LONDON -- Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger believes the days of dominant leaders at the heart of defensive lines are coming to an end, after admitting the art of defending has been transformed since he first arrived in English football.
The dearth of quality central defenders in the European game has inspired some expensive transfers in the last year, with Paris Saint-Germain's 50 million pound purchase of David Luiz from Chelsea and Manchester City's 31.8 million pound capture of the Eliaquim Mangala last summer evidence of a changing football landscape.
Commodities that edge toward extinction gather in value and Wenger suggests that may be the scenario for world class defenders in a modern game that he believes is more focused on attacking play.
"The game has become more technical and our societies are less aggressive than they used to be," he told reporters. "You find more players who may have good technique but less on the aggression.
"In the football education system you cultivate less that intense desire, it's more about the quality of the technique and maybe that creates less defenders and also the rules have changed that make it different for defenders.
"The young boys practice well on quality pitches, whereas before it was muddy and you could tackle and throw your body in -- it created opportunities for defenders to work naturally on their defensive techniques.
"Today it's all more standing up there is less physical commitment because the quality of the pitches is much better. You cannot dive in any more, that is not an option for defenders because red cards and fouls are given much easier than they were in the past."
Wenger went on to express his belief that fewer youngsters aspire to become great defenders in the modern game, as he suggested talismen like Chelsea skipper John Terry and his former captain Tony Adams are a dying breed.
"Someone like John Terry is a leader on the pitch for Chelsea," added Wenger. "He is a Tony Adams type, he organises the team and he reads the game so well there. Maybe Gary Cahill in five, six or seven years can be like that at Chelsea, but you don't find many like that any more."
"If you look at the evolution of English football, when I arrived here, I had the back four all was English but they were not only English, they communicated because they had the same culture, the same way to see the game, they were educated together," he continued.
"Communication is an important part. With people coming in from different countries, communication has gone from the back four, much more than before, and you see less people who talk.
"It doesn't mean there are no leaders but they do not speak always the same language, they are not the same way to respond to situations. That has a little bit gone in our game."
Arsenal will look to banish the ghosts of one of his most recent defeats as they take on Stoke at Emirates Stadium today, with his side's 3-2 defeat at the Britannia Stadium a little over a month ago inspired some of the club's fans to hurl violent abuse at Wenger as he boarded a train back home from the game.
"Our record against Stoke is very good at home and I would rather think about that going into this game," he added. "We have been on a reasonable run apart from a couple of blips and we have some important players coming back, so let's try to build on that."
Wenger welcomes Mesut Ozil, Aaron Ramsey and Mathieu Flamini back to his squad on Sunday, with Olivier Giroud returning from suspension. However, striker Danny Welbeck is still sidelined and is targeting next week's trip to Manchester City to make a possible return.
The manager is yet to decide whether goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny will return following a reprimand for smoking during a post-match shower at Southampton.