Unai Emery Says Arsenal Need to 'Improve Defensively' After Fulham Win

Arsenal head coach Unai Emery has called on his side to improve in the second half of the season, and he highlighted the defence as the key area that needs to be addressed. 

The Gunners beat Fulham 4-1 at the Emirates Stadium on Tuesday but were thrashed 5-1 by Liverpool in the previous game in a shocking defensive display.

Emery and Arsenal have been unfortunate with injuries. Rob Holding is a long-term absentee with a ruptured ACL, and Nacho Monreal and Hector Bellerin have also been regularly sidelined.

But the Spanish manager made it clear Arsenal's current defensive work is not good enough after the win against Fulham, per Mark Mann-Bryans of the Press Association (h/t MailOnline): 

"Our challenge now is to improve defensively. We are very happy with the attacking players and scoring a lot of goals like today. We are a high team in terms of scoring. We need defence also to (have) more balance and improve. We need to work. We need to do better in the second half of the season, tactically, and we are going to do that."

Emery, 47, has enjoyed a largely positive response from Arsenal fans since he succeeded Arsene Wenger in the summer, especially as he engineered a 22-match unbeaten run in all competitions.

The Gunners have played some excellent attacking football so far this season and only two sides, Manchester City and Liverpool, have scored more goals than them in the Premier League.

However, Arsenal are only three points better off than they were at the same stage last season, and they sit in the same spot, outside the UEFA Champions League positions in fifth:

They have conceded 31 goals in the English top flight in 21 games. Not since 1966 have Arsenal allowed 30 goals in their opening 20 league games, per Richard Jolly of The National.

Liverpool's supreme attack had a field day at Anfield on Saturday as Arsenal put in an embarrassing display at the back.

It was a clear indication that the Gunners still have a long way to go to become Premier League title challengers once again.

In attack they can match the likes of City, Liverpool and Tottenham Hotspur, but their defence has more in common with the sides in the bottom half of the table than those hoping to win the league.