EPL wrap: High-quality defence is a forgotten art

London: Wednesday in the Premier League was another typical night of laughably bad defending, sporadically impressive forward play, two fine comebacks and a total clean sheet count of… nil. Much has been written about high-quality defence being a forgotten art. Some argue that it’s come about because referees are so much more likely to caution or dismiss players for over-enthusiastic tackling. But that’s not a convincing argument because whenever you review a goal and examine defensive errors, it’s not because a defender has failed to put in a strong enough tackle. Instead, it’s simply basic errors that are being made. At the Emirates Stadium, where Arsenal and Liverpool ultimately took a point each – an apt conclusion for two teams who have generally disappointed this season – the first goal featured three separate and glaring defensive errors. First, Bacary Sagna fell over to allow Glen Johnson to skip into a threatening position. But then it got much worse. Thomas Vermaelen completely missed his kick under no pressure and when Jordan Henderson tried to play in Luis Suarez, there was still time for Aaron Ramsey to clear. He failed to do so, and Suarez did the rest. By the time Arsene Wenger was forced to bring on Andre Santos for the injured Kieran Gibbs, Arsenal fans must have been scurrying behind sofas fearing further horrors. And so it proved, as Jordan Henderson – from a not very promising position — waltzed past Santos as though the defender wasn’t there to make it 2-0 to Liverpool. Only half an hour remained at this point, but this Liverpool side cannot call on the skills of some former defensive giants of the past. Three and a half years after Sami Hyypia’s retirement the Finn’s absence is still sorely felt, and lo and behold Daniel Agger was the wrong side of Olivier Giroud when the French forward rose high to nod home Jack Wilshere’s free kick. [caption id=“attachment_608200” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Jordan Henderson of Liverpool scores their second goal during the Barclays Premier League match between Arsenal and Liverpool. Getty Images[/caption] The Liverpool defence was now panic stricken, Arsenal dominated possession and the slick movement of Santi Cazorla and Theo Walcott threatened more goals. The equaliser arrived just seven minutes after Liverpool had been 2-0 up and for once you simply had to admire Arsenal’s forwards, particularly Walcott who rifled in his shot from a tight angle. Manchester United’s penchant for conceding an unnecessary early goal has become so normalised that new Southampton manager Maurcio Pochettino wisely chose not to celebrate his team’s early opener at Old Trafford. It came as a result of a weak back-pass from Michael Carrick and a half-hearted challenge by David de Gea — though Jay Rodriguez did very well to control a bouncing ball from a wide angle and take the chance. Two Wayne Rooney goals quickly put United back in charge, but in the second half Southampton were excellent, impressing Sir Alex Ferguson who made the rare admission afterwards that his team were lucky to win. Pochettino has set his team up to press deep into their opponents’ half, and it will be interesting to see where this young Spanish manager can take the newly-promoted side. Meanwhile, Chelsea ended the day 13 points behind United after spectacularly blowing a 2-0 lead with just three minutes to go against Reading. Though Reading have become rather good at pulling a rabbit out of the bag late in the day, it was fairly pathetic to hear Rafael Benitez afterwards say that his team could have been five goals up by then. He should have conceded that his defenders were hopelessly positioned for the second of Adam Le Fondre’s two goals. Reading’s super sub has scored five times in his last three appearances and his late goals have lifted them out of the relegation zone for now – but as much as much as one wants to applaud a journeyman pro come good, you also have to criticise the suspect quality of some of the defences he has managed to dismantle in recent weeks. But perhaps it’s a red herring. Perhaps the difference between teams has been attack rather than defence. Manchester City have produced 11 clean sheets this season but their title defence is beginning to run out of steam: they’re seven points behind United who – by stark contrast - have just five clean sheets from 24 games. Bizarrely, QPR — still last despite notable improvements this calendar year and with a raft of transfer deadline day deals to come — also have five clean sheets. Make of that what you will.