Arsenal arrive at Maradona having conceded just one shot in two games

The Premier League's reigning champions land in Naples on Wednesday 9 September with the meanest defence in English football — the Times calls it a return to old-school defending arts.

by Gennaro SanninoSunday 6 September, 12:49 CET· 4 hours ago

Lo stadio Diego Armando Maradona di Napoli

Lo stadio Diego Armando Maradona — Foto: napuliker · CC BY 3.0

After the defeat at San Siro, Napoli turn to face one of the hardest teams to break down in Europe. Arsenal, the reigning Premier League champions, have built their title challenge on defence rather than the £100m forwards chased by their rivals — in the window that just closed the Gunners added a goalkeeper and two centre-backs.

The Times points out that Arsenal have gone 19 games without conceding, and that for a second straight season they concede fewer corners, shots and shots on target than anyone else in the Premier League. They have picked up no red cards and given away no penalties in 41 league games. Bukayo Saka, their leading forward, ranks second among all Premier League forwards for ball recoveries per 90 minutes.

Head coach Mikel Arteta has invested heavily at the back: 34.5% of Arsenal's transfer spending under him has gone on defenders and goalkeepers, the highest share among England's "big six" clubs (Liverpool sit at 21.1%). Napoli, coming off a 3-2 defeat at Inter's San Siro, host Arsenal at the Maradona on Wednesday 9 September at 21:00 CET (20:00 UK, 15:00 ET) in the opening game of the Champions League League Phase — Allegri's first match in Europe since replacing Antonio Conte.