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The Importance of Defence in Football Success
Attack wins games while defence wins Championships is one of the most common tropes that we see in any team sport that is considered to be an invasion game. Whether we are discussing Football, Basketball or even Ice Hockey the initial statement has a clear tendency to hold true. This idea though seems counterintuitive to an extent. Consider, for example, the costs of players from a recruitment perspective. If we take positions generally then strikers are far more expensive than defensive minded players. There is an element of availability which is having an impact here as there are far less top level strikers than there are midfielders or defenders that tend to be on the market. In general, however, the importance of defence remains the most stable and influential factor when it comes to a football team being successful across a larger sample size and over the course of a whole season.
Understanding Defensive Metrics Through Sportmonks Data
Using Sportmonks data, we gain insights into the Premier League’s top defensive performers this season. This data allows us to examine the critical aspects of defensive play and identify the teams excelling in the early stages of the 24/25 season
Premier League’s top defensive performers (season 24/25)
First, let’s identify the teams performing well defensively based on goals conceded. As of now, Arsenal has conceded only once in the Premier League, while both Manchester City and Brighton have conceded twice. Arsenal has a goal-conceded rate of 0.33 per 90 minutes. Meanwhile, Manchester City and Brighton have conceded 0.67 per 90 minutes. Despite the limitations of a small sample size, these numbers are impressive. Let’s drill down further into these three teams to understand their strong defensive performances.
Arsenal: Resilience Under Arteta
Let’s start with Mikael Arteta’s Arsenal, known for impressive defensive metrics this season. Arsenal have only conceded one goal so far. We can use Sportmonks data to delve into their advanced defensive stats to see what they are doing well
Let’s look closely at their first three league fixtures.
Arsenal – Wolves (2-0)
In their season opener, Arsenal hosted Wolves and won 2-0. In this match, they conceded an expected goal against (xGA) of 0.6602.
Aston Villa – Arsenal (0-2)
In the second game, they faced Aston Villa away and again won 2-0. This time, they conceded a slightly higher xGA of 1.0069.
Arsenal – Brighton (1-1)
Finally, Arsenal hosted Brighton in the third match and drew 1-1. In this match, they conceded an xGA of 1.4052, the highest of the three games. Interestingly, they conceded more xGA in this match than Brighton did. This performance explains why Brighton will be discussed later in this article.
Arsenal’ Formation and tactics
Under Arteta, Arsenal typically plays in a 4-3-3 shape. They are hard to beat and score against because they maintain a compact style. When they build the attack they are very structured in their approach and they do not take risks as they move the ball through the thirds. This allows them to be well-positioned to defend if the opposition wins the ball back. It is extremely difficult to defend against Arsenal as it is but it is even harder to attack against them in moments of quick transition. What has been extremely interesting from Arsenal’s recruitment and squad building is that there has been a clear preference for signing players who are big and strong physically. This does not mean that the players that Arsenal are signing are not good enough technically. But that they are extremely strong and this makes Arsenal exceptionally difficult to break down.
There is a similar situation at the moment with Arteta’s former team Manchester City. The Spaniard was Pep Guardiola’s assistant coach before he moved to North London to take the Arsenal job and there is no doubt that he has taken a lot of the lessons learned in Manchester with him.
Man City: Possession-Based Defence
Now, let’s analyse City’s xGA performance in their opening matches using Sportmonks data.
Chelsea – Manchester City (0-2)
In the opening match, they played Chelsea away and won 2-0. However, they had a higher xGA than Chelsea, recording 1.3290.
Manchester City – Ipswich Town (4-1)
In the next match against newly promoted Ipswich Town, they won 4-1, with an xGA of 0.1959. Despite going behind early.
West Ham United – Manchester City (1-3)
In the third match of the season, they played away to West Ham. They won 3-1 with an xGA of 0.9809.
City’s defensive approach differs from Arsenal’s, but they also focus on recruiting physical players. Their strategy is more possession-based, allowing them to control the game. When opponents attempt to attack in transition, they struggle to do so effectively
While Arsenal and Manchester City were expected to be strong defensively, Brighton’s inclusion is more surprising. This is particularly noteworthy since they have a new coach, 31-year-old Fabian Hurzeler.
Brighton: Surprising Strength Under New Management
Brighton began the season with an impressive 3-0 win away to Everton, recording an xGA of 0.6427. They then hosted Manchester United, winning 2-1 while allowing an xGA of 1.3864. In their third match, Brighton faced Arsenal away, resulting in a 1-1 draw with an xGA of 1.3700.
The recruitment at Brighton has been different to that of Arsenal and Manchester City but in all fairness it has to be as they do not have the same level of resources. They have not concentrated on recruiting bigger or more physical players with more of an emphasis on players who are technically strong but coming from more emerging markets. They are possession-based in their approach to their game and they are similar to Arsenal in that they are very structured in the way that they build the attack and the way that they retain their defensive positioning to defend against moments of transition.
Conclusion: The Role of Defence in the Premier League’s Top Defensive Performers
It is interesting that maintaining a greater share of possession and building the attack in a structured and organised manner appears to be a common thread that runs through the three most impressive defensive sides at this early stage of the Premier League season. None of the three can be considered as purely defensive sides who want to sit deep and defend their penalty area. Instead, they are brave and expansive in possession. he crucial point, as shown by Sportmonks data, is that these teams can limit their opponents from creating high-quality chances when they lose the ball.
