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Martin Keown says he’s seen Arsenal’s forwards do something he’s never seen Thierry Henry and Dennis Bergkamp do
Arsenal continue to push on in pursuit of their first Premier League title since 2004, with the next instalment coming on Saturday evening.
The Gunners, fresh off a routine 2-0 win over Luton and the crucial point away at Manchester City, play away at Brighton in a 5:30pm kick-off.
Mikel Arteta has completely rebuilt Arsenal since taking the reins back in 2019, which has culminated in the Gunners challenging for both the title and the Champions League.
Sir Alex Ferguson famously that “attack wins you games” but “defence wins you titles”, and Arsenal have certainly worked wonders in improving their defensive setup.
Who can forget how rickety the Gunners defence used to be just a few years ago? Now, it’s one of the meanest units in the Premier League, if not world football.
And it’s not just a case of having the league’s best centre-back pairing in Gabriel Magalhaes and William Saliba. It’s a complete team effort, as Martin Keown has observed.
What has Martin Keown said about Arsenal’s defending?
The Arsenal legend, writing in the on Friday, noted how the Gunners attack has been doing something he doesn’t recall Thierry Henry and Dennis Bergkamp doing. Namely, helping the defence out.
“Arsenal will see Saturday’s trip to Brighton as a must-win game,” wrote Keown.
“It is no accident that they have conceded the fewest goals in the Premier League, while also scoring the most.
“It’s a product of a desire to protect one end of the pitch just as much as they want to pose a threat at the other, and you could see that in last weekend’s 0-0 draw with Manchester City.
“It would be wrong to say Mikel Arteta’s men were overly cautious in that stalemate. They simply adapted to the waves of attacks by getting men behind the ball.
“I cannot remember Thierry Henry or Dennis Bergkamp doing much defending on the edge of their own box.
“But Arsenal’s attackers were happy to do what was required and Gabriel and William Saliba will have loved receiving that help.”
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In their playing days, Henry and Bergkamp were two of the finest forwards in world football, and with how the game was back then – not to mention how solid Arsenal’s back line was – there was no need for them to have to go back and defend.
Nowadays, with how the game has developed and progressed, there’s certainly more need for versatility and players contributing in different areas of the pitch to what they’re used to.
That said, ‘total football’ isn’t a new concept by any means, and often the teams with the most intelligent, fittest and most adaptable players will enjoy success. That’s the sort of thing we’re seeing from Arsenal now.