Arsenal come out good from their travels

Written by Joel Che on Monday, September 22, 2008

Results

Date	Time	C	Opponent	F	A	R	S
20 Sep	3:00 PM	P	Bolton Wanderers (A)	3	1	Win

This weekend, Bolton v Arsenal was a sideshow. Chelsea v Manchester United was the big game. Mourinho played with Drogba, Makelele and Essien. Lots of power without much grace. Now Scolari plays with Deco and Chelsea have some grace. Without Deco and Essien Chelsea were a little bit lost – they never quite knew whether to pass the ball or hoof it. A draw was a good result for Chelsea and kept Arsenal top. Now Arsenal's loss at Fulham seems expensive. The league won't be easy and we should have made more from our relatively easier start.

Blackburn v Arsenal was the start of an annoying trio of away games for Arsenal. I'm always nervous when Arsenal play. It's not like the good old days where you could count points before they were won. The loss at Fulham reminded us that the team still has vulnerabilities – not least its own mental strength and defending high balls. Arsenal and Liverpool are the only top 4 teams that you can't bet on with confidence against a bottom team yet you can't bet against them if they were playing Real Madrid either.

It would have been great to win the first Champions League game but if you put it in the context of three consecutive away games in the north and in Kiev then 9 goals, 2 wins, 1 draw and 1 injury looks good – very good in fact if you consider injured players.

I was surprised with the midfield in Kiev. I felt Song, Denilson and Francesc Fabregas on the pitch confuse each other and unbalances the team. However, I believe it was right for Wenger to try it. Wenger has to try a lot of new things with this squad to find out what works. One player change can have a massive effect on another player and the team and this is the time to find out.

Roy Keane was booted out of United and Ronaldo came alive. He didn't have anyone shouting at him when the things he tried out failed. If Theo Walcott got shouted at whenever he tried to beat three players and failed, he would not do it and with that you lose a lot.

Gilberto and Fabregas played well together season before last. There was nothing seemingly wrong with midfield. But when Gilberto returned late for pre-season Flamini started and we soon realised that instead of sitting back in front of the back four like Gilberto, Flamini ran all around, joined Fabregas going forward and raced to the right and left wing to support defence. The space on the pitch between Fabregas and Flamini in midfield was always smaller than between Fabregas and Gilberto and suddenly it liberated Hleb since he had less defensive duties and Arsenal won the ball higher.

Then Flamini left and Denilson came in. Flamini kept the ball longer and had a bad long pass so only Fabregas could give good long passes in midfield. Flamini's passes to Hleb and Emmanuel Eboué were short – Hleb could deal with it but Eboué couldn't. When Hleb dealt with it, it slowed the attack and when Eboué got it he lost or played a bad pass.

Now Denilson releases earlier and has a better short and long pass. Flamini defended left, right and centre but he only attacked centrally. Denilson defends left, right and centre and attacks left, right and centre. It gives so much more options for Eboué and Walcott.

Eboué and Walcott can get the ball earlier from two players now (Fabregas and Denilson) with space to beat players with speed rather than trying to them at close range. Eboué and Walcott can come inside and Denilson can join attacks and give them options on the right side. Suddenly Eboué is better and Walcott is better. Suddenly Arsenal feel like they have some width.

Emmanuel Adebayor gets earlier long balls from both Denilson and Fabregas now so he can also change his positions and still get a good pass. Now, he can annoyingly increase his offside count but you may also have noticed that you haven't complained lately about his first touch. He gets the kind of balls he can deal with at the right time in the right space. Adebayor can now be a striker as well as a link up player.

Against Bolton, Wenger started Nicklas Bendtner who provided the best compliment to Arsenal's new away game strategy so far. Arsenal's young midfield cannot be expected to control the game away from home so it can make sense make sense to play Song, Fabregas and Denilson and avoid bringing all balls through midfield. Instead, a long passes into the striker – both Abebayor and Bendtner can jump – and followed by short passes in the final third pivoted by Bendtner. Bendtner can also come out to receive the ball from midfield. In this scenario, Bendtner is better for Arsenal away from home than van Persie.

Last year, no defenders were scared of Theo. What the England performances did was to make defenders know that he is trouble. That has given Theo an edge. The skill has always been there but now he has an edge that makes it work.

When he runs at defenders now, they panic like they never did before. When he runs at defenders they feel a similar fear that they have for Cristiano Ronaldo. They know they have to do something because he not just a polite young man anymore, he can score or create a very dangerous situation very very quickly indeed. While they are deciding whether to have a go or just run beside him, he's gone! Theo is so fast that you have to deal with him immediately.

As 6 defenders panicked and watched Theo's run against Bolton, they forgot where Adebayor was until he got the ball. Then they are all turned to look at Adebayor and forgot where Denilson was. By the time they realised what was going on, it was a goal.

Team dynamics are complicated. One player can have a huge unpredicted influence on the team. Who would have thought that Eboué's name on the starting line up would be calming rather than alarming? So it's good to try things but we have to do all our learning now before we start facing much tougher teams.

I am still pretty calm about Arsenal's prospects. Fabregas needs a rest and it looks like Bacary Sagna needs one too. He doesn't look himself. Eboué needs to keep playing. Like Walcott, every good performance is making him better. Eduardo and Tomas Rosicky must be looking at the team and thinking that getting fit alone is not going to guarantee a starting place.

As I mentioned two years ago, Alex Song is very much like Gilberto. I don't think he is the best partner for Fabregas but he could be a good partner for Diaby. I really rate him and believe he has the potential to join that list of simplistic great players Gilberto, Makelele, Tigana, Dunga, Koeman etc. But I think he needs the right partnership and I am doubtful it is Fabregas. With competition so tough in central midfield, he needs to stake a real claim soon else he will be third choice centre back.

Arsenal look really different. They cross many balls – lot and lots of them. They consciously play long balls – lots and lots of them. They can strategically give up a midfield fight to avoid being dominated and bogged down and use their midfield only to defend and to nick goals – not as a nerve centre of the game – that is very different. But we haven't played anyone really good yet.

Now time for the boys to come home and hopefully be relaxed and awesome win the next game around the cosy arm of their fans. Hull are no pushovers and Sheffield United will present a credible challenge in the Carling Cup midweek.

User Comments

24

Darrell

Posted on 26 Sep, 2008 at 07:51 PM - Reply

Brilliant article man....
Last year we played beautiful football but struggled to score.. you explained exactly why we are scoring so many this year while still continuing to play that beautiful football.

23

peente

Posted on 25 Sep, 2008 at 03:10 PM - Reply

Zohaib, this Arsenal 'fans' ability to pick out anything to criticise Adebayor on simply baffles me. Any striker that positions on the cusp of the back four is going to get a high offide count. That is the way most of the best and most prolific scorers in top-flight football play. Raul, Van Nistlerooy, Owen. Henry too, even at Barca, had an incredible offside count. But you know that once that trap is beaten, alarms bells ring for the opposition. Adebayor is by far and away our best striker in that team. I don't know where the conventional wisdom started that his first touch is not good. Who has a better one in the striking department? And Adebayor comes deep, holds the ball in tight spaces and brings others into the play. Is it a coincidence that he was involved in all our goals at Bolton? Why anyone would prefer to celebrate Bendtner (who still has a woeful first touch and can be quite inconsistent) while berating Adebayor, baffles me. Seriously.

22

Soga Adewale From Lagos Nigeria

Posted on 25 Sep, 2008 at 01:41 PM - Reply

This is a powerful and pragmatic analysis, ofcource a few things are missing, like the role of Nasri and a critical outlook of the defence. However, having seen this team througout pre-season I have been and I remain more optimistic than most fans and this write-up agrees with my thought. WELL DONE.

21

malawisaurus

Posted on 25 Sep, 2008 at 09:10 AM - Reply

Excellent article though I think Diaby/ Song partnership will be too slow for CM.

20

FunGunner

Posted on 24 Sep, 2008 at 04:02 PM - Reply

Very good analysis. Main reason why more of our attacks are more direct this season.

19

Jimmy

Posted on 24 Sep, 2008 at 12:39 PM - Reply

Great article and analysis.

18

Proper Tastic

Posted on 24 Sep, 2008 at 02:42 AM - Reply

once song and djourou become established at centre-back, we'll be fine in that department.

also, dont forget gallas can play right- and left-back if we get an injury for any length of time.

17

zohaib

Posted on 23 Sep, 2008 at 01:07 PM - Reply

goood job joel ! keep it up

i'd like to add some concerns.
we do have amazing fullbacks. but we dont have good enough cover for them. if one of them gets injured, the player covering doesnt have th same sort of attacking penetration out wide and as a result our midfield feels a player lighter, needs to work harder and hence we're a lesser threat in terms of getting a goal. hopefully with rosicky, nasri and co. fit we could overcome this scenario better.

i agree with the assessment of sagna and cesc needing a rest; my thoughts exactly. with the next game against hull maybe arsene could play denilson with song. but then denilson's been playing so many games and most of them for 90 mins, duno if he needs a rest too. diaby needs to come soon. he's 2 weeks away.

i think bendtner deserves praise. he looked really good against bolton. so much composure on the ball.

adebayor, with the no. of offisdes is immensely annoying. someone please explain him the offside rule ! its clear he doesnt know that that means.

16

David

Posted on 22 Sep, 2008 at 08:54 PM - Reply

Kolo Toure is our weakest position. Like i said earlier, he played without using his head. The two goals we have conceded so far were all his fault, and he couldn't convert easy chances in attack during our corner kicks the recent two games. Wenger should drop him to the bench for some games.

15

leycon,nigeria

Posted on 22 Sep, 2008 at 07:55 PM - Reply

really nice article,but i strongly believe nasri has a big big part to play in our fight to the title.

14

Chaz

Posted on 22 Sep, 2008 at 06:17 PM - Reply

Very insightful

13

opiro123

Posted on 22 Sep, 2008 at 05:20 PM - Reply

Good article , it makes me feel great to still know Arsenal has got some good player injured and by the time all this players are fit there'll be competition on the bench and that means when you're given a chance to show case your talent you'll grab the opportunity with all zealousness cos the next guy on the bench is also willing to play out his heart..... have you ever imagined Rosicky,diaby,persie, eboue,vela,eduardo,bischoff,silvestry,ramsey on the bench and people like denilson and song including adebayor wont play out their life? think about an injury free ARSENAL

12

Rusty

Posted on 22 Sep, 2008 at 03:40 PM - Reply

Fantastic article Joël!!

11

MerlinLondon

Posted on 22 Sep, 2008 at 03:32 PM - Reply

Sorry, Rahul! That should have been for Malvin!

10

Ateiyev

Posted on 22 Sep, 2008 at 02:59 PM - Reply

Excellent article and highly analytical. It pinpoints the finer details of the game the average viewer hardly gets to notice or appreciate. Fabegas hasnt been anywhere near his best this season but he has an overall positive influence on the squad that isn't readily apparent from his individual performances. I think the season will be quite interesting,and i hope Wenger gets the balance right.

9

Femi

Posted on 22 Sep, 2008 at 02:52 PM - Reply

Striker is also needed. Arsenal will not ALWAYS be lucky to meet teams who miss too many against them. They MUST convert Chances more.

8

malvin

Posted on 22 Sep, 2008 at 02:23 PM - Reply

suckers all suckers if not vultures when arsene did no buy anyone some of the comments l read were amazing to say the least and now every one is singing praises of the great midfield its such a shame the way people behave. l have always watched arsenal and l have come to understand the dynamics whilst a good piece of work the main thing wenger wanted was physical presence in the form of eboue, brendtnar, song and ade and that the team we are goin to play against chelsea.

7

Serguey

Posted on 22 Sep, 2008 at 01:49 PM - Reply

thanks for the article,mate

6

maria

Posted on 22 Sep, 2008 at 12:38 PM - Reply

GREAT ARTICLE REALLY INFORMATIVE AND INTERESTING HELPS PEOPLE UNDERSTAND LEBLUS THINKING SOMETIMES E.G CALLING EOUBE A PASS-MASTER

5

timmy the dog

Posted on 22 Sep, 2008 at 11:05 AM - Reply

Good stuff - it is rather complicated. It's something lots of fans don't quite get (me included) that how each player plays is often just down to how well the system is working for them (depends on who they're playing too, of course).

Only thing you didn't mention is quite how the line up worked on Saturday - I mean was it 4-3-3/4-5-1 sort of thing? since Song was the holding man it was either that or Denilson on the wing, or something (I only saw the highlights). Either way I don't think Song was partner to Fabregas in the same way as in a 4-4-2, a lot of the time it was him and Denilson, so in view of the result I spose that midfield has potential for away games at least.

Added to the complication is that Fabregas often wins the ball in midfield, lays it off, goes forward, gets it back and looks for the killer pass. Arsenal.com had stats on his tackling and it was great - though a bit worrying as I already was aware Wenger is too wary of resting him. He's almost too good. Hopefully he can have the next two off: Carling Cup and Hull at home.

4

Rahul

Posted on 22 Sep, 2008 at 10:58 AM - Reply

Excellent write up. Every point made might not be accurate but the overall direction of the article is spot on.

3

midexus

Posted on 22 Sep, 2008 at 10:39 AM - Reply

Great write-up

2

gunner from pakistan

Posted on 22 Sep, 2008 at 10:37 AM - Reply

amazing article! i like it. this guy has analyzed quite well! he didnt mention nasri. what would be his role in the team now? i guess we have a player who can shoot the ball instead of passing at the wrong time like hleb would.

1

gt

Posted on 22 Sep, 2008 at 10:18 AM - Reply

Very good article. Now we have a midfield that has lots of options and variability. I am interested to see if we can be less relied on Fabregas in attack. How Wenger will use Rosicky, Edurado, Diaby and Bischoff when they come back will also be interesting.

Our defense still needs some strengthening though; that's really our weakest link.

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