Arsène Wenger will rely on his coaching staff to erase Arsenal's defensive frailties, refusing to opt for a specialist to improve the Premier League's leakiest defence.

Arsenal have conceded 14 goals in five league matches this season in their worst start for 58 years, leading to calls for intensive training sessions to inject more steel into the back four.

Martin Keown occupied a temporary role of specialist defence coach in 2005, whereupon Wenger's team made history by putting together a 10-game run to the Champions League final without conceding a goal.

One of Keown's more recent roles has been to act as a defence coach for a Premier League sponsor. Yet having taken steps to strengthen his back four with the recruitment of three new players in that area during the summer, Wenger is understood to have resolved to maintain his methods and manpower. That will mean Pat Rice, the former Double-winning full-back, and Wenger's long-term lieutenant, Boro Primorac, leading coaching sessions for the newly assembled backline.

Wenger is expecting a huge improvement from his players, starting against League Two Shrewsbury Town in the Carling Cup on Tuesday night. He wants a swift reaction to Saturday's 4-3 defeat at Blackburn Rovers. "Our season depends on how well we respond to this disappointment and how quickly we cut out the mistakes on Saturday by giving away goals we should never give away," he said.

Asked what was to blame for the defensive problems, he said bluntly: "A lack of concentration, a lack of communication, a lack of co-ordination and individual urgency." Arsenal conceded two own goals at Blackburn through Alex Song and Laurent Koscielny and Wenger wants those players to accept responsibility.

"When you score an own goal you have to look at yourself," he said. "It is never completely out of your reach where you have no chance at all ... We feel that we have given this game away, not that we have lost the game. There is nothing worse in our job than having that feeling."

With two new defenders in the squad in Per Mertesacker and André Santos, Wenger argued that "maybe as a unit we need more time to work" but he is confident Arsenal can recover impressively. "I believe we can bounce back and be very strong this season," he said.

Against Shrewsbury he is set to give first starts to the Japanese forward Ryo Miyaichi and another 18-year-old, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain.

Wenger said: "I will be faithful to our policy but I will try to find a good mixture between youth and experience. You will see the likes of Ryo and Oxlade-Chamberlain. You should be excited about Oxlade-Chamberlain because he is a great talent. My target is to develop him so he confirms the expectation I have for him."

The players with greater experience likely to feature at the Emirates include Santos and Marouane Chamakh, while Emmanuel Frimpong, Carl Jenkinson and Francis Coquelin may also play.

The captain, Robin van Persie, admits Arsenal still have time to turn their season around. "There is lots of time but at some point you need to pick yourself up and prove what you are capable of. We are not doing that at the moment and are not consistent enough. It just frustrates me and it is happening too often. Every time we start positively we just keep making the same mistakes and that is surprising. Even before the game on Saturday I said to the boys, 'Today is a big, big day'. We have to get back-to-back wins and we just cannot do that.

"That is our aim for the next couple of games, we have to win them after each other. We just need a couple of good weeks in the Premier League where we get a lot of points. Hopefully we can start next week against Bolton."