Mertesacker, Koscielny, Gibbs and Sagna... Arsenal finally have a new famous back four worthy of replacing their old school legends



Naming the famous Arsenal back four is easy: Sagna, Mertesacker, Koscielny and Gibbs.

It has taken Arsene Wenger years to replace the brilliant defence he inherited when he took over in September 1996. He has finally done it.

Whether it is by luck or judgement, he has four defenders who are old school in their approach: they simply do not want to concede goals.

VIDEO Scroll down to watch Arsene Wenger: Whole team has shown a huge solidarity



Case for the defence: Mertesacker (above left), Koscielny (above right), Gibbs (below left) and Sagna (below right) are Arsenal's new famous back four



That was the priority in the pre-Premier League days when Dixon, Adams, Bould or Keown and Winterburn were shutting up shop all over Europe.

Last night in the Westfalenstadion, against last season’s beaten finalists Borussia Dortmund, there were haunting reminders of that famous defensive unit. They have gone back to basics.

Look at their record this season and it’s easy to understand why they are five points clear at the top of the Barclays Premier League and leading Group F.

They have conceded just 12 goals in 16 matches the both competitions since the start of the season.

We will overlook the 2-0 defeat against Chelsea last week at the Emirates because: 1. It was the Capital One Cup; 2. Mertesacker was missing.

Old school: Keown (above left), Adams (above right), Winterburn (below left) and Dixon (below right) were members of Arsenal's original famed defence



Back to the BV Stadion in Dortmund. This was heroic, dreamy stuff as Per Mertesacker and Laurent Koscielny stopped everything that came their way.

Perhaps we should have taken these two more seriously when they kept Mario Mandzukic and later Mario Gomez quiet when they went and won 2-0 against Bayern Munich in the Allianz Arena last March. Just a thought.

The transformation in these two is remarkable, almost to the point where you cannot believe they are the same two players who were so chaotic in seasons past.

Incredibly they must now be considered the best central defensive partnership in England. Seriously, name a defence that can compete with them?

Nearly: Another goal from Aaron Ramsey (right) has given Arsenal fans (below) confidence of qualifying for the knockout stages

Mertesacker is a monster, ‘a big f****** German’ as Arsenal’s fans stationed high up in the north stand here reminded him relentlessly.

In return he gave them a performance that was equal to anything we have seen in the Champions League this season. He was man of the match by a mile.

He is demonstrating leadership qualities, finally organising this Arsenal defence and ordering them into position. They respond to his barking instructions.

Koscielny, meanwhile, has the hallmarks of Keown, fighting qualities that are finally being given some recognition.

Poles apart: Arsenal's defence managed to keep in-form Robert Lewandowski (2nd right) from scoring

Let us not forget that Robert Lewandowski scored a hat-trick on Friday night in the 6-1 destruction of Stuttgart in this very stadium.

He had scored the winner at the Emirates when Arsenal switched off against Jurgen Klopp’s team on October 22, but this time it finished 1-0 to the Arsenal.