Wenger has a blind spot when it comes to defensive players

Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger is facing a defensive crisis after failing to strengthen his backline in the summer

Arsene Wenger’s Arsenal host Hull at the Emirates Stadium this weekend facing a defensive crisis.

The team from north London will be without the suspended Calum Chambers, French international full-back Mathieu Debuchy and Debuchy’s international teammate Laurent Koscielny is also a doubt.

It is now being reported that Spanish full-back Nacho Monreal may play at the heart of the defence alongside Per Mertesacker.

Lacking

The Gunners boss Wenger must have seen the frightening lack of cover in defence in the summer.

Two defenders in and two out failed to strengthen their defence. In fact you could argue that the Gunners defensive cover is even worse than last season.

That says a lot when the Gunners backline cost them the Premier League title last season. They looked solid in defence against teams outside the top five.

However, the Gunners suffered embarrassing defeats at rivals Chelsea, Manchester City and Liverpool. A logical decision would have been for Wenger to go out and bring in some quality defensive reinforcements.

However, as the veteran French boss has proved over the last few seasons he does not always do the logical thing and Arsenal have suffered for it with the lack of trophies in recent campaigns.

Fur Coat

My grandmother used to have a saying about woman being ‘all fur coat and no knickers’ and for some reason that reminds me of Arsenal in the last few seasons. They put on a good show, but at times lack substance. They also fail to win trophies because they are vulnerable at the back against the better teams.

Wenger continues to signing attacking players for big money, but yet leaves the defence without cover. The veteran Gunners boss has spent nearly £80million on Mesut Ozil and Alexis Sanchez over the past two summers, when signing a quality defensive midfielder seemed the priority.

It seems that Wenger cannot see what most other people can see and I am not even talking about the controversial incidents he misses on the sidelines.

All Wenger seems to care about is that his team are passing the ball and the style of play. However, with a couple of key defensive additions this Arsenal team could have been a far bigger threat to the likes of Chelsea and Manchester City for the Premier League title.

As it stands the Gunners do not seem strong enough to challenge for the big trophies this season. Wenger’s addiction to attacking midfielders has handicapped the Gunners chances of winning silverware.

Assistant

Wenger’s assistant boss Steve Bould was once part of the meanest defence in English football. Bould’s team were capable of grinding out 1-0 victories, which led to the song ‘1-0 to the Arsenal’.

Surely Bould has recognised the need for the Gunners to bring in better defensive players and not constantly sign attacking midfielders, an area that the Gunners are now overloaded in.

I am not sure how much input that Bould has in the organisation of the team, but as an assistant he must surely share his defensive ideas and opinions with Wenger. Whether his veteran French boss listens is another matter.

The Frenchman has proven in his tenure at Arsenal that he is very stubborn. Wenger seems to stick to his guns no matter what, like in the case of the troublesome defensive midfield position. He believed that he did not have to shell out money to solve his team’s defensive midfield issues.

The signs so far this season suggest that he was wrong and the Gunners should have probably brought in a defensive midfielder and more quality defenders.

Linked

The Gunners have been linked with January moves for Dortmund centre-back Mats Hummels, Celtic star Virgil van Dijk and Marseille youngster Stephane Sparanga. Hummels would cost a reported fee of £32million, which Wenger is unlikely to pay, unless Hummels all of a sudden develops into a flamboyant attacking midfielder.

Van Dijk and Sparanga are more likely targets, as they are likely to prove far less expensive signings, which Wenger seems to prefer in his defensive players.

Improvement

Good managers have a knack of identifying their team’s weaknesses and strengthen in those areas. Wenger seems to be blind to his team’s current defensive situation though and this could again cost his team this season.

Arsenal are unlikely to achieve anything special until Wenger sees that Arsenal need more quality defensive reinforcements and a top midfielder enforcer. Unfortunately the Frenchman may never see and the Gunners will remain behind their rivals at the top of the Premier League.

Will Arsenal strengthen their defence in January?