Arsenal Assistant Manager Steve Bould and the State of the Team's Defense

Speculation had been swirling for years that Arsene Wenger rarely allotted much time during training to enhancing and molding the team's defensive shape.

I caught wind of this some three years ago from a bar patron in France. After Arsenal had conceded yet another goal from a free kick during that devastating run-in to the 2009-10 season, I quickly turned from skeptic to believer. The man, or zonal, or whatever sort of marking they were engaging in looked anything but assured.

Arsenal's defense has not provided the support that is an absolute necessity for a title contender.

One could mention Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson's time-worn adage shared throughout the world of football: Success starts at the back.

That is not really needed. One look at the 49 goals Arsenal conceded a season ago during Premier League play is all the evidence that is needed.

The goals came thick and fast at times—as was seen in the eight-goal thrashing at Old Trafford in late August—but for the most part they simply accumulated.

Four goals (albeit one own goal) conceded away to Blackburn in September, two goals afforded Tottenham during both North London derbies (one ended in a 2-1 defeat, the other a 5-2 victory) and three goals granted to Norwich in the penultimate match of the season.

While any team is going to have days where excess amounts of goals are let in (Manchester United ceded four to Everton and six to Manchester City at Old Trafford a season ago), unsurprisingly, they finagled only a point out of those two games.

Chelsea let Arsenal ring up five in that epic match in October, although they did get back three themselves.

Even Manchester City, who let in just 29 goals—20 fewer than Arsenal—on their way to the league title, gave up three in a draw to Sunderland.

Unsurprisingly, as more goals are let in, results suffer. Mathematics stopped making sense to me a long time ago, but that parallel track rings true. 

What Can Be Done to "Fix" Arsenal?

It's no stretch to say that, seen individually, Arsenal's starting back four and keeper are world class.

Wojciech Szczesny, Bacary Sagna, Laurent Koscielny, Thomas Vermaelen and Kieran Gibbs are all frequent call-ups to their national sides. Sagna, Koscielny and Vermaelen, in particular, have drawn raves for their performances in previous seasons.

Sagna and Vermaelen have both been named to the Professional Footballers' Association (PFA) Team of the Year, with Sagna bestowed the honor in the 2007-08 and 2010-11 seasons and Vermaelen in 2009-10.

Szczesny's woes at this summer's European Championships have been well-documented, but he remains a very young and supremely talented shot-stopper.

So what gives? Where's the rub? How does this band of high-quality players perform so poorly?

Injuries are partly to blame. During that Old Trafford thrashing, Vermaelen was injured—many a pundit make note as they preside over Arsenal fixtures how integral the Belgian is to defense—and for the majority of last season, Wenger was unable to align his first-choice back four.

Yet injuries happen in football and adjustments must be made.

The problems at Arsenal appeared to run much deeper than simple attrition. Take that aforementioned Norwich match.

While the Canaries were far from a moribund outfit last season—they played some great football on the way to a 12th-place finish—they carved the Arsenal defense apart with frightful efficiency.

It was merely the latest time a team had looked to exploit the Gunners on the break.

Ferguson's United sides, followed by Chelsea and a slew of Premier League opponents, had figured out that the best way to defeat Wenger's possession-heavy offensive system was to simply sit back and await chances to tear the Gunners apart with incisive attacks.

That was perhaps best seen during United's and Chelsea's trips to the Emirates in 2009-10, when the Red Devils won 3-1 and the Blues 3-0, both executing their counterattacks flawlessly.

For example: Chelsea enjoyed just 44 percent of the possession in that encounter, compared to Arsenal's 56. They didn't need the extra time on the ball. They still managed 10 shots to Arsenal's 12 and lodged two more shots on target to boot (four to two). It should be noted, however, that Vermaelen provided an own goal for the second score.

The United match was a bit more nuanced—the possession figures ran 53-47 in Arsenal's favor, but United made the most of their 12 overall shots by scything the Gunners open on the counter.

It was much of the same against Norwich. Arsenal's defense lacked shape—Alex Song bombed forward in attack, leaving the back four exposed.

Now, it appears that after so many seasons with little to no improvement in the area, Wenger has finally begun to change. Fitting, as this past year has seen him break his former habits in the transfer market as well.

After Pat Rice retired as assistant manager this past May, Wenger named Steve Bould to the vacant position.

A former center-back who appeared in almost 300 games for Arsenal, mostly during the 1990s, Bould most recently served as the manager of Arsenal's youth sides—namely the Under-18 Academy side, which has enjoyed rampant success in recent seasons.

In just this first preseason of work, Bould's tactical wherewithal has already drawn a ringing endorsement from Vermaelen, who has hailed the way Bould has helped work on the team's overall shape.

"Steve is really good to work with, especially for defenders as he has been a defender himself," Vermaelen told the official site.

"(Bould) is very focused on details. A lot of players, because we are getting older, we know how to play. But he looks at details and the shape of your body and to be honest I am learning a lot from him."

Szczesny has echoed that appraisal.

"Bould has been doing some fantastic work with the defense," Szczesny said. "That seems to be working very well. It all makes me believe we'll be that little bit stronger."

Vermaelen has rarely raised his voice about the team's defense in recent seasons, but his enthusiasm for a "defensive" coach is quite evident.

"We have to get the shape of the team right," Vermaelen said. "We have been working on it throughout pre-season and we are focusing on that."

"I think having your shape right is one of the most important things in football, whether you have the ball or don't have the ball. We are working really hard on that and Steve does the job really well."

It certainly seems a much more stabilizing approach than the "understanding" with Alex Song that Vermaelen alluded to back in April.

Then, it had appeared the two forward-thinking players had an unspoken agreement that when one headed up in attack, the other would hang back and take up the defensive chores.

Against Norwich, that partnership was nowhere to be seen.

Vermaelen's voice is one that can and should be heeded. As the likely successor to Robin van Persie as captain should the Dutchman depart before the close the summer transfer window, the center-back will be counted upon to be a leader at the back.

It certainly appears that Bould is helping him there.

I quickly turned from skeptic to believer.