Arteta: Awesome foursome can be our defence for years
BY
MIKEL ARTETA believes Arsenal’s cosmopolitan young quartet could be the club’s defence for the next six years.
Arsenal have a Japanese, a Brazilian, an Englishman, and a Scot in their back four.
And since Takehiro Tomiyasu, 22, Gabriel, 23, and Ben White and Kieran Tierney – both 24 – came together, they have helped the Gunners recover from a dreadful start to the season.
Tierney missed out on the win over Aston Villa and the midweek Carabao Cup victory over Leeds with a bruised ankle.
He is expected to be fit today to reunite the quartet at Leicester, while White – one of several Arsenal players to have been hit by a sickness bug this week – should also be OK to play.
The Gunners go to the King Power unbeaten in six matches in the Premier League. It is too early to expect this current rearguard to match the longevity of the famed Gunners defence – Lee Dixon, Tony Adams, Steve Bould/Martin Keown, Nigel Winterburn – which ruled for more than a decade after 1988. But asked if this current quartet could be Arsenal’s back line for the next five or six years, manager Arteta (above) said: “The potential is there because of the qualities they have individually. It is how they can complement each other. With the age of the group we have here, if we manage them well and they are willing to sustain that, they have a really bright future.” And the language issue? “That is the beauty of football,” added Arteta. “You have to connect different cultures, languages, ways of thinking, different backgrounds, because they have all been coached in different ways. You have to link the pieces.
“I am lucky because they are so willing to learn, to understand and try their best. Gabriel has been crucial. He came back from a knee injury, so missed all the pre-season, but he showed a different maturity.
“His lifestyle, his language has improved, and he has all the qualities to be a superb central defender. For any centre-back partnership, communication is key.
“With Ben, he’s happy to defend, is really good in duels. He has the hunger. I really liked his character when I met him.”