The former Liverpool star commented on the back of Arsenal’s 3-0 home win over Chelsea.
For all the swashbuckling attacking threat on show, it was the defensive display that Jamie Redknapp highlighted as the biggest positive from Saturday’s Premier League match between Arsenal and Chelsea in his Daily Mail column.
Shkodran Mustafi and Laurent Koscielny both impressed as the Gunners blitzed their London rivals at the Emirates Stadium.
In-form Diego Costa was hardly given a sniff from the pair as he toiled up front for Chelsea, while Theo Walcott and co produced their magic at the other end of the field.
Arsene Wenger’s side have struggled defensively in recent times, and injuries meant they started the season with only one fit centre-back.
However, with Mustafi and Koscielny now established as the first-choice partnership at the back, Redknapp thinks the future is bright in that area of the pitch for the 13-time English champions.
He wrote in the Daily Mail: “Arsenal have won plenty of plaudits for their attacking play against Chelsea but I was so impressed with how sound they were defensively.
“Arsenal’s centre backs have been too easily bullied in recent years by Didier Drogba and Diego Costa. On Saturday afternoon, Shkodran Mustafi wasn’t having any of it.
“He showed so much quality alongside Laurent Koscielny and for the first time in a long time it looks like Arsenal have found a great centre-back partnership.
“The pair are both quick and good in the air. They are strong in both boxes and will threaten from set pieces, too.”
The way Arsenal stifled Antonio Conte’s side will bring renewed optimism to the fans in the red half of North London.
After seeing their team concede four to Liverpool at home on the opening day of the campaign, supporters quite rightly had concerns about their defence.
However, while Mustafi has struggled to adapt to the English game since arriving from Valencia, his confidence should soar following his first clean sheet and getting the better of one the toughest strikers in the league alongside the experienced and reliant Koscielny.
Finding the answer to their defensive problems, which seem to let Arsenal down every year, could prove the difference in the race for the title.
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