With 13 clean sheets last season, Arsenal had the eighth-best defence in the league. First-choice keeper Aaron Ramsdale kept 12 of those, but that was still two below Edouard Mendy and four below Hugo Lloris. The Gunners conceded 48 goals in the 25 matches they conceded in.
At that rate, nearly two per game, whenever Arsenal conceded, they had to score three to win. It wasn't a sustainable model, even with three new defensive reinforcements brought in.
Ben White from Brighton on a big-money move, Ramsdale himself from Sheffield United and Takehiro Tomiyasu from Bologna all formed part of Arteta's youthful defensive rebuild. As might be expected from a new look backline, their performances were hit and miss.
