Can Arsenal’s “wall” break Mourinho’s record?

 The “Special One” and Chelsea achieved something unprecedented in the 2004/05 season.

Besides creating an incredible two-horse race last season with Manchester City, Arsenal received a lot of praise from enthusiasts for conceding only 29 goals in 38 matches.

This season, with the addition of quality defender Riccardo Calafiori and the return of Jurrien Timber after a long injury layoff, Arsenal aims to build a formidable defense similar to what Jose Mourinho did at Chelsea 20 years ago.

The “Special One” set a record in the 2004/05 season, conceding only 15 goals – the fewest in a Premier League season.

The Blues won the Premier League title that year with 95 points and a goal difference of +57.

In that season, Frank Lampard was particularly impressive, contributing 13 assists, while the striker duo Eidur Gudjohnsen and Didier Drogba scored 12 and 10 goals respectively.

Their defense was equally formidable – legendary goalkeeper Petr Cech kept 24 clean sheets, backed by a defensive line of John Terry, William Gallas, Ricardo Carvalho, and Robert Huth. Additionally, Wayne Bridge and Glen Johnson performed impressively whenever given the opportunity.

Besides that, midfield enforcer Claude Makelele played an extremely important role in making the path to Chelsea’s goal difficult for any opponent.

Returning to the present, Arsenal also possesses the necessary conditions to create something notable in their defense.

Not only welcoming new signings, but the trio of Ben White, William Saliba, and Gabriel, whom Mikel Arteta has painstakingly built and trained through many tough matches, are now mature.

There, whether Timber or Calafiori becomes the final piece, this defensive quartet shows stability.

Despite facing a tough schedule, Arsenal has conceded only 3 goals so far (1 against Brighton and 2 against Man City).

Notably, in both encounters, they were reduced to 10 men on the field.

Against Brighton, Declan Rice received a second yellow card and left the field in the 49th minute, and just about 10 minutes later, the Seagulls equalized 1-1.

Things got worse when they faced Man City. At the time when the Gunners were full of momentum, Leandro Trossard was also sent off for time-wasting at the end of the first half. Consequently, Arsenal had to defend for the remaining 45 minutes and conceded an equalizer in the final minutes of stoppage time.

In those challenging moments, however, they showed the necessary solidity, standing firm against the Premier League’s strongest attack for most of the time and only succumbing to a rather surprising situation.

Moreover, Man City also acknowledged the “dark arts” in Arsenal’s gameplay as they sought to create discomfort for their opponents.

This solidity, combined with a bit of cunning, is gradually turning the North London team’s defense into an impenetrable wall.

Legend Gary Neville, when asked if Arsenal could achieve a defensive feat similar to Chelsea’s in the 2004/05 season, responded:

“I don’t know about that. It’s quite an incredible record. They only conceded 15 goals in 38 matches. To this day, I still can’t believe they actually did that. I think Arsenal will come close to that number, but I don’t think they can break the record.”