Arsenal are largely expected to splash the cash on a defender and/or goalkeeper in the summer, but perhaps the long-needed managerial change will be the answer to the problems at the back instead.
Two birds, one stone
Arsene Wenger is not known as a defensive-minded coach, especially as of late.
Arsenal have allowed 46 goals in the Premier League this season, good for 8th place defensively.
Last season Arsenal allowed 44, 7th place.
With Laurent Koscielny and Per Mertesacker ageing out of their prime years, Arsenal have struggled to find a strong defensive partnership (or trio, at times).
Shkodran Mustafi, particularly has been a bit of a comedy of errors this season.
Cech and Ospina’s struggles behind them have not helped the situation.
Many are calling for a defensive overhaul through the transfer market this summer, but with a new manager, Arsenal may improve defensively without changing anyone.
Read on to find out how…
Lessons from Debuchy
Since leaving Arsenal for Saint-Etienne in January, Mathieu Debuchy has been on fire.
He already has four goals to his name in Ligue 1.
Since joining, they have given up only 8 goals in 11 games, including dragging out a 1-1 draw against French super club Paris Saint Germain.
The fact that Arsenal had a right back that was capable of this on the books and failed to utilise it shows that Arsene Wenger and his coaching staff have lost their touch when it comes to the defensive side of the game.
Being fit and healthy has also played a role in his improvement.
If Mathieu Debuchy can benefit so much from being used in a different way, how many other Arsenal defenders could flourish under a new manager?
With better instruction, Mustafi could turn into the promising World Cup winning defender that Arsenal thought they were buying two seasons ago.
The same goes for Chambers, Bellerin, Holding, and the rest.
All of them have promise, and under the right guiding hand, perhaps they could all do a Debuchy.
Next, the defensive record of potential managers and how they can get the best out of the players Arsenal already have…
Massimiliano Allegri
Arsenal have recently been linked with Massimiliano Allegri of Juventus.
The Italian manager failed to win the Champions League this season (or even make the semi-finals), which was their primary aim, and he could be facing the axe or looking for a way out.
The Old Lady has allowed just 20 goals in Serie A this season.
While Mustafi is not Chiellini and never will be, Allegri could surely turn him into a competent defender, at least.
Allegri has done this while deploying a variety of defensive systems as well.
When Juventus are facing a team of lesser quality than themselves (like against Tottenham in the Champions League), they usually play with 4 at the back to allow themselves to push higher up the field with numbers.
In their Serie A games, when facing teams nearer to them in the table, Allegri has had success with the more traditional Italian system of three at the back.
Juventus employed this against AC Milan in a 3-1 win and something similar to it this past week against Napoli (which they lost, 1-0).
Being able to use multiple, different defensive strategies successfully will translate well to the Premier League, where there are so many different managing styles.
In past seasons, Arsenal have at times struggled due to an inability to adapt when “plan A” fails.
Allegri also has defensive success without compromising on attack.
The results speak for themselves; Juventus have only allowed 20 goals, but they have also scored the second most in Serie A with 78.
With a manager that is more skilled at organising defences like Allegri, Arsenal may not make the same bone-headed mistakes they have made this season.
Carlo Ancelotti
Carlo Ancelotti is another manager on Arsenal’s radar. He has also shown the ability to organise a team well defensively.
The teams he has managed have had the luxury of great attacking players, but their defences have also done well, and the Arsenal players could more than benefit from his expertise.
Ancelotti was criticised for sitting deep in the first leg of the 2014 Champions League semifinal against Bayern Munich. The Italians call this “catenaccio,” and that style of play does not fly at Real Madrid.
When asked about this tactic, Ancelotti said “Catenaccio is not a bad word…Sometimes, catenaccio is not bad. I am Italian and we won a lot with catenaccio.”
Ancelotti is not a Mourinho type of manager; you do not win a Champions League final 4-1 by trying to kill the game off from the outset. But for Arsenal, having a manager that is willing to sacrifice playing “the right way” just every once in a while would be massively beneficial.
Knowing how to organise a team like this is an arrow that Wenger just does not have in his quiver.
Bringing in Ancelotti may help solve Arsenal’s defensive issues without having to spend north of £100m on defenders.
Arsenal have plenty of attacking players, with Özil, Mkhitaryan, Aubameyang, and Lacazette set to make a fearsome front line next season.
Where they need help is at the back. Though defensive reinforcements would certainly help, the coming managerial change may bring about a revolution at the back by itself.
The Italians have long been rocks in defence, and Arsenal should look to Ancelotti or Allegri to bring that defensive tactical acumen to North London.
Credit for quotes from FoxSports.com, statistics courtesy of FotMob