I'm tired of the Twitter-esque nonstop rantings about how terrible Wenger is. So how bout a thread about actual football. One thing I noticed in the Liverpool match is something that has often been criticized but I don't recall it ever being this bad. A player comes up to the 18 with some pace. The defense is still getting its bearings. A direct attack could cause a mistake. But instead the player kicks the ball out to the wing only to watch the attack inevitably fizzle out with the wing player being dispossessed or crossing the ball to a bunch of players that can't really take advantage of the cross. I thought that bringing in players like Lacazette was designed to NOT do that. Is there any rationalization for this? Can we keep the Wenger bashing to a minimum? He may be 100% at fault for the tactical faults but I would rather talk about the tactics than have another chat about how horrible he is.
Reasons I can think of: 1. On the break, no one's making the runs to get in behind centrally. 2. Passes to get in behind at the 18 yard box are unlikely to be completed - not enough room to pull them off. 3. Players taking too long to make a decision. I'm going to go with 1. No one to pass to.
The 343 is supposed to be a direct formation but we are too slow moving the ball and get caught out on counters when disposed We need to pass to the channels more with runners like welbeck and utilise ozil more from deeper positions I like the formation but it doesn't work with one holding player and an attacking cm Either go to a diamond or drop Ramsey and buy a sitter like seri who is defensively capable
I recall several situations where there were players making runs. Sure the passes aren't going to be easy and they will usually get broken up but I would certainly prefer seeing them make the pass then rather than kick it out wide and start passing around the perimeter until the defense is basically fully set and the trying to make that incisive pass. I feel like Arsenal are trying to play hall-court football while everyone else is playing fast paced transitional football.
All one man's opinion, here. This is a key one, but it also is a factor of lineup and roster selection. (ie: The Giroud factor) In theory this was supposed to be where Walcott and Sanchez cause all sorts of havoc for the defense. Alas. If the club stays with 3 at the back then part of the solution should be simply properly coaching the strikers in the runs to make and in the positioning for the midfielders as the attack builds. Taking Sunday's abysmal performance out of the picture as a (hopefully) rare extreme, Arsenal still struggles in transition due to some of the factors mentioned here but also because it's not a true counterattacking lineup. Not with Ramsey and Ozil as currently employed/performing, anyway. Maybe if Cazorla was an option instead of Ramsey...? I also think that the Prem has gotten much faster over the years as a simple defensive reaction to improved ball control (your "taking time" comment), and not only must Arsenal be faster with the ball movement but they need to do more moving off the ball. Not simply in an attacking run but in supporting the current holder. Arsenal excelled at this when Bergkamp, Llundberg and Pires were running around, as many of the goals from those guys came not from break-aways but from Arsenal able to move the ball around the midfield and eventually get the defense to open up for 1-2 players. You see similar offensive productivity in Chelsea and City the past couple years, but Arsenal couldn't do that with Giroud lacking breakneck speed, Sanchez not making complementary runs, etc. Frankly I'm tempted to go back to 4 at the back, pending further roster changes. Arsenal has given up 8 goals in 3 games, which is awful no matter how you slice it. Need to shore up the defense in a major way, and then the offense will at least be able to operate under more of a Plan A pretense.
Spot on with the second part. We just look like slow motion or that the players are running in water compared to many teams these days.
Which can't be simply about pace. It seems to me that Monreal and Bellerin, both players with pace, were consistently being blown by on Sunday.
No one gets behind Arsenal don't really have direct players outside of Theo and Giroud and do not have fast players minus Theo.
Sunday league teams don't use tactics, it is a kick about not to be taken seriously. Pick a formation and go play.
http://www.espnfc.us/video/latest-videos/600/video/3191196 Burley pretty much eviscerates our tactical stupidity.
+2 for these ideas for a thread! I remember seeing Sanchez try this a few times yesterday, mostly on the left because that was where he was nominally stationed. We all know how direct he likes to be and how he likes to run at players (sometimes coughing up the ball in the process). But this time he was trying to make incisive thruballs to Welbz or whomever was running in behind. At the time I commented in the MD thread that he was playing more like Ozil. And I had the impression that he'd been instructed to do this. That said, I know exactly what you mean and it's completely frustrating! Someone's got a good head of steam and the defense is on their heels, and yet he pulls up and play it sideways, if not sometimes backwards! I usually let out a big loud groan. It happens every game, some games quite a lot.
I think one of the reasons we have suffered is because Ozil is way too deep. He's most dangerous when he can move freely in the final third and get the ball in the final third where he can do maximum damage. Needing to drop deep to pick up the ball severely limits him from doing what he does best. This is why Cazorla was so important. He was able to get the ball to Ozil in more advanced position. Xhaka is suppose to be able to do so, but we're moving the ball much too slowly.
I don't think so. Wenger called him a B2B when he first arrived. I don't think he was ever seen as a DM. Most importantly, he was brought in after Cazorla suffered from a long injury.
This is a good piece. https://arseblog.com/2017/09/tactics-column-xhaka-arsenals-separate-flaws-recipe-disaster/ A few quotes: The real criticism is reserved for Xhaka though.
For me we need to have the following senior players on the field, I think our best bet is to just blow up how certain players see themselves and deal with the repercussions of that in the summer. Mostly playing Ozil do drum up some more serious interest, although I don't think he is going anywhere unless one of the top teams have a serious rebuild. Lacazzette Ozil Ramsey Iwobi Xhaka Kos I would do a 5-3-2 --------------Laca----Welbeck-------- -----------------------Ozil-------------- ----------------Xhaka-----Iwobi----- Kola----------------------------------Ramsey ---------Holding---Kos---Mustafi The idea being Welbeck is first defender on the Right, and I want to run the left side of the opposition into the ground every game. Ramsey is free to join the attack or drift central to cover for Iwobi, but is drilled to know his defensive responsibility is to get back to cover on defence. Ozil and Laca have 2 responsibilites pressure the 18 yard box on turnovers and get open together on the defence. Defensive posture is contain and divert. Iwobi playing the "Carzola" role Everyone not listed playing their normal roles. Simple easily defined roles for the majority of playing staff, and have a selection of 3 or 4 stock plays for getting out of our half and penetrating the box. Get to the January pick up some pieces, offload some people who aren't getting time. Bring in some of the young guys, like Bielik who I think could do a job at CB.
Good writeup. The question for me is whether Xhaka isn't being told what to do properly or whether he just ignores it? It seems to me that this is a structural issue and part of the reason why Wenger seems to deathly allergic to getting a true DM. And at this point it baffles me because it would seem that the style we are playing desperately needs a quality stay at home DM that can distribute to Xhaka or Ramsey or whomever.
So, we're going to have a team where we only have one established scorer? Welbeck and Ozil have never contributed 10+ goals for us.
I agree. I don't see how this was mainly Xhaka's fault, unless Wenger told him to hold his position, and he just doesn't. The article also makes a very good point that the back 3 was suppose to make us stronger against counters, but it's not, because of the 'yuge' gap between the D-line and midfield.