Forget Arsenal’s failing attack, Mikel Arteta faces an even bigger problem right now

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Arsenal are currently winless in their last three matches and a poor run of form has come at exactly the wrong period of time in the season.

Defeats to Newcastle and Manchester United have virtually ended all hope of a domestic trophy this season and a frustrating draw at Brighton meant Arsenal lost further ground in the Premier League title race.

There has been a lot of focus on Arsenal’s failing attack, with misfiring Kai Havertz receiving criticism from fans.

The Gunners have also been targeting three players to replace injured Gabriel Jesus after the Brazilian reportedly suffered an ACL rupture bringing an end to his season. However, with these problems mounting in attack for Mikel Arteta, he would be wise not to ignore another glaring flaw with his side.

READ MORE: Arsenal finally set to complete £51m transfer swoop for ‘dream’ Mikel Arteta midfielder

Arsenal’s defence have kept one clean sheet in seven matches

Whilst Arsenal earned high praise for their defensive solidity in early season form, especially in the 1-0 victory over Spurs at White Hart Lane, the Gunners defence has been more leaky in recent weeks.

William Saliba and David Raya have been lauded for their performances this season and in particular, Ian Wright and Vinicius Jr have praised Gabriel Magalhaes for some of his ‘monster’ displays.

Yet despite this praise, the glaring fact is that Arsenal have kept just one clean sheet in their last seven games and the above trio have made some high-profile mistakes.

Saliba gave away a controversial penalty against Brighton, Raya was beaten at his near post by Arsenal target Bryan Mbuemo and Gabriel was at fault for the Bruno Fernandes wonder strike in the FA Cup by initially being caught on the ball.

These mistakes are damaging Arsenal at vital times. The Gunners seem to have control of games and are squeezing opponents before costly slips undo all of that hard work.

Gabriel and Saliba are not performing as well this season in key defensive metrics

Gabriel has been grabbing a lot of attention for his attacking set-piece threat this season but the Brazilian is not performing as well as last season on a number of key defensive metrics.

Gabriel can be seen to be less dominant in his defensive actions this season and has already made more mistakes leading to goals than the whole of the 23/24 campaign.

A similar narrative applies to his partner Saliba, the France international is also down on a number of key defensive metrics this season.

Saliba is less imposing in the air this season and this was highlighted for Newcastle’s first goal in the Carabao Cup semi final as Alexander Isak fired home following Saliba losing an initial aerial duel.

Defensive solidity has been a huge part of Arsenal’s success in recent seasons and whilst they still have the best defence in the Premier League with just 18 goals conceded, Arteta will want his men to tighten up at the back ahead of a season-defining run of fixtures.

With the attack needing every opportunity they can muster in order to find the back of the net, supporters will be hoping the ever-dependable trio of Raya, Saliba and Gabriel can continue to keep the back door shut in tight games.