What are Arsenal’s defensive options for this season?
Who do the Gunners have available in defence following outgoings in the summer?
Arsenal have found themselves surprisingly short of defensive reinforcements following the closure of the summer transfer window. With the departures of Auston Trusty, Kieran Tierney, Nuno Tavares, and Rob Holding in August and September, the Gunners have been left with just eight natural defenders at the club, six if you discount the injured Jurrien Timber and unwanted Cedric Soares. Considering that it was the lack of depth in defence that cost Arsenal the Premier League title last season, it seems worrying that they are so short this time around.
Jurrien Timber looked like he was set to be a key part of Arsenal’s defence for the 2023/24 season prior to his ACL injury against Nottingham Forest. His absence put a dent in the Gunners’ defence, but this was fixed slightly by the return of Oleksandr Zinchenko. However, the Ukrainian’s injury proneness won’t fill Arsenal fans entirely with hope as he is now the only natural left back at the club. Jakub Kiwior and Takehiro Tomiyasu have played in that position for the Gunners before, but would struggle to fully adapt to Zinchenko’s versatile way. This is one part of the defence that already looks weak.
At right back, Ben White should be starting most games there and has proven so far in his Arsenal career that he is reliable when it comes to injuries. Tomiyasu has spent most of his Gunners career on the right side of defence so he would be another option for Mikel Arteta. Cedric Soares would also be a right back option, but it seems his time at the club is up and will struggle to get game time. Academy star Reuell Walters has featured in the Gunners’ last two pre-seasons and has appeared multiple times on the bench for the first-team. He could possibly be given a promotion to the first-team in order to strengthen the defensive depth. Thomas Partey has featured at right back in recent games so would be another option, but this should be a last resort as his strongest position is midfield.
In the centre of defence is probably where Arsenal are the most fortunate. William Saliba and Gabriel Magalhaes are by far the best centre back duo available to Arteta. Whilst Ben White is naturally a centre back, it’d be wasteful to take him away from the right back position. Kiwior and Tomiyasu are far better options to cover Saliba and Gabriel as they would be able to come into the team without weakening other areas. Declan Rice also played in defence during his time at West Ham United so, like Partey at right back, could be a last resort option for the centre.
Overall, Arsenal are short in defensive options and really could have done with signing a replacement once Jurrien Timber got injured. However, the versatility of certain players throughout the team should at least get the team through to the January transfer window without any serious problems. It’d be good to see Mikel Arteta bring in a new defender in January, like he did with Jakub Kiwior this year.
