Do Arsenal Finally Have the Defence to Win the Premier League Title?

Arsene Wenger has long been a master of defence. Not the kind played on a football pitch, but the rhetoric contested with the media and even his own fans almost on a weekly basis. Without that stubbornness the Frenchman would surely have been forced out as Arsenal boss long before now. In the footballing sense of the term, however, he is less than adept.

Indeed, Arsenal’s defensive line has long been considered their greatest weakness, among other weaknesses. Wenger has been perennially accused for the best part of the last decade of ignoring his side’s glaring deficiencies at the back, placing faith in players that had done little to warrant it.

Arsenal’s questionable defence, more than anything else, has seen the club tread water—or slowly drown. Nobody can quite decide which it is.

However, this season could prove to be something of a watershed for Arsenal. The Gunners have now kept clean sheets in each of their last four games in all competitions, with Wenger presiding over one of the best defensive units in the Premier League. How things have changed, and quickly, at the Emirates Stadium.

So is it all down to Shkodran Mustafi? The German has settled instantly into Arsenal’s back four since making the £35 million move from Valencia on the penultimate day of the transfer window, drawing plaudits from Wenger.

Before Sunday’s 1-0 win at Burnley, the Frenchman said, per Sam Benge of the London Evening Standard:

He has the potential [to be a great defender for Arsenal], which is interesting at the moment.  

It is a bit too early to say, you have to be cautious when a guy has played only three or four games. What makes me positive is he is focused, has the desire to do well, and is 24 years old. So for a central defender that is quite young. Let’s see how he survives in games like Sunday against Burnley, where it is a case of ‘Can I head the ball? Can I win the second ball?’ I would say I have a positive feeling.

Maybe Mustafi’s stint at Everton earlier in his career prepared him …

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