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Bernd Leno warned his Arsenal teammates that they all had to work to improve their defense if they wanted to rank among the top four in the Premier League this season.
Arsenal are the only team in the league that have not cleared this season and, after their 2-1 win on Saturday at Huddersfield, they conceded 37 goals in 26 games, more than any other top-six team.
Unai Emery has little time to fix the problem before Arsenal starts the decisive series of matches in March that could set their season. Consecutive battles against Tottenham and Manchester United begin this month. Only matches at Emirates Stadium with Southampton and Bournemouth offer them the opportunity to test their backline in the Premier League.
Leno said, "We have to work on this because the defense is for me the most [important] something to allow us to get back into the top four.
"Today, I think we did a very good job because it was not just the defense, but the entire team that had to defend the goal.
"It's easy to say that it's the goalkeeper and that defense is the reason we do not concede a lot of goals, but that's the whole team.
"The whole team has to defend and we have improved over December, when we may have had games where we have not been so good, and we are still working on them."
(Image: SCARFF OLI / AFP / Getty Images)
Arsenal's hopes of winning that first goal on the road only faded in the John Smith's Stadium. The energy and demand of Huddersfield were rewarded at the right opportunity when Sead Kolasinac put the ball in his own net.
But for Leno Huddersfield could have won more than an honorable defeat. The 26-year-old made five saves, more than double his opponent, while the Terriers dominated the second half in their quest for parity.
The German goalkeeper seemed unprepared when he was informed of Arsenal 's dismal defense on the road, stating, "This season, we have no blank sheet?
"I think this season we have all too easily conceded goals, which happens sometimes at the end of the matches – Cardiff at the end, Newcastle at the end and today at the end.
(Image: SCARFF OLI / AFP / Getty Images)
"It always seems to happen when we have two goals in advance, so we may be losing a bit of concentration because we feel too comfortable when the games come in late."
Once again, it was Arsenal's frontline that led the way, with impressive Alex Iwobi scoring the first match and Alexandre Lacazette playing what would be the winner just before half-time.
"For me, the most important area is defense because we have quality on the front line.
"We all want to improve and we can do it by being strong in defense."
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