Back Two (of) the Future
In 2004, Arsenal managed the unthinkable: they won the Premier League without recording a single loss. While much of the credit rightly goes to the likes of Thierry Henry, Dennis Bergkamp, Robert Pires, and other offensive talents for the 73 goals scored by the Gunners during the campaign, their undefeated stature undoubtedly wouldn’t have occurred without its defensive success. That year’s champions of England only conceded 26 goals and finished their season with 21 clean sheets from 38 matches. This was thanks in large part to the bedrock partnership between Sol Campbell and Kolo Toure. Brilliantly paired together by Arsene Wenger at the height of his powers, Campbell and Toure complimented each other wonderfully. While Toure had good technical ability and speed on the ground, Campbell made use of his robust physique and aerial ability. Together, the two formed a duo upon which the club’s finest achievement rested.
In the years following the Invincibles era, Arsenal have failed to strike gold the way they did with the center-back partnership on display between Campbell and Toure. Vermaelen and Gallas were not defensively sound enough to see Arsenal finish higher than 3rd. David Luiz and Sokratis under Emery were average at best. David Luiz and Mustafi under Arteta were moderately better, but individual errors still pervaded in both defenders’ performances. The pairing of Mertesacker’s calm reading of the game and Koscielny’s aggressive style came the closest, providing several seasons of stability at the back and three FA Cup wins. But it is fair to say that even those two could not reach the heights Arsenal’s Invincibles duo did.
Perhaps no one would understand the need for a proper center-back partnership and what Arsenal have been getting wrong in that department better than Mikel Arteta, who spent the end of his career playing just in front of the Mertesacker-Koscielny duo. Already emerging as one of the best young minds in the game, the Arsenal head coach spent his first half season in charge clearly favoring center-backs who were good on the ball – such as David Luiz, Pablo Mari, and Mustafi – over center-backs weren’t – in particular, Sokratis and Holding. Starting attacking phases through passing out from the back has become a pillar of Artetaball. However, Arteta recognizes that the best teams employ center-backs that are reliable passers but also athletic, powerful, and imposing. The two best examples of this type of high quality center-back are Virgil van Dijk at Liverpool and Aymeric Laporte at Manchester City. Both are gifted distributors of the ball, physically tough and relatively pacey, and stand at 6’4” and 6’3” respectively. These are qualities that Arsenal defenders have failed to individually encapsulate for years. As a result, the club isn’t exactly renowned for its defensive record in recent seasons.
But four key personnel may signal a return to title-winning defensive prowess for Arsenal. The first is, of course, Mikel Arteta. During Emery’s tenure in the 2019-20 season, Arsenal conceded 19 goals in 13 Premier League games, a rate of 1.46 goals conceded per match. After Arteta took over, Arsenal conceded 21 goals in the 20 matches he managed. This saw the rate of goals conceded per match drop to 1.05. While the January acquisitions of Pablo Mari and Cedric Soares did happen after Arteta arrived at the club, the two played only seven Premier League matches between them and haven’t yet revealed themselves to be game-changing talents. What this means is that the new manager took a collection of subpar defenders and turned them into a unit that at times was impenetrable for even the likes of Liverpool, Manchester City, and Chelsea. He did this through instilling a rigid structure in the side, effectively communicating tactics and ideas, and coaching players to be more intelligent with and without the ball.
Before Arteta assumed his role as head coach role at Arsenal, the second of the aforementioned key personnel was signed from Saint-Etienne. At only 29 years old, William Saliba already clearly possesses several attributes of a potentially elite center-back. The Frenchman stands at 6’4”, sporting a strong build that allows him to outmuscle most opponents he will face in the Premier League, and has experience doing so in Ligue 1. He also has demonstrated an exceptional talent for reading the game. With intelligent defensive positioning that allows him to effectively break up attacking plays, Saliba was making just over four interceptions per 90 before the restart last season. His composure on the ball and reliability with regard to playing out from the back rounds out an exciting young talent whom Arteta is undoubtedly excited to work with. As he demonstrated in last week’s friendly against MK Dons, Saliba is more than capable of quickly converting defense into an attacking play that earns his team a goal.
And now, Saliba’s likely long-term center-back partner has arrived in North London. A few years Saliba’s senior, Gabriel Magalhaes also represents an enticing pre-prime prospect at 22. The Brazilian, like his Arsenal teammate, is blessed with size and strength at 6’3”. This makes him reliable at winning aerial duels. Additionally, Gabriel possesses great pace that allows him to catch up to forwards who get in behind the back line. But what really stands out about Gabriel is his passing ability. Among all players in Ligue 1 last season, Gabriel finished with the ninth most attempted passes into the final third. What makes him particularly useful to Arsenal, however, is his talent for playing long balls. The center-back is effective at switching play from left to right, as well as at pinging balls over the top of an opposition defense for his attacking teammates to latch onto. In Ligue 1 this season, his long pass accuracy finished at 72.3%. Gabriel’s distribution when coupled with a tendency to drive the ball forward himself make him a potentially excellent progressor of the ball from the back line.
Together, Saliba and Gabriel’s attributes suggest they are a match made in footballing heaven. Both are imposing, powerful, and athletic defenders who are comfortable on the ball and adept at playing out from the back. This will suit Mikel Arteta much better than what he’s had to work with up until this point. Whether they haven’t possessed an impressive height and physique like Mustafi and Chambers, or have lacked ability on the ball like Sokratis and Holding, or are not particularly quick like David Luiz and Pablo Mari, the center-backs available to Arteta since he started have not been the complete packages needed to compete at the highest level. That changes with Saliba and Gabriel. Paired with each other, they will likely suit Arteta’s general gameplan quite well. Their ball control and passing ability will allow Arsenal to pass out from the back and beat presses, as well as to suddenly launch attacks when the other team least expect it. Saliba can read the game well enough that he can cover for Gabriel when he charges forward to start an attack, and Gabriel is pacey and physical enough to get back and put out fires on the occasions a pass or player gets past his partner. Having both played in Ligue 1 for the past couple of seasons, both defenders are likely very familiar with each other and will be able to strike up this type of understanding relatively quickly. And both defenders are skilled in aerial duels, which will help to neutralize the threat from larger opposition that Arsenal have struggled with for so long.
To that end, Andreas Georgson has arrived at the club as the fourth key man to help create an impenetrable wall in the heart of Arsenal’s defense. Georgson, a man with 13 years of coaching experience at only 34 years old, will be serving as the club’s set piece coach. Arsenal lured the Swede from Brentford, who are recognized as one of the most innovative teams in the Championship when it comes to set pieces. He joins Iñaki Caña, Arsenal’s goalkeeping coach who had also previously worked at Brentford. Caña’s influence has been quite evident this season, which bodes well for Georgson.
The introduction of Gabriel and Georgson, in addition perhaps to the signing of Pablo Mari in January, indicates a very focused approach by Arteta to solving a problem that has haunted Arsenal for years, but especially this past season. In the 2019-20 season, Arsenal conceded 22 goals from dead ball situations, the second-most in the Premier League. Only Watford, who were relegated, conceded more. Much of this is down to organization and coaching, but it is no secret that Arsenal have been a relatively diminutive team in recent years. Before the signing of David Luiz, the club’s two tallest defenders were Rob Holding and David Luiz at 6’2”, the same height as Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang. Within the last eight months, Arsenal have taken aim at alleviating both aspects of their set piece problem. To combat their disadvantage against other teams in terms of stature, the Gunners have signed Pablo Mari, Saliba, and Gabriel, who respectively stand at 6’4”, 6’4”, and 6’3” with the latter two possessing athletic traits no other Arsenal center-back currently boasts. To combat the team’s lack of organization when defending set pieces, Arteta has brought in an expert on the matter, much as he has with other specialized aspects of how he wants his team to play. Georgson’s influence may already be producing results, as demonstrated by Mark McGuinness’ headed goal during last week’s friendly against MK Dons. The signing of three men the size of NBA point guards to play defense and a set piece coach from a trailblazer in that same footballing dimension could very well help prevent a few goals conceded from set pieces, and perhaps even convert them to goals for the team at the other end of the pitch. With the margins for error growing finer and finer regarding qualifying for the Champions League, contributions from Saliba and Gabriel in this regard could very well make the difference in a year’s time.
Saliba and Gabriel will undoubtedly improve the Arsenal defense soon enough. They will hopefully mesh well in a center-back partnership, and will also prove useful in ending an Achilles’ heel that has plagued Arsenal for so long. But it is important to recognize that Arteta will very likely refrain from baptizing them in fire, at least completely. It won’t be surprising to see Arsenal start the season resuming the use of a back three. Based on Saliba’s performance in his first appearance in an Arsenal shirt and the lack of any reliable alternatives, he should start at right center-back, with David Luiz anchoring the defense next to him. The left center-back spot should presumably go to Gabriel in due time, but don’t be shocked to see Kieran Tierney there on a few occasions as Arteta gets the Brazilian up to speed. But the plan appears to be eventually transitioning from the back three, and from requiring the services of David Luiz, to playing Saliba and Gabriel together in a back four, flanked probably by Tierney and Hector Bellerin. From there, we shall see how successful a duo they are. But if all goes according to plan, maybe, just maybe, there will be a title-winning pair of center-backs in North London again.
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