to be a particularly shrewd acquisition.
Coquelin has received the lion’s share of the praise for Arsenal’s defensive turnaround. But though he does deserve some credit, his influence has been somewhat overstated.
Regardless of which individual players are responsible, though, the greater cohesion at the back has meant Arsenal have become more comfortable without the ball, which strangely gives them more chances to attack.
Bayern Munich showed on Tuesday night that it’s not much use having three quarters of possession if you aren’t moving the ball with pace. Wenger has watched his team impotently achieve ‘sterile domination’ in the past, waiting for a crack to appear on countless occasions.
The difference now is that Arsenal are equipped to counter, a tactic that so many have deployed against them.
Players like Alexis Sanchez, Santi Cazorla and Mesut Ozil are always more effective when working at a high tempo – and it’s no coincidence that this set up has allowed Theo Walcott to thrive as a striker for the first time in his career.
Still, inconsistency plagues Arsenal. A 2-0 defeat to Chelsea was book-ended by embarrassing Champions League defeats to Dynamo Zagreb and Olympiakos – as well as an opening-day horror show against West Ham.
But nine games into the season, Wenger’s side boast the best defensive record in the league having conceded just seven goals and keeping five clean sheets. In comparison, Jose Mourinho’s Chelsea have conceded 17.
Chelsea’s failures, United’s stagnation and City’s unsteadiness makes this a perfect opportunity for Arsenal to end their league title drought. And building from the back may be the perfect plan.
