Arsenal FC and Arsene Wenger should learn from Borussia Dortmund defence - EPL special
Shaky is a world too mild to describe the Arsenal defence. Defensive lapses, goalkeeping howlers and over-exuberant tackling have been costing Arsenal points and even titles for five years. The ongoing 2010/11 promises to the sixth consecutive trophy-less
season – the fans are at clueless as to when these habits would die down.
In the 2010/11 season, Borussia Dortmund proved that while attacking football wins matches, it’s a solid defence that assures titles. The same thing cannot be said for Arsenal, whose defence has always let the club down. Year-in, year-out, Arsene Wenger
has been criticised for fielding defenders who are just not good enough for a team of Arsenal's calibre - perennial title contenders. Borussia Dortmund are entirely different from Arsenal in this regard. This season, Borussia Dortmund have let in just 19 goals
past http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Arsenal-c38429 defence has improved this season. The Gunners currently have the second best defensive record behind Manchester City which points out that some
improvements have been made.
However, defence has been the biggest and the most defining difference between the two sides (Arsenal and Borussia Dortmund) this season. Borussia Dortmund have easily the best defence in http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Mats-Hummels-c24767 and Serbian International Neven
Subotic, BVB have two world-class centre-backs who could be first-choice for any top European team. Along with them, http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Sven-Bender-c34386 has been the key in the holding midfield for Juergen Klopp this season. The 22-year-old German is called ‘the vacuum’ and justifies
his nickname self-assured displays in the middle of the park.
http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Theo-Walcott-c34873 hardly comes close to that average.
In all fairness to manager Arsene Wenger, it will be a mistake to blame his team a lot for their tactical naivety. Last Sunday, Arsenal beat United 1-0 at home and back in December, the Gunners beat http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Chelsea-c38786 3-1 which shows that the players do have the class
to perform at the big stage.
One thing that sets Borussia Dortmund’s defence apart from Arsenal is their wingback’s tireless running on the flanks. http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Marcel-Schmelzer-c23530 is a livewire at left-back and has been a consistent defender for Dortmund this season. Same can be said for Lukas Piszczek,
who has arguably been the best right-back in Bundesliga this season.
Without a shadow of a doubt, Arsenal have had it tougher than Borussia Dortmund in the past few seasons. Their trophy-laden history, along with the contingent of some of the world’s best players, has always put the team under immense pressure. Most of the
Borussia Dortmund stars rose to prominence this season. It even took BVB months to be finally considered as favourites to lift the title. This season has been yet another failure for Arsenal, but Arsene Wenger can definitely learn a thing or two from Borussia
Dortmund, whose general footballing philosophy in terms of signing players is not so different than that of Arsenals’.
With the right tinkering in the summer transfer window, Arsene Wenger can finally forge a squad that might lift the English Premier League title next season and perform better in the UEFA Champions League as well.
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