Five reasons why Arsenal’s defence have struggled this season

Much has been discussed about Arsenal’s frailties in defence, which have been highlighted, most recently, in the games against Stoke City, Anderlecht and Manchester United. These defensive problem have led to the Gunners dropping important points and losing ground to the Premier League leaders Chelsea FC, and coming second in their Champions league group – something which will no doubt come back to bite us on the bottom come Monday’s draw (everyone buzzing for Bayern Munich again, yeah?)

But why has it got to this stage again? Why are we not capable of holding onto leads? Why do we continually throw away strong positions? Why do our defenders, at times, look no better than Sunday League standard?