Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger has rejected the chance to add a defensive coach to his staff.
The Guardian says 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.
