Arsenal defender Kieran Gibbs believes their defensive improvement is down to the fact that they like to press-down their opposition high up the pitch, rather than letting them run at the back-line.
The Gunners have always been criticised for their defensive displays and over the past few seasons a lot of the defenders have received stick at some point.
However, 2013 seems to have changed and Arsenal now seem to have one of the best defences in England as so far this season they have only conceded five goals from open play.
An incredible ending to last season was also aided by the partnership of Laurent Koscielny and Per Mertesacker, but Gibbs believe it’s the fact they close down the opposition quicker now.
“I feel like we have been [tight] for a while,” he told Arsenal Player. “Last season – especially towards the back end of it – we showed a good understanding together and that is just improving now.
“It certainly feels – not just as a back four but the whole team – when we press from the front and defend more as a team, we don’t look like we are going to concede. That is a positive that we want to keep going.
“We are obviously doing a lot of work on the training field. We have coaches who are on top of us a lot and informing us about opponents; what to be careful of, when we can afford to take risks – there is a lot of analysis that helps us improve.
“But I think our consistency is just down to playing a lot of games. The more you play with each other, the better understanding you naturally get.”
Written by Alex Batt – @AlexBatt – @AlexsArticles
