If there is one country that embodies the emphasis of football from the emphasis from defense to attack, it is certainly Norway. Once a home base of faded defenders, stoic center halves and thoroughly full-backs, this is now the nation of Erling Haaland and Martin Odegaard.
It is proof of the technical development of the game. But of course it is that in Norway wondering if the balance is wrong. For all the attacking talent that is now being produced, they have not been able to replicate the success of the past.
Under Egil Olsen, lovingly known as Boorlo in his home country, their immediate style helped them to eliminate England in qualifying the World Cup 1994 and then reaching the knockout phases in France '98. Since then they have not been to the tournament anymore.
In a conversation with Thomas Brantsaeter, the head of the player identification of Norway, he imposes the problem – and the efforts that are made to solve it. “We do a lot of work at the federation about increasing the focus on defending,” Brantsaeter tells Sky Sports.
“We are more of passing and now the technical skills, so nowadays we certainly develop different types of players. But defending was crucial for our success under Drillo and it may seem that we have forgotten the art of defending a little.”
The game has undoubtedly changed. In the course of the previous decade, the total number of passes per season in the Premier League increased by almost 50,000. In the meantime, the total number of tackles per season fell by almost 4,000.
Brantsaeter is bone over the scale of the problem. “We get players in our national teams and they are empty when it comes to defending.” These are the best young players in Norway, but he is talking about the fact that they have to start their education almost all over again.
“We now have a project, go to the regions, do presentations and practical sessions about defending – in particular Zonal defense. That is our tradition from the drill era. We think that with small adjustments it can still be the Norwegian way.
“In particular, we concentrate on defending in the box. Arsenal has been great for a long time to defend their box. This is where games are determined and it seems that we do not train it at all or at least not enough.”
The top teams still have the best defenders. Pep Guardiola's success was built on their defensive record, albeit rooted in the principle that possession was the best form of defense. It is the vulnerability of Manchester City at the back that they undermined.
Consider how Real Madrid stood firmly against the city of Guardiola both this season and the city, and finally, a reminder that although defenders of world class tend to work in most matches on the majority of the games, they can protect a box better than the rest if they have to.
As Brantsaeter suggests, Arsenal are emblems. They had the best defensive record in the Premier League last season and are on track to repeat the performance. Their rear -guard road to the city with 10 players in September showed that desire to defend.
The Gunners were of course once famous for under George Graham. One-zero to the Arsenal. Alan Smith, the winner of the Golden Boot in both title profits under Graham, knows that this success was built on the solid defense that operated behind him.
“It will be different methods for George Graham, I would imagine,” Smith tells Sky Sports. “But I am sure that (Mikel) Arteta has worked very hard on that defensive team form, has set time at the rear four and the keeper.
“It is that kind of attention to the detail of management that is the key and I think it has been one of its best performance, if not the best. Of course it's about recruitment. But once you have those players, it's about coaching them.
“We have seen many other clubs bring in expensive defenders and they are not in a unity. So much of it is about positional sentence, that positional work, making sure where your husband is, know where your goal is and you all have your bearings.
“But it is also that willingness to attack the ball and be aggressive with it. Not everyone wants to put his head on the ball. They can find ways to bypass it. But Arsenal certainly has that kind of players who want to put their heads on the ball.
“Look at Sol Campbell and Kolo Toure, two out-and-out defenders who just loved that unpendacular side of the company. I think you should have that mentality as a defender, that you enjoy it. The club lost that resilience somewhere along the way.”
They have now rediscovered it.
Gabriel is a defender in that fungus and enjoys that physical competition. William Saliba is different, but still excels in one-to-one situations. “You want defenders to be good on the ball and Saliba is,” says Smith. “But his priority is closing the opposition.”
There is something almost unnatural about big defense, even Smith admits that the chances can be loaded against them. “It has always been the case, defenders respond and expect strikers. Sometimes you immediately have half a garden on that defender.”
Partnerships are the key, whether it is Campbell and Toure or even Tony Adams and Steve Boulder long before. “That understanding comes with playing together for a longer period,” says Smith. Arsenal's record with Gabriel and Saliba wears that.
It is similar to full-back. “The emphasis is on overlapping or reversing to participate. But managers will quickly complain if a full-back does not stop the cross and it is curled in the box and someone scores. It is the task of a defender to hinder the opposition.”
The underlying statistics show that Arsenal is doing better than anyone else, especially at the transition. They have confronted fewer shots with transition than any other team in the Premier League, although it is thanks so much to their dominance and structure as the individuals.
That is because Arsenal defenders are much less often in one on one situations than those of other parties. Strength in numbers is not just for the weak. Arteta's side prevents this counterattacks before they happen – on honest means or wrong.
“City did it over the years, the tactical error, which you can learn to do without sometimes getting a booking. There is an art about it, stopping the counterattack, a bit off the clock.
Arsenal will fall short in the Premier League this season, Liverpool beats them so heavily. But there is still that chance of glory in the Champions League. “If you are difficult to beat,” says Smith, says experience, “one goal can be enough.”
It is a point that is worth remembering. About in Norway it is now the top in their mind. “We still believe that defending is important and we are working hard to train both attacks and defense,” concludes Brantsaeter. “It's not a case of one of one or.”
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