The urgent need for a striker at Arsenal has been very well documented over the course of the last couple of months, and understandably so. With the likes of Theo Walcott and Nicklas Bendtner currently out, even a minor setback to Olivier Giroud could more or less evaporate Arsenal’s threat at centre-forward.

The acquisition of a striker is key, however one area which is being completely overlooked by everyone is central defence. Sure, Arsenal boast the meanest defensive partnership the league in Per Mertesacker and Laurent Koscielny, whose record shows an enviable 20 wins and 8 draws in their last 28 games. They are nearly impenetrable at the back of late, however it must be noted that they too are walking on a tight rope there.

Arsenal have Thomas Vermaelen as a back-up centre-back, but that’s where it ends – no recognized central defender apart from the Belgian. Even if either of Mertesacker or Koscielny were to suffer an injury, they might manage to replace him with an equally able Vermaelen, however that would leave them very thin in number. There is no one at the club to take his place on the bench then, since Johan Djourou and Ignasi Miquel are both out on loan. Arsene Wenger is very much flirting with danger here, and the situation of central defence is equally alarming than that of a striker, as reported by ESPNFC.

The pressure on Giroud to stay fit and perform every week is immense, but so is the pressure on Mertesacker, Koscielny and Vermaelen. All of them are just one injury away from derailing Arsenal’s plans for the rest of the season, and should it happen, it could potentially undo all the good work they have done since August.