Arsenal's Draw with Manchester City Exposes Defensive Frailties

EMIRATES STADIUM, LONDON—Arsenal’s performance in this 2-2 draw with Manchester City was, in many respects, encouraging. With new signings Danny Welbeck and Alexis Sanchez lining up in attack, the Gunners had a new-found zip about their attacking play. Arsene Wenger’s concerns, perhaps unsurprisingly, will be with his defence. 

There are two separate issues: quality and quantity. In terms of quality, Wenger will doubtless be disappointed to have conceded two sloppy goals. On the first, Arsenal were caught badly on the counter-attack. Nacho Monreal seemed to believe the ball was drifting out of play. Instead, it stayed in, and Jesus Navas ran free to create a goal for Sergio Aguero. Mathieu Flamini also failed to cover himself in glory, struggling to keep pace with Aguero’s break from deep.

The second goal was even more frustrating. If the first was due to individual errors, this one was down to strategic mistakes. Having fought back to take a 2-1 lead with goals from Jack Wilshere and Alexis, Arsenal handed City an equaliser with some very naive defending at a set-piece—as highlghted by Henry Winter of the Telegraph.

"

Great header but shocking marking by #afc. 2-2. Demichelis heads Kolarov corner in. Nobody near Demichelis.

— Henry Winter (@henrywinter) September 13, 2014"

The Gunners’ zonal system failed completely and Martin Demichelis was free to head home an equaliser. Arsenal’s concentration appeared affected by the injury to Mathieu Debuchy, but that’s no real excuse for elite professional athletes. 

Shaun Botterill/Getty Images

Against teams like City, you cannot afford such simplistic errors. A team with the likes of Aguero and David Silva in their ranks will not let you get away with it. They are ruthlessly efficient when presented with an opportunity to strike.

The Debuchy injury brings us to the issue of quantity. The Frenchman was stretchered off with an ankle problem and looks set for a lengthy spell on the sidelines. His absence means bringing Calum Chambers in at right-back, leaving the club with no recognised cover at centre-half. The number of fit senior defenders in the squad just dropped to five. The Gunners are now down to the bare bones. 

With the transfer window now closed, Arsenal can’t buy a new player to fill the gaps in their squad—as Wenger conceded in his post-match press conference.

"You can ask me who I will buy and I can just tell you the transfer market is closed at the moment," said Wenger.

They can still sign a player who is a free agent, but those options are dwindling every day. It seems they must carry on with what they’ve got.

Shaun Botterill/Getty Images

In his post-match press conference, Wenger highlighted the potential of Spanish right-back Hector Bellerin. Bellerin is undoubtedly an exciting prospect, but has never played a game in the Premier League. Given Arsenal’s vast resources, it’s absurd that their defensive options have been allowed to reach this nadir. 

Next week, Arsenal travel to Dortmund in the Champions League. Even if Debuchy makes a miraculous injury, he is suspended, so Chambers is certain to play at right-back. If one of Mertesacker or Koscielny suffers an injury, Arsenal have Nacho Monreal as next-in-line to play centre-half. It is not a thought that inspires much confidence.

Watching the likes of Alexis and Wilshere pore forward, Gunners fans will have been excited about the team’s attacking potential. Given their multiplying problems at the back, attack might just be the best form of defence for Wenger’s Arsenal.

James McNicholas is Bleacher Report's lead Arsenal correspondent and will be following the club from a London base throughout the 2014/15 season. Follow him on Twitter here.