Emery's Gunners will be tighter at the back: Bellerin
Arsenal defender Hector Bellerin is confident that new boss Unai Emery will bring much needed stability to the team's leaky defence.
The Gunners have often been undone by defensive lapses in recent years, with the club shipping a total of 51 goals in the English Premier League last season, the most they have conceded in the league's history.
But Bellerin believes that fans can expect a more solid backline with Emery in charge.
The 23-year-old Spaniard said: “For Emery, all his teams like when he’s been at Valencia and Sevilla are all about being very competitive, really tight at the back.
“He had really (defensively) solid players from (even) the strikers helping to defend. I think that’s something that can help us a lot because defending is not just (about) the back four and the goalkeeper.
“It starts from the striker, so hopefully we can get this solidity and be able to compete like his teams have always done.”
Bellerin was speaking at the unveiling of Arsenal’s Puma third kit at Esplanade mall on Friday (July 27), where teammates Petr Cech, Alexandre Lacazette and new signing Sokratis Papastathopoulos were also present.
Emery has already moved to shore up the Gunners' porous backline, with four of his first five signings being defensive players.
In addition to Greek defender Papastathopoulos, the club have also secured the services of German goalkeeper Bernd Leno, Swiss veteran defender Stephan Lichtsteiner and Uruguayan defensive midfielder Lucas Torreira, who is Arsenal’s most expensive summer signing having arrived from Italian club Sampdoria for £26.4 million (S$47.1m) earlier this month.
Sokratis, who is also the Greece vice-captain, said: “For me, the most important thing this year is that we don’t (concede) a lot of goals like last year and, of course, to improve as a team in this defence.”
Arsenal fans will be hoping that this added steel will translate to a top-four finish next season, after failing to secure Champions League qualification for the past two campaigns.
But Sokratis has set his sights even further, saying: “For me, this year we have to win something.
“I cannot promise we will win one big title like the Premier League, but we will try to get something.”
The Gunners next face French giants Paris Saint-Germain at the National Stadium on Saturday (July 27) for their second and final game in the Singapore leg of the International Champions Cup.
They had lost 3-1 on penalties to Spanish side Atletico Madrid, following a 1-1 draw in their first game on Thursday.
Arsenal's Puma third kit goes on sale from July 27.
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