Arsenal midfield now has a beautiful structure to it by AM
After three consecutive clean sheets, Arsenal’s new found defensive resolve has come under the spot light and so has Steve Bould and his contribution, and deservedly so, one has to look back the backline of the ‘Invincibles’ to come across a more organized Arsenal defense. Since Campbell, Toure, Ashley cole and Lauren left the club, Arsenal have missed defensive solidarity. So perhaps it is not a coincidence that Bould, formerly part of the meanest defense in Arsenal history (under George Graham), is in the midst of it all.
But this defensive organization is not the only thing that reminds us of Arsenal’s glorious past, finally Arsenal’s midfield structural functionality resembles that of the old. Tactically, these two midfields are different, the one ruled by the likes of Viera and Gilberto and the present one which contains Arteta and Diaby. Obviously, one can’t compare that invincible team to that of the present, ‘that’ team was something special, there hasn’t been a more talented Arsenal squad since (except perhaps the 2007-08 squad, which eventually disintegrated). But this is not about comparing Diaby to Viera or Arteta to Gilberto Silva in terms of talent. This is about the functional similarity that these two midfields have.
The Present Arsenal midfield three consists of Diaby, Arteta and Cazorla (I am not considering the wide men). Although, Wenger used a 4-4-2 formation back during the ‘Invincibles’ season compared to the 4-2-3-1 used now a days – functionally these two midfields were nearly same. Because in ‘that’ 4-4-2, Bergkamp used to drop deep and played almost like a playmaker, similar to the role Cazorla has today.
The back four was protected by the invisible shield Gilberto Silva, the role which Arteta excels in today. While Patrick Viera acted as the connection between the defense and the attack, he carried the ball with his strong and powerful runs and provided a physical impetus to the attack, similar to what a newly rejuvenated Diaby did against Liverpool.
The problem with the Arsenal midfield after Viera left was that, although Arsene played with three men in the midfield, the roles of these three weren’t clear from each other. There were holding midfielders like Song, who were more effective going forward than covering for his defense, there was Fabregas, who started playing further up-field with every passing season. Song was naturally a type of player who could be the connection between the defense and attack, but then who would cover for him if he strode forward? There was ambiguity in the roles of the midfielder.
One thing leads to another and with the lack of someone who could carry the ball through the midfield, someone like Viera, Arsenal defense pushed up and began to hold a high defensive line. While this move minimized the distance between the back four and front three and acted as a temporary solution for the lack of a box to box midfielder, this made the Arsenal defense more vulnerable. The center backs were not mobile enough and they were often caught out from balls over the top with runners getting in-behind them and scoring. An Arsenal team which was famous for its counter attack once, became an easy victim for all counter-attacking side.
Now this as has changed, with a midfield runner like Diaby in the team, the defense has dropped back. The Defense played a very deep line against Liverpool. This also helped in bringing the opponent out, Liverpool pushed up as Arsenal move back and hence left lot of space in behind for Podolski and Cazorla to exploit. Arsenal’s counter attacking football is suddenly back, just like good old days and the clarity in the midfield roles is back with it.
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