The numbers alone will reveal that Arsenal simply haven’t been good enough defensively this season, and it has been a major problem for the Gunners.
Arsene Wenger’s side have the worst defensive record of the top seven clubs in the Premier League, conceding 48 goals in 35 games.
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Putting that into more context, that’s 22 more goals conceded than champions Manchester City, which emphasises the point that it has been a real issue in their inability to compete for major honours.
As a result, it will likely come as a huge relief for Arsenal fans that The Independent report a new goalkeeper and defence will be high on the agenda for the club hierarchy this summer as they plan for life after Wenger, who will step down at the end of the season as per BBC Sport.
Other areas of the squad are also mentioned as being on the agenda for improvement, but the backline has to be the priority not least because of the figures mentioned above.
With Per Mertesacker set to retire and the likes of Laurent Kosicelny and Nacho Monreal on the wrong side of 30, there is an obvious problem in place and a bigger one brewing for Arsenal to address.
Based on this report, it appears as though they will do so, and that should in turn give the side real balance given the attacking quality that will already be at the disposal of Wenger’s successor.
With Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Mesut Ozil, Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Alexandre Lacazette providing the creativity and clinical edge in the final third, if that quartet is given a solid base on which to build and go out to win games, it could lead to positive results for Arsenal.
However, it will be down to the likes of head of recruitment Sven Mislintat to get his signings right and put the building blocks in place for Arsenal to avoid going through further troubles in what could well be a tricky transitional period after Wenger leaves following a 22-year stint in charge.