Liverpool legend-turned-pundit Michael Owen has posed concern over Arsenal’s defensive record, despite their good start to the season, under manager Unai Emery. The north London giants begun the campaign with successive defeats in the Premier League and they have since sorted out themselves with a run on nine victories across all competitions.
Despite this, they have not been able to keep clean sheets of regular intervals and Owen believes Emery’s side could be found out when they come against some of the elite clubs, he told BT Sport: “From an attacking point of view, Arsenal looked back to the good old days; they've got players that can hurt teams. Against the big boys I think their defence might have a couple of question marks next to it.”
Arsenal’s defence had been a prime concern during the previous campaign as they shipped over 50 goals in the Premier League. In this regard, there has not been much improvement with the team continuing to ship goals but they have shown some progress in terms of the away run compared to the previous season.
During the 2017/18 campaign, the Capital outfit managed only four wins from 19 away league trips and “they have already improved on this regard with three victories from just four away meetings this term.“ Despite this, the Gunners top-four prospects may depend on how they perform against the top clubs after suffering back-to-back “defeats to Manchester City“and Chelsea at the start of the season.
Arsenal are currently on a six-match winning run in the Premier League and they are scheduled to face Leicester City at the Emirates Stadium following the international break. Thereafter, they have a tricky London derby at Crystal Palace before tackling their next major challenge against Liverpool at home. Arsenal are winless against the Merseyside giants over the past three seasons with three draws and three losses.