Arsenal’s Wembley test arrives with Saliba absence exposing defensive cracks

Arsenal have looked unusually vulnerable in pre-season, conceding seven goals in three friendlies and raising serious questions about how they will cope without William Saliba when the new Premier League season begins.

Mikel Arteta’s side are due to face Manchester City in the FA Community Shield at Wembley on Sunday, in what will be their first significant test before the competitive campaign starts. Arsenal have conceded six goals in their past two matches alone, leaving the manager with an uncomfortable defensive problem to solve.

According to Sky Sports, Arsenal have been unable to reproduce the defensive stability usually provided by Saliba. The France international is expected to spend a considerable period on the sidelines with a serious back injury, while Jurrien Timber is still several weeks away from recovering and returning to action.

That leaves Arteta with limited defensive options ahead of the meeting with Manchester City. Arsenal have allowed an average of 2.3 goals per game across their three friendlies since the start of August, compared with 1.4 per match in the Premier League last season.

The scale of the decline is highlighted by the fact Arsenal had not conceded three or more goals in consecutive matches, in any competition, for more than three years. The sequence during pre-season is therefore highly unusual for the London club.

Arteta can point to the nature of friendly matches as an explanation. They are designed to allow managers to test tactical ideas and formations, while players build fitness, new arrivals develop understanding with established team-mates and the intensity gradually increases.

The Spanish manager has also begun to welcome back several key players and must integrate his latest signing, Bruno Guimaraes. The Brazil international is expected to play an important role alongside Declan Rice in protecting the midfield and reducing pressure on the defence.

Even so, the problems exposed in Sunday’s defeat by Borussia Dortmund will be difficult for Arteta to dismiss. He used the strongest defensive four currently available, but Arsenal still appeared disorganised.

Gabriel made his first appearance of pre-season in that match, replacing Piero Hincapie at centre-back. His return did not resolve the issues, however, with Gabriel and Cristhian Mosquera both making clear positional mistakes.

Those errors suggested a wider failure of defensive organisation rather than simply a lack of individual quality. Saliba’s absence appears to have affected Arsenal more significantly than expected.

Arteta is likely to use the same defensive combination against Manchester City after Wednesday’s final friendly against Como, which will provide another opportunity to address the weaknesses before the Wembley fixture.

The Community Shield offers only a symbolic trophy, but the match still carries importance for an Arsenal team trying to establish an early advantage over one of their main rivals. Arteta will also be aware that, as the Premier League’s longest-serving current manager, he is unlikely to receive the same level of patience afforded to a coach entering his first season, such as Enzo Maresca.

The game will be the 353rd of Arteta’s managerial career, underlining the experience and expectations surrounding him.

Arteta made clear that he was unhappy with the Dortmund defeat despite its pre-season status, describing the loss as “painful”.

“We conceded bad goals in the last game, and more bad goals today, especially in the way we competed and performed,” said the Arsenal manager.

His comments reflected his belief that Arsenal have yet to reach the level of intensity and aggression he demands.

The nature of the goals conceded offers further cause for concern. Of the six Arsenal allowed against Real Betis and Borussia Dortmund, three came from shots outside the penalty area and two followed corners.

That points to unusual problems with positioning, the team’s organisation when possession is lost and its defending from set-pieces. The midfield has also contributed to the imbalance, although Arsenal’s defensive responsibilities should improve with Rice back in the team alongside Guimaraes and Martin Ødegaard.

That trio would give Arteta greater control in the centre of the pitch and more scope to restore the balance between attacking construction and defensive protection. Arsenal lacked that equilibrium during parts of their recent friendlies.

Arteta has spent much of the past period working on the creative qualities of his midfielders and playmakers, but that emphasis has occasionally come at the expense of defensive solidity.

Arsenal were repeatedly criticised last season for relying heavily on set-pieces to settle close matches, particularly when their effectiveness in open play declined. That balance needed to be corrected as the club entered the new campaign as Premier League champions, with greater demands for a more varied style of football.

Arteta now also has more room to rotate his squad without reducing its quality to the same extent, which could help him develop the team’s approach gradually. Chance-creation figures in the latest friendlies suggest Arsenal are moving towards a more effective and exciting possession-based game.

But attacking progress cannot come at the cost of defensive resilience, particularly with Saliba currently missing from one of the most important parts of the system.

At the start of this week, Arteta has finally had the opportunity to work with a group closer to full strength, as players involved in the World Cup and England’s internationals return to training.

His biggest task is to find a temporary solution to Saliba’s absence and repair the defensive weaknesses exposed in pre-season. If he cannot do so quickly, a short-term injury problem could become a genuine threat to Arsenal’s start to the new season.