Arsenal’s title push built on defensive strengthpublished at 13:02 BST
13:02 BST
Tom McCoy
BBC Sport journalist
If new leaders
Arsenal are to land their first Premier League title since 2004 then defensive
solidity could be what sets them apart.
The Gunners
have conceded just 21 goals in 26 league games in 2025, the best record of any
ever-present top-flight club.
Remarkably,
they have conceded only eight times from open play in this period – at least 10
fewer than any other side, with Manchester City a distant second.
By way of
comparison, reigning champions Liverpool have shipped 22 goals from open play
this calendar year, which is almost three times as many as the Gunners, and 33
overall.
Arsenal can
now boast formidable strength in depth, with summer signings Piero Hincapie and
Cristhian Mosquera providing high-class cover for first-choice central
defenders William Saliba and Gabriel. They are similarly well stocked at
full-back.
The
Merseysiders, in contrast, don’t have much back-up for key duo Virgil van Dijk
and Ibrahima Konate, with the injured Giovanni Leoni likely to miss the rest of
the season and Joe Gomez used sparingly so far in Arne Slot’s reign.
