Mikel Arteta explains key message that helped Arsenal improve defensively

Arsenal head coach Mikel Arteta has told his side to start enjoying defending after they kept a third consecutive clean sheet during a 1-0 win away to Olympiacos in the Europa League on Thursday night.

The result means they can take an away goal back to the Emirates Stadium for the return leg next week, with a place in the round of 16 at stake.

While a late Alexandre Lacazette finish from a Bukayo Saka cross sealed the win, it was the Gunners’ growing defensive resilience that appeared most important to the Spanish coach at full-time.

“I was telling them that they have to enjoy defending as well, it is a big part of the game and like tonight, if you give simple balls away, you better run back and get that ball back as quick as possible,” Arteta said.

“They played with a big heart, I saw a lot of big effort and instead of splitting it joins together really quickly. The wide players before used to have different behaviours, now they are tracking back everybody.

“I think we are doing a lot of work to try to stay as compact as possible in many situations when we don’t have it, and I am pleased with that because it is big part.”

Arsenal have managed just five wins in 11 matches since Arteta’s arrival, but have kept five clean sheets in that time and conceded eight goals in total.

Considering how porous Arsenal were under former coach Unai Emery this is quite the improvement and Arteta has had to achieve such a feat without the injured Calum Chambers and Kieran Tierney.

Hector Bellerin, Sokratis Papastathopoulos and Sead Kolasinac have also spent time on the sidelines, meaning the 37-year-old has had to be creative with both Ainsley Maitland-Niles and Bukayo Saka filling in at full-back.

However, perhaps his most impressive feat has been the rehabilitation of Shkodran Mustafi, a player whose Arsenal career seemed all but over on Arteta’s arrival.

Paired alongside the mercurial David Luiz, Arsenal’s head coach seems to have forged a functional partnership, with both players using their passing ability to launch attacks from deep.

Arteta has also tempered their penchant for reckless challenges and with the protection of Granit Xhaka in an auxiliary left-back role and a tucked in right-back, Arsenal have been far harder to isolate in wide spaces.

The defenders have also taken a much higher line, which in turn has resolved the spacing issues that were exposing the team’s lack of athleticism in the centre of midfield.

Creative players like Dani Ceballos, Matteo Guendouzi and Mesut Ozil are now forced to cover less ground defensively and are also closer together in attack which allows them to interchange passes more often.

With Arteta just 11 games into his tenure, these alterations remain a work in progress and Arsenal could have conceded early on against Olympiacos, with both Mathieu Valbuena and Giorgos Masouras going close.

However, the Gunners regathered themselves and were resolute enough to secure another valuable win and clean sheet.

On the gravity of the result, Arteta added: “It’s an incredible atmosphere. We have a fantastic atmosphere in the UK but this is at least as good or even better than many stadiums.

“It does affect you, yes. When the crowd generates energy, football is about emotion and that transmits to the players. You have to build with that. It’s not easy for opponents.”