When Lukas Podolski lost the ball in the middle of the pitch and Manchester City raced away to the other end to open the scoring, Arsenal fans might have feared the worst. Except this time, Arsenal didn’t repeat the same mistakes as at Chelsea and Liverpool. Instead, they rallied, turning the game into a high-tempo encounter in which they were unlucky not to steal all three points.
If not the win which would have put Arsenal back into the title race, it was a pleasing reaction from The Gunners who would feel relieved not to hear any more talk of “capitulation”, “chokers” etc. After the game, Arsene Wenger said it was a different kind of “courage” that Arsenal displayed after going a goal down, still demanding the ball, still going forward when you know it’s the opponent’s main strength as well as your own. That’s been Arsenal’s problem in the big games this season; so often anxious to make a stylistic impression,* that when things are not going their way, they can crack –and badly – from which there is no fallback position. In that sense, Arsenal needs not just strong individuals, but technical leaders (players like Xabi Alonso, who sets the tempo, ideologue for Real Madrid) or more damningly even, a more robust footballing strategy beyond merely “expressing” yourself.
*Think back to when, before the 1-0 defeat to Manchester United, Mesut Ozil said “we are going to Old Trafford to have fun – and that is why we are going to win.” What we saw instead was a very timid Arsenal performance, visibly uncertain about the best way to break down a defensive United side.
That’s why Arsene Wenger often prefers Tomas Rosicky in the big games because his calmness in possession helps Arsenal keep the ball, and his intensity in the press is perhaps the best at the club. Against Manchester City, his importance was obvious, leading the pressing from the front, tracking back enthusiastically and then providing drive with his ability to suddenly change the direction of an attack by turning on the ball.
Arsenal channelled their nervous energy into a high-pressing performance and that inspired the other players to step up: Mathieu Flamini and Mikel Arteta dovetailed brilliantly in the middle of the pitch, alternating when one gets forward and the other stays back, while Santi Cazorla played with an intensity that he showed when he first signed for the club.
With the freshness that Liverpool have provided this season with their tactical flexibility – one week playing a 4-3-3, the other a diamond and in some weeks, a back three – one tends to forget that Arsene Wenger has made slight modifications to his strategy throughout the season. Initially, Arsenal started the campaign with greater willingness to drop off and eschew possession – that is to find a compromise in matches where they’re under the cosh between their normal swashbuckling style and concerted defensive discipline.
However, in selected matches, Wenger then tried to implant a more progressive defensive strategy, introducing structural pressing to the side (i.e. if Arsenal didn’t win the ball back in “three seconds” or so, as Tomas Rosicky says, they drop back into a compact shape – usually in a block as little as 10-20 metres apart from back to front).
Unfortunately, Arsenal’s approach in this final third of the season has been a little muddled, in certain matches, such as the 4-1 FA Cup win to Everton, pressing right up the pitch, but in matches soon after, against Tottenham and Bayern Munich, largely playing on the break. In that respect, Wenger has tried to be more hands-on, working during this period of tough games in March on a 4-3-3 approach that focused on sitting off more, which worked to some degree against Spurs and Munich, but when facing Chelsea, who implored Arsenal to come forward, The Gunners lacked ideas. Wenger reverted back to pressing up the pitch against Manchester City, and it nearly brought Arsenal the win.
Initially, though, Arsenal started nervously, stifling the effectiveness of pressing up the pitch. That hints at the psychological effort required to play such a way and why perhaps more teams don’t do so when logically, they should because modern players are “taller, faster and stronger, and can press right up to the penalty area” says Arrigo Sacchi. But with Pep Guardiola citing motivational reasons for his departure of Barcelona and subsequently, the lack of pressing from his successor, Tata Martino, it suggests it plays a big factor in coaches using it.
Perhaps, that’s a reason why we tend to see it more in big matches. Indeed, fatigue plays a crucial part to that’s why Liverpool are one of the few sides who are able to press consistently, while one wonders how effective Borussia Dortmund’s pressing would be without the infectious enthusiasm of Jurgen Klopp. With less than ten games left, perhaps Arsenal can make it their default strategy from now until the end of the season?
But as Wenger says, pressing “isn’t about covering distances, it’s about doing it together” and as such, perhaps in the first-half, Arsenal were disorientated by the frequent swapping over of players. Indeed, if you look back at the first two chances Man City created, down Arsenal’s left, it’s Oliver Giroud, not Lukas Podolski, who is tracking the run of Pablo Zabaleta. Once City scored, though, it seemed the players began taking greater responsibility to be in position and that fortified Arsenal’s pressing strategy. There was still interchange of course, but with players being in the right positions, Arsenal were more effective in pressing zones and moving up and down as a unit.
The improved understanding between the Arsenal players was exemplified by the partnership between Arteta and Flamini. Flamini did most of the shielding in front of the defence while Arteta continued Arsenal ticking over up the pitch, but occasionally they would alternate, with Flamini bursting forward and Arteta dropping off slightly. In the build up to Arsenal’s goal, Flamini even looks at Arteta is before making his run into the box, checks to see Arteta’s intention and then runs into the gap in between Manchester City’s two centre-backs.
Both players understand their strengths and limitations perfectly and this shared role seems to suit their needs and the team’s. As Barney Ronay wrote after the game, “this was an Arsenal that their fans will have wanted to see even more than the short-passing aesthetes of early season: a little ragged at times, but spirited and aggressive in central areas.”
With injuries hampering the way Arsene Wenger really wants to play, he may have stumbled on the best formula with his current crop of available players.
