Translated by

Arsenal under pressure: absence of 'the rock' has exposed Arteta's most serious weak point

7 goals in 3 matches!

Arsenal have appeared shaky at the back during pre-season, prompting doubts over whether they can stay solid without William Saliba as the Premier League opener comes closer.

The Gunners have been breached seven times across three friendlies, an alarming sign for Mikel Arteta before next Sunday's Community Shield meeting with Manchester City.

The spaces that have appeared in defence point to one clear reason: the missing balance and assurance Saliba brings. That is according to Sky Sports.

Saliba is sidelined with a serious back injury that is expected to keep him out for a lengthy spell. Meanwhile, Jurrien Timber still requires a few more weeks before he is ready to return.

All of that leaves Arteta light on defensive choices ahead of Wembley. City will provide the side's first proper examination before the campaign gets under way.

Defensive figures that raise concern

Arsenal have conceded 2.3 goals per game over the three friendlies they have played since the beginning of August, with six goals let in across the last two matches alone.

When placed alongside last season's Premier League average of 1.4 goals conceded per game, that number looks even more troubling.

For more than three years, Arsenal had not shipped three goals or more in back-to-back matches in any competition. That makes this pre-season a particularly unusual one for the London club.

Arteta can, of course, point to the nature of friendlies. They offer an opportunity to test ideas and systems, and to make errors before the team reaches full sharpness. As the weeks go by, players recover fitness, the tempo increases, and the understanding between new arrivals and established players improves.

The Spanish coach also has several important players gradually returning to the squad. He must also integrate his newest signing. Bruno Guimaraes is expected to play a major role alongside Declan Rice, strengthening the midfield and reducing the burden on the defence.

Mistakes that cannot be overlooked

Even so, Arteta cannot dismiss the defensive openings that appeared in Sunday's defeat to Borussia Dortmund, despite the fact that his back four was the strongest combination available to him from the players at hand.

Gabriel made his return for the first time, coming in for Piero Hincapie in the centre of defence. Even the Brazilian's presence was not enough to solve the issues.

If anything, new positional mistakes emerged. Gabriel and Cristhian Mosquera both committed glaring errors, highlighting a weakness in the defensive structure rather than merely a shortage of individual quality.

Saliba's absence, it seems, has had a deeper impact than anyone anticipated.

Arteta is expected to persist with the same back four against Manchester City, having played a final friendly against Como on Wednesday. That gives him one last opportunity to smooth out the flaws before the expected showdown at Wembley.

The Spaniard knows his team must be close to peak condition. The clash with Manchester City gives him an opportunity to strike an early blow against one of his most high-profile direct rivals.

Arteta facing a different kind of pressure

The Charity Shield may only offer a symbolic trophy, but a match like this matters for a team trying to impose itself on the season from the very beginning.

Arteta, currently the longest-serving manager in the Premier League, will not receive the patience and margin for error that might be granted to someone in a first season, such as Enzo Maresca.

The Manchester City game will be the 353rd match of Arteta's managerial career. That number underlines both the extent of his experience and the expectations placed upon him.

The defeat to Dortmund clearly hurt, and Arteta did not try to disguise that despite the friendly status of the game. He described the loss as "painful".

"We conceded poor goals in the last match, and more poor ones today, particularly in relation to the way we competed and performed," said the Spanish coach.

Those comments reveal a clear understanding that Arsenal are still some distance away from the sharpness and intensity Arteta expects from his players.

Set-pieces and shots reveal the weakness

The issue may be more straightforward than it first appears. Arsenal conceded six goals across the matches against Real Betis and Borussia Dortmund. Three of them came from shots outside the box, while two arrived from corners.

Those figures show an unusual collapse in positioning and organisation as soon as Arsenal lose possession, and they also stress how much improvement is still required in set-piece defending.

The midfield tells a similar story. Declan Rice's return should improve the defensive roles and responsibilities in that area, with Bruno Guimaraes and Martin Odegaard operating alongside him.

That trio gives Arteta more options to control the centre of the pitch and restore the balance between attacking construction and defensive protection, something his side lacked at times during pre-season.

Arteta has spent the past few weeks working on the creative side of his midfielders and playmakers. At certain points, however, that emphasis has come at the expense of the team's defensive solidity.

A new equation for Arteta

Arsenal came in for strong criticism last season for relying too heavily on set-pieces to decide tight games, while their threat from open play occasionally dried up.

Reworking that balance was essential, especially with the team entering the new campaign as reigning Premier League champions and with all that brings in terms of the need for a more varied style of football.

Arteta also now has much greater freedom to rotate his line-up without reducing the side's quality to the same extent. That flexibility could help him shape his style in a gradual way.

Any expected progress under Arteta depends on his ability to produce a more effective and entertaining possession game. Chance-creation numbers from the recent friendlies suggest the team is already moving in that direction.

However, improving the attack cannot come at the price of defensive stability, particularly now that the team has lost one of the central pieces of its defensive structure with Saliba out.

This week gives Arteta his first chance to work with a squad that is closer to full strength, as the World Cup contingent and the England internationals return to training.

The biggest task facing the Spanish coach is to close the defensive gap that became so obvious during pre-season, and to find a temporary solution for Saliba's absence before it develops from a short-term issue into a real weakness that could damage Arsenal's start to the new season.