Community writer Bordeaux FC heralds Arsenal’s defence, from the strength in numbers to Mikel Arteta’s cautious approach.
The Arsenal defence is, to FPL managers, a safe haven. A tried and trusted fortress protected by the metaphorical moat of Mikel Arteta’s cautious nature.
Arteta is a manager who served his apprenticeship under Pep Guardiola, and inherited his obsession with controlling football matches. The cut and thrust, with which the Premier League is so often associated, subdued by metronomic passing, overwhelming technical skill, and the occasional tactical foul.
After Arteta left Manchester to take up his position at Arsenal’s helm, Pep evolved once more, enlisting gladiatorial centre-backs to finally overcome the hurdle of UEFA Champions League glory.
In that year, Arsenal had led the way in the Premier League for much of the season. As City mounted an imperious run that led to a historic treble, Arsenal faded meekly. Arteta’s side conceded 16 goals in the last nine games, and a lack of squad depth was exposed when an injury to William Saliba (£6.1m) coincided with a run of four league games without a win, and 14 goals conceded.
This porous backline sits in stark contrast to the Arsenal of 2025. And this is not by accident.
STRENGTH IN DEPTH
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When the Gunners lost a 2-0 lead at Anfield and succumbed to City’s superior strength, it appears Arteta made an oath: never again. Only once this century has a team won the Premier League when conceding 43 goals, the number that Arsenal conceded in 2022/23. Over subsequent seasons, he has sculpted his team into a defensive masterpiece.
Alongside Saliba, Gabriel Magalhaes (£6.1m) and Ben White (£5.4m), Arteta has assembled his own band of iron-plated warriors. With the additions of Jurrien Timber (£5.6m), Riccardo Calafiori (£5.7m), Cristian Mosquera (£5.4m) and Piero Hincapie (£5.5m), and the departure of Rob Holding, Kieran Tierney and Oleksandr Zinchenko, among others, Arsenal have built one of the most formidable backlines in recent history.
Sceptics may point to last season, when the Gunners only mustered 13 clean sheets after a promising start, but again injuries to White, Gabriel, Calafiori and Timber meant Arsenal regularly fielded a backline that was far from first choice. Now, Arteta has seven (yes, seven) robust and accomplished defenders in place, with the impressive Myles Lewis-Skelly (£5.4m) offering another option at full-back too.
This summer, Arsenal’s transfer business has seen this defensive depth replicated across the rest of the squad, when previously it seemed the fixation on accumulating defensive assets had come at the expense of investment in attacking areas. This should mitigate the fatigue that can compromise Arsenal’s intensity out of possession and the drop in quality when injury inevitably strikes.
A TEST OF ARTETA’S RESOLVE?
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Maybe then the risk to Arsenal’s defensive fortitude this season is not injury, fatigue, or inexperience, but a test of Arteta’s resolve. At Anfield, his side, minus Bukayo Saka (£9.9m), Martin Odegaard (£7.9m), Saliba and Kai Havertz (£7.4m), quietened the crowd and dominated the first hour. Yet there was still a caution and measure about their performance – a backwards pass, a slow walk to the corner to deliver a carefully choreographed set-piece. These are, for any visitors to Anfield, advisable precautions, but there was an inescapable sense that this was a missed opportunity.
Yes, Dominik Szoboszlai’s (£6.5m) outstanding free-kick was, from Arteta’s perspective, bad fortune (with an xG of 0.03). But when you embrace tight, low-scoring games, moments and small margins can snatch your success. Arne Slot wants Liverpool to rout their opponents, and this is driving the tactical evolution of his title-winning side. The ever-restless Guardiola has also pivoted away (perhaps inadvisably) from the rugged defence which brought such success in 2023.
But I don’t think Arteta will throw caution to the wind. He has come too far down this road and invested too much of himself and Arsenal’s transfer budget in it. This is, of course, good news for FPL managers looking to cash in on clean sheets in a world of defensive contribution plays. And it could still be good news for Arsenal fans, too. This team has come far – second is now a failure, when for so long fourth was a success.
There are no guarantees in football, and with so many sides in transition (including Liverpool), Arteta’s consistency and conviction may still bring him the title he so craves. If it does, he will stand on the shoulders of Arsenal’s defensive giants.