It’s no secret that Arsenal have struggled to defend this season and club manager Unai Emery is planning a few tweaks at the back to ensure that it gets better for the next season.
Only eight English sides conceded fewer goals than Arsenal in the most recent Premier League campaign as the Gunners drew defensive record comparisons to 17th placed Brighton and Hove Albion. The Arsenal boss opted to change to a back three in order to strengthen up his defense but reports now claim that he will use a solid back four for the next season.
The North London let a top-four position in the Premier League slip away as they finished on fifth place on the table. Although Arsenal did impressively to reach the final of the Europa League, they were hammered 4-1 by London rivals Chelsea in the European competition.
The back three hampered and affected the overall play of the team and were bailed out of jail more often through the strike partnership of Alexandre Lacazette and Pierre Emerick Aubameyang. But if any team is conceding 70 goals across all competitions in a season, one begins to doubt whether Arsenal is still considered a top team.
Swiss right-back Stephan Lichtsteiner has already left Arsenal after electing to reject his one-year contract extension at the club. Club captain Laurent Koscielny also has one year left on his current deal and the French veteran central defender will be allowed to leave for a suitable offer. Even Spanish left-back Nacho Monreal is near the exit door at the Emirates as Emery is planning to offload the 33 year old for other transfer arrivals in the summer.
Arsenal is looking to step up competition for left-back Sead Kolasinac and will head into the summer market with the idea of covering for the injured right-back Hector Bellerin as well. However, with a tight budget, Emery could be looking to sell other assets and top players as well for newer arrivals at North London.
