Arsenal’s defensive shortcomings loom large as long search for away clean sheet goes on

Other clubs competing for the top four may have had moments of defensive fragility at times this season but none appear quite so dysfunctional at the back as Unai Emery’s.

If ever there could be a more damning condemnation of Arsenal’s current defensive shortcomings it came here, at the John Smith’s Stadium, in the 93rd minute of a victory that should have been far more comfortable than the scoreline implied.

Deep in injury-time, confusion at the back allowed Huddersfield forward Adama Diakhaby through on goal, with his attempt being turned into his own net by Sead Kolasinac, denying Arsenal their first away clean sheet of the season.

It would have been somehow symbolic, given that the Gunners’ last away clean sheet in the Premier League had come on the same ground in Arsene Wenger’s last game in charge in May, if Arsenal had managed to achieve that modest target on their return to West Yorkshire.

But no. Other clubs competing for the top four may have had moments of defensive fragility at times this season - none more so than in-form Manchester United - but none appear quite so dysfunctional at the back as Unai Emery’s.

“This season, we don’t have a clean sheet away?” asked goalkeeper Bernd Leno, incredulously, when asked about the statistic.

“I think this season we have conceded goals too easily. Sometimes it happens at the end of games - Cardiff at the end, Newcastle at the end and today at the end.

“It always seems to happen when we are two goals in front, so maybe we are losing a little bit of concentration because we feel too comfortable when the games are coming to the end.

“We have to work on this because the defence for me is the most thing to enable us to get back into the top four.

“For me the most important area is the defence because we have the quality in the front line. We all want to improve and we can do that by being strong in the defence.”

The fact that Arsenal have conceded just two more than Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side, while scoring one more than United, suggests the problem is hardly terminal.

But to fail to keep a clean sheet against a Huddersfield side among the worst in Premier League history for this stage of a campaign, and with five home league goals all season before kick-off, spoke volumes.

“Today I thought we did a very good job because it was not only the defence, but the whole team who must defend the goal,” added Leno.

Arsenal kept themselves in the hunt for the top four (AFP/Getty Images)

“It’s easy to say it is the goalkeeper and the defence are the reasons why we don’t concede many goals, but it is the whole team.

“The whole team has to defend and we have improved from December, when maybe we had some games where we were not so good, and we are still working on that.”

At least Arsenal are currently doing enough at the opposite end of the field to keep them in contention for a place in next season’s Champions League.

Alex Iwobi and Alexandre Lacazette scored the first half goals that left their team well in control and for the former, whose goal took his league tally for the season to a modest three, there were signs of much-needed improvement.

“He is young. He has a big commitment,” said Emery. “He has a very good physical condition.

“He needs to improve, tactically maybe also, some things. Above all, he needs to be calm with the ball in the attacking third to have more assists and create more possibilities to score, to know when to shoot and when to dribble.

“Today he scored and he had another very good chance. He had also the chance to assist Lacazette but I think his match today, starting with his attitude, was very big. Afterwards the performance also was good.”