Arsenal: Christian Norgaard reveals key to Gunners' watertight defence as clean-sheet record within reach | OneFootball

The Gunners set a new defensive standard if they do not concede at the Stadium of Light on Saturday

Christian Norgaard said Arsenal love defending after they kept a club-record eighth consecutive clean sheet against Slavia Prague.

The Gunners have long been lauded for their defensive solidity, but have hit a new gear this season, conceding just three times in 16 matches in all competitions.

Their 3-0 win over Slavia was their eighth clean sheet on the spin, breaking George Graham’s record of seven, set in 1987. Should they fail to concede for a ninth straight match, they would set the best defensive run since Liverpool’s in 1920, and Preston’s in 1889.

Continue in this vein, and Arsenal could even set their sights on Chelsea’s scarcely believable defensive record from the 2004-05 Premier League campaign, during which they conceded just 15 goals.

According to Norgaard, who signed from Brentford this summer, Arsenal’s knack for defending has grown innate.

“That's how we want to have it look like,” he said. “But we know also the difficulty of it and it's not something that can go on for a whole season.

“But we want to concede as little as possible. Like I said, when you concede as little as possible, there's a good chance you're going to get away with points.”

Norgaard continued, saying Arsenal love defending, and want to be known for their watertight back line.

“I think it’s just something we want to be part of our identity.

“We need to love to defend, and when you look at our defenders and goalkeeper, they look like players who really love to defend. We hope we can continue that over the season.

“If you can keep a clean sheet, there’s a good chance of you getting three points. But it was not easy [against Slavia Prague].

He acknowledged, however, that Arsenal will be hard-pressed to keep their streak alive when they face Sunderland away on Saturday.

“It’s going to be so difficult. The atmosphere is going to be buzzing. Sunderland are doing really well this season, so we have a lot of respect for them. The objective is to keep the good form going.”