Arsenal turned their biggest weakness into their biggest strength

Arsenal have conceded just four league goals in 2024. Photo: AP/Dave Shopland

Mikel Arteta calls it “the love of defending.” and there was no better example of Arsenal's new thinking than the last few seconds of their 3-0 win over Brighton on Saturday. The match ended in stoppage time when Arsenal centre-back Gabriel Magalhães blocked a powerful shot from Brighton's João Pedro.

Gabriel's immediate reaction was to growl to the sky, clenching both fists in delight at his own challenge. Then a crowd surrounded him. Leandro Trossard, William Saliba, Jorginho, Takehiro Tomiyasu and David Raya rushed towards the defender. It was a celebration that was truly more intense and emotional than the reaction to Trossard's goal about five minutes earlier.

Gabriel Magalhães blocks Joao Pedro's move to Brighton Photo: Geyty Images/Mike Hewitt And he was immediately surrounded by grateful teammates. Photo: Action Images/Peter Ciborra

“It’s great for all the coaches to see the team react like that when it’s 3-0,” Arteta said. “It's great because it shows how much they want it and the importance and attention they put into every ball. It was an added bonus.”

Arsenal's «love of defending» combined with their ability to control matches with the ball has led to them becoming the most formidable defensive team in the Premier League. They conceded just 24 goals during the season (fewest in the division) and scored just four goals in 11 league games in 2024.

As of Saturday evening, Arteta's side had kept four clean sheets in all competitions. Including extra time in the Champions League match against Porto, they did not concede a single goal in 435 minutes of play.

Gabriel played every minute of these games. So does Saliba, his partner. Together they are the league's preeminent defensive pairing. Behind them, Raya proved why Arteta saw him as an upgrade from Aaron Ramsdale. In front of them, Declan Rice shuts down the opposition's midfield every week.

Arsenal's in-form pairing of Saliba and Gabriel crushed Kevin de Bruin during the 0-0 draw with Manchester City. Photo: AP/Dave Thompson

While last year's title win was built on wild attacking football, this year's push is built on the solid foundation laid by these players. Arsenal are strong, organized, fast and decisive. They can press high, winning the ball in the opposition half, or they can sit deep and absorb the pressure.

When Arteta and the club's management met last summer to assess their 2022-23 campaign, they had no difficulty in identifying the main problem. They would have seen that it was definitely not the attack, where Arsenal scored 88 goals. Over the previous 20 years, Premier League champions had scored an average of 85 goals. They produced a title-winning forward line.

The concern was the goals against column, which listed 43. Compared to the previous year Over 20 years, the Premier League champions have conceded an average of just 29 goals per full season . Thus, Arsenal failed to create a title-winning defense.

So it's no surprise that they immediately splashed out £105 million on the league's best defensive midfielder. They also paid £30m for Raya (due this summer) and over £30m for another defender, Jurrien Timber (who was injured). They obviously knew that their own half of the field was an area where they needed to strengthen.

“The main thing is that everyone goes 100 miles an hour for every ball”

Of course, this is more complicated than just spending money on new defenders. After all, Saliba and Gabriel were at the club last season. But this season the ferocity of the defenders has obviously increased to a new level, and the attacking players are buying into it too.

“The main thing is that everyone is running 100mph on every ball,” Arteta said. Sky Sports last month. «Our strikers, our wingers, our attacking midfielders — they love to defend.»

There is a striking difference between the end of last season, when Arsenal collapsed in the title race without the injured Saliba, and their current defensive form. In the last 10 matches of last season, Arsenal conceded an average of 1.7 goals per game. Over the last 10 league matches this season, this figure has dropped to 0.4 goals per game.

Compared to the rest of the division, there is no other team that even comes close to this figure. In 2024, Arsenal's expected goals total is just 4.98 (from 11 matches). The next best defense in the division during this time is Manchester City, whose expected goals are 12.28 (from 12 matches).