Mikel Arteta has stressed the importance of Arsenal defending from the front and working as a unit to maintain their emerging form after back-to-back wins, via football.london.
The Gunners started the Premier League season with three-straight defeats, each without scoring, to put pressure on Arteta’s position. They beat West Brom 6-0 in the Carabao Cup during that run, and will host Wimbledon on Wednesday looking to reach the fourth-round.
Arsenal host the Dons in north London on the back of successive league wins over Norwich City and Burnley. But Arteta’s men did not control either encounter from the offset, and only won by single-goal margins on both occasions.
Martin Odegaard’s free-kick after half-an-hour sealed victory for Arsenal at Turf Moor on Saturday. The Gunners’ display was not entirely convincing throughout, and the Clarets had chances to pull level, particularly in the second-half.
Arteta wants Arsenal to defend from the front to ensure they can maintain and build on their emerging form. The Spaniard also stressed the importance of the Emirates Stadium natives working as a unit from minute one to 90.
“Absolutely,” he said. “It’s the whole unit that has to be compact, that has to stay compact at all times. The only way to do it is when the ball is moving, that everybody is moving.
“If somebody starts to work, if the distances get split and the unit starts to break, there is nothing. There is a lot of coaching now going on around the team. Young players are starting to talk and communicate and that facilitates a lot of things in the defensive phase.”
Is Arteta’s work in training showing in Arsenal’s performances?
Arsenal would have taken wins over Norwich and Burnley in whatever manner possible coming out of the international break. But Arteta would have surely preferred to see more commanding performances from his side during the 1-0 affairs.
The Gunners boss will hope their work on the training pitches starts to show more clearly against Wimbledon. Although the real test for Arsenal, and Arteta, will be on Sunday when they host rivals Tottenham Hotspur.
Both sides will need a win at the weekend to alleviate concerns regarding their respective seasons. In contrast to Arsenal, Tottenham have struggled since the September break after starting strongly, and will face Arteta’s men after back-to-back 3-0 defeats in the league.
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