Is this proof that Wenger has fixed Arsenal’s defensive problems?

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The Gunners defence is much improved this season, but is it capable of being the base for a title challenge?

Arsene Wenger has recently said that he doesn’t think he needs to make any defensive adjustments this season because he already has the personnel fit for a proper title challenge.

According to quotes in the Independent, Wenger believes he has solved Arsenal’s long-standing defensive frailties – so we’ll take a quick look to see if the statistics back up the Frenchman’s confidence.

2014/15 season

The Gunners have the third best record in the Premier League this year when it comes to conceding goals, but are not in the top three when it comes to shots conceded, clean sheets and defensive errors.

However, things change when you judge the season from after the defeat to Southampton on New Year’s Day, when Wenger began picking a settled side that found a strong defensive rhythm.

Since January 2, 2015

Though the Gunners are conceding more shots than they were earlier in the season, they have reduced their defensive errors, as well as drastically improving both their number of clean sheets (roughly one every two games) and goals conceded (0.6 goals per game), suggesting that Wenger has indeed improved the Arsenal defence.

Below we’ve listed Arsenal’s last three seasons, where you can see that generally this year, and especially since Janaury, several defensive categories are much improved:

2013-14

2012-13

2011-12