Opinion: Why Southampton Centre-Back Pairing Get The Better Of Metersacker And Koscielny

Arsenal are sitting pretty at the top of the Premier League right now going into an uninspiring international break, and while many have criticised their backline they have only conceded 10 goals this season, the third least in the Premier League. Only Spurs and Southampton have conceded less, and few have performed as strongly as Per Mertesacker have this season, and paired up with Laurent Koscielny there looks as though there are few better partnerships. But for me, there are.

For me the most impressive has been the Southampton pairing of Dejan Lovren and Jose Fonte. The duo have conceded just five goals while also scoring twice between them. 

Lovren in particular has been a giant at the back. He has the best duel success in the Southampton side – completing 20/24 of his tackles, completing all four of his take ons and winning 48/66.

Fonte has won 12/15 of his tackles and 34/55 of his headers, while also completing 82% of his passes, the same as Lovren.

The pair have been integral to the system that Mauricio Pochettino has implemented at St Marys this season and have commanded the maximum of respect from the rest of the league.

For me, you can keep your Mertesacker and Koscileny, your Rio Ferdinand and Nemanja Vidic and any other pairing – give me these two any day.