Saturday, 29th September, 2012

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger believes that his side does not possess a purely defensive midfielder.

The Gunners sold Alex Song to Barcelona this summer and Abou Diaby was expected to replace the Cameroon international as a midfield enforcer, or Wenger would enter the transfer market to fill the gap.

relatedNewsStory Instead the Frenchman has played Spanish pass-master Mikel Arteta a little deeper and the former Everton man has shone.


Wenger has now explained that he sees no need for a defensive midfielder at present and instead believes that everyone has a duty to act as a defensive midfielder when the requirement exists within a game.

"There are no defensive midfield players at the moment", Wenger told his club’s official site.

"We try to find the defensive balance collectively. We have fewer players who are purely defenders but some are physically strong in defending like Diaby, some are tactically strong like Arteta", he added.


"At the moment we have the balance because everybody participates, but we have fewer specialists, purely defenders. We are more versatile going forward because everyone has the potential to go forward."

Wenger’s men face a big Premier League test later today when Chelsea are the visitors to the Emirates Stadium.

And with Blues coach Roberto Di Matteo able to call upon the attacking talents of Eden Hazard, Oscar and Juan Mata in advanced midfield positions, Wenger may be instructing his midfielders to have more of an eye on their defensive role than usual.

Read our betting preview: Arsenal v Chelsea.

 

   Latest Features:

Follow Inside Futbol on Twitter