Talking Tactics: Arsenal Formations
Why is it that every football fan is a master tactician? We all seem to know precisely how our respective club should line up on the pitch; how to best utilize target men, defensive midfielders and wingers and when to make that crucial substitution. We’re also loquacious critics when things don’t go our way; why did the manager start so-and-so? Why didn’t he rest our star player for such a trivial game? Why, oh WHY is Squillaci starting?!?!
Yes, we Gooners are possibly the guiltiest group of misanthropes when it comes to being armchair managers. For the better part of 16 years we’ve been fed with a silver spoon and yet here we are, entrenched in the lull of another summer and left questioning both Arsene Wenger and the board as to why we are still parched by a trophy drought.
Every Arsenal supporter has the answer – just ask him/her. Each will tell you who they would off-load, who they would buy with our seemingly endless transfer kitty and how they would quietly take Squillaci out back and put him out of his misery. However, the most basic answer to the problem seems to be staring us right in the face: our formation.
The formative years under Arsene Wenger were played using a modified version of the 4-4-2 that catered to our use of two holding midfielders and two strikers. In the late ‘90s this helped to not only address the growing physicality of the Premiership, but also the influx of foreign players who introduced a new dynamic that was previously unseen on the domestic stage.
Gone were the days when a central midfielder was just that; a marauding brute who nutmegged at will and rarely got forward. The advent of the ‘creative’ midfielder saw an increase of flair and skill in the middle of the pitch while forwards were encouraged to drift out wide to provide an alternative in attack. Supplemental to this was the fact that a decent holding midfielder knew how to make a crucial tackle and immediately move into position for the counter attack. No player exemplified this more so than Patrick Viera.
The Frenchman was an integral ingredient to how Arsenal played their game during the late ‘90s; a constant presence in front of the back four, yet capable of brilliant bursts of speed that provided both service to the striker and some beautiful individual goals.
Our full backs were also a key feature to Arsenal’s successes. During the Invincible season of 2003/2004 , both Ashley Cole and Lauren were the quintessential models of their respective positions. Anchored by Sol Campbell and Kolo Toure in the centre, Cole and Lauren were able to drive up the wings with blistering pace and were more than capable of tracking back when needed. The holding midfield duo of Viera and Gilberto Silva provided defensive support when needed, but both were also creative players who delivered offense in spades.
As oligarchs and sheiks began to pump ludicrous amounts of cash into the game both in England and the continent, the landscape of player/club relations began to make a tectonic shift. Agents jumped at the chance to make as much money as possible and players were enticed by the pomp and luxury being offered in the form of excessive wages and signing-on fees. As such, clubs like Arsenal were forced to adhere to a more modest pay structure which meant dealing with player departures by replacing them with relative unknowns. One of the only reasons this philosophy worked was the fact that both Arsene Wenger and Arsenal’s scouting system possessed a capable eye for raw talent that promised potential.
The intrinsic problem with the way Arsenal is structured today is that the magical combination of experience and youth has become a polarized gamble. More often than not, attracting experienced players from other leagues means breaking from the clubs wage structure – something that we’re only now seeing. Perhaps this has been the caveat for the last six seasons, but a look at our current formation tells the tale of a team built for attack and attack only.
While Arsenal does deploy a holding midfielder, the lack of depth in both this position and the inability to defend as a team has proved to be an Achilles heel. That’s really the crux of the issue; if you look at the team structure prior to 2004, you will see a squad who played as a single, fluid unit. Each player moved into position to cover another who had pressed forward to compliment the attack, yet each was cognisant of the counter and was able to track back and defend as one. While this universal quality should be present in every club, it’s a presence of mind that only comes when the team is insular, unified and cooperative.
For the first time in a long while, the future looks bright for Arsenal. The summer is young and the club have already conducted some massive pieces of business. The whispers have begun anew, and with a little luck and some intelligent deals, this could be the beginning of something beautiful once again.
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I disagree it’s alawys been going on until about 10 years ago, the norm was for a club to have a first XI and then maybe 6-7 regular reserves, plus a few kids they were trying to bring through. Nowadays the objective is two proper’ players for every position plus a few extras, then send any overspill out on loan.There’s only so much game time available to a club, and before TV money went through the roof, clubs would only pay their highest wages for the players they needed to play regularly. So if you weren’t playing, chances are you weren’t earning and so the opportunity to go elsewhere and play regularly usually meant a wage increase too. If you were Nigel Spackman, would you have left Liverpool for QPR in 1989 if it meant a wage cut too?Nowadays, each of the top three in the league could easily put at least two full-strength prem-standard teams together from the squads they’ve got at the moment, that’s never been the case before. As for people using money to keep players happy on the bench, I don’t remember people thinking Winston Bogarde’s case was the norm when it came up 10 years ago; this would suggest a new thing, no? I can’t think of any 80s equivalents of Wayne Bridge. Not all players are like this but there are plenty around, and the financial landscape of 21st C football has made it possible.It’s a shame Wenger got mentioned in the article, as lots of people commenting have just seized on that rather than considering the argument being made. Is it the case that Arsenal fans are seeking solace on the moral high ground, while all these nouveau riche clubs swallow up the trophies? If you go back and read the article again, ignoring any mention of Arsenal and Arsene, is it any more palatable?
Okay the reason Arsenal are in the aitcrle is because Wenger coined the financial doping phrase, and that’s it. If you prefer to see it as being an attempt to wind up gooners, then fill your boots; but next time you read a piece about Liverpool somewhere, and see thousands of scousers going bonkers in the comments bit underneath, about lazy journalism’ etc and you think, what’s got their goat If you want me to point out who in the Arsenal squad is the exact replica of Bridge or Bogarde, then I can’t, because there isn’t one; for one thing, having built The Emirates on an old Indian burial ground or whathaveyou means that most people within walking distance of the pitch have a good chance of getting a game at Arsenal at the moment. But I’d say Lansbury, Benayoun, Oxlade-Chamberlain and Bendtner would likely have gone elsewhere full-time if Arsenal weren’t prepared to pay them more to not play for Arsenal than other clubs would pay them to play 90 minutes a week.As for comparing eras, yeah this is a very rough way of looking at things really but you did say that players being happy to just bench-warm and collect cash has always been going on, so I was trying to show that it hasn’t.I’m not suggesting this is because players didn’t like money 20 years ago, but it’s just that clubs had a lot less to spend on wages; as they only needed a dozen or so good players in those days, plus a bit of filler, then the first XI was where the money was spent. Clubs couldn’t afford to spend big money on players who weren’t playing, so they didn’t. Another Liverpool example was selling Rush then buying Aldridge; then when they bought Rush back again, Aldridge was out of the side, so they got rid. That wouldn’t happen now if Utd could get Ronaldo back, they wouldn’t start thinking about where to dump Ashley Young, for instance.This alternative financial doping isn’t necessary an intended thing clubs are just signing non-playing players as backup really, eg if Ashley Cole was injured/suspended/rubbish a bit more frequently then I doubt Wayne Bridge would have the reputation he does. (although it would surprise me if Citeh weren’t of the effect on their rivals of signing Nasri, Milner, Lescott, Barry.) But because player wages aren’t linked to what they actually do, then this does see the top six stockpiling good players who aren’t doing anything.eg imagine if Cudicini, Bosingwa, Bridge, Alex, Rafael, Woodgate, Adam Johnson, Milner, Valencia, Berbatov, Anelka, Drogba, Owen, Bellamy, etc. were playing at clubs where they were playing every week eg Everton, Newcastle, Stoke, Fulham, West Brom, etc. those clubs would be much better offer, with little effect on the clubs they left behind. With the result of a much more competitive premier league.I guess one way to look at it might be that it’s not the doping that’s the problem so much, it’s more that not everyone can afford the dope!
Anyone’s thoughts on the fixture list this season? Very Difficult start with Stoke, Liverpool and City away as well as Chelsea at home but all the same we have an October where we should collect all 9 points off West “We play on the floor” Ham, Norwich and QPR. Apart from that opening 6 games it shouldn’t be that awful, lets hope our first away trip to Manchester this time doesn’t go as badly as the one this season did.
Any chance we claim our first league title in 8 years at home to Wigan? Well, unless its a repeat of Wigan at home this season that is
Looking forward today to seeing a bit more of M’Vila and Giroud (hopefully) and maybe a little crocky Theo or Ox-Cham. Still waiting for some inside info on those signings…..
Very nice to see some of the oldsters chiming in with some informed opinion and a reality check for the (one man) dream/scream brigade. As many point out, the squad is in (massive) transition and maybe it’s better to spread the wealth around given that so few of our players have shown that they can really contribute at a very high level over a sustained period. I think it’s what you would call being “world-class”….. It’s exciting to have “big name” players in the squad but a team they do not make (see for example RVP for Holland or Fernando Torres in yesterday’s match for Spain). Obviously, it’s easy to yell SPEND (spend, spend, in all situations), but a reality check might suggest it’s superior (given our needs) to spend the 30-50 million pounds (transfer fees) plus 30-50 million pounds (for contracts) on 4 or 5 players rather than 1 or 2. They might not all come good (or great), but they probably all won’t get injured or have a sudden reversal of form…. And maybe if one or two perform above expectation….. Well, it’s still not a crime to be hopeful on the internet (I think)….
The flip side of hopefulness, of course, is disappointment and the cure for that is low expectations…. Still, I think we can solidify our top 4 position and maybe nick a game or two against the billionaire projects and debtor teams IF a better competitive product is assembled. Who knows, a little internal turmoil in some of those clubs and we might even come out on top over a longer test period…..
It’s a PROCESS and may take patience, which I realize, isn’t for everybody….
Oh well….
@HighburyTerraceSteve,
Might just stay up for this. Ridiculous time for Aus these games (2.45 AM). Only watched the one so far (Holland-Portugal).
The Arsenal part of me wishes that France go out, we don’t want M’Vila to showcase himself and boost his price. Though on the flip side, Diarra’s been keeping him out of the squad so if they go far and he doesn’t feature at all then that might be even better…
@OziKenyan,
Diarra started the first game because M’Vila was injured and Diarra came in and played pretty well, and theres that old saying you don’t change a winning team. Unless you’re England in which case Rooney walks right back in and has done f-all in 45 minutes. Would it be cynical to say if he was in a Man Utd shirt he’d have buried that chance?
@George, ummm. yeah.
ROONEY puts home the Winner for England.
He’s a top class striker… so yes, he walks back into the team.
@stag133,
Yes but tbh I could’ve scored that goal, and probably that sitter he missed as well. Yes he is a top-class player but Carroll and Welbeck did well up top together so he shouldnt walk straight back in surely
@OziKenyan,
Surprisingly, Diarra has played spectacularly, second only to Ribery inb my opinion.
bendtner got fined 100,000 euros for showing off the wrong drawers. holy crap, that’s a huge fine. paddy power would show real class to pay that fine for bendtner. one would like to believe that they will, hence, the reason the fine is so high.
@joshuad,
And Croatia got fined 8,000 Euros for racist chants. and oh, Russia got fine 12,000 Euros for fans who beat up stewards.
@Caribkid, two football federations get charged chump change for their fans doing immoral things but an individual player get’s charged five times as much because he’s got on the wrong color underwear? can anyone make that dilemma make sense? has any one player ever been charged 100,000 euros for anything before? while i’m not a big bendtner fan, that is so unfair.
uefa are some jaded mo-fo’s.
@joshuad, Josh, glad you’re posting
again….(lol on the comments below….)
UEFA are just trying to maximize their profits/brand and want
Paddy Power to use their own advertising channels (hoardings
maybe, advertising on their websites/TV affilliates). Credit
to Bendy (who PP will surely compensate) for being the ultimate
shill and finding innovative ways to make some $$$. Today’s
Arseblog says it better than I can….
@joshuad,
PP came out today and said they will be paying the fine for him. Probably will sneak him a few more quid under the table for all the advertising mileage they got out of it.
@joshuad,
The hilarity of it all doesn’t end there. UEFA have inadvertently provided marketing gold for Paddy Power. Guys like myself who didn’t watch the games, all the published pictures all over the web/newspapers (which cost bucketloads of money as paid ads) etc etc.
And it isn’t even the first time these footballing bodies are doing something like this: Anyone remember the dutch beer girls during the last world cup?
funny guy you are, ross. you accuse arsenal fans of introducing ideas and theories that might help the club while, in the same breath, you introduce your own ideas and theories. then you close on a “positive note” by trying to blow sunshine up our asses, suggesting things are better now than they’ve been in a long time. listen, young scrap, the boys on this forum have been around way too long for that. heaven forbid that uncle fred reads this. one thing i do agree with is patrick vieira impact. wenger hasn’t won a single trophy since the lanky frenchman’s last kick for the club and that’s no coincidence. vieira gave arsenal a seemingly unfair advantage. i used to say having patrick vieira was like having a license to steal. at his best, vieira was the most complete midfield player i’ve ever seen. there is nothing he didn’t do exceptionally well. as for the holding midfielder and the formation you talk about, that’s nothing new. some blame the defenders while others the holding player, depending on the day of the week. at the end of the day, arsenal don’t defend well as a team. when adams was captain, that wasn’t a problem. being that vieira was mentored by defenders, team defending was never an issue when vieira was captain either. like i said, since vieira’s left…
@joshuad,
I have a confession (close your eyes here DAG):
I dont read 90% of the articles on this site. Arseblog is about the only Arsenal blog I read these days but after spending years lapping up anything and everything Arsenal, you come to realize, that like Arsenal’s seasons the last few years, it’s all a rehash of the same stuff.
That said, I love this site for the discussion it provides and I appreciate the effort that Dag and the likes of Ross put in. My insolence in not reading shouldn’t reflect on the articles as they are decent when a headline (or the following comments) compel me to read them.
@ Stag:
“Yeah, everyone in the team, who doesn’t like Arsenal’s pay policy can “piss off”… let them all leave … and we’ll just do what? never win anything again?”
Nope, just the likes of Theo who for the majority of his time at Arsenal has fallen under the exact stereotype that you and everyone here hates. The crappy player on overinflated wages. Now that we are about to pay him what he is worth his previously overinflated salary has put it in his head that he is worth more.
On one hand, you want the wage structure to change from paying mediocrity too much then you want us to cave into Theo’s demands? No thanks. Like I said, he’s a very capable player and one I would much rather keep, but not the kind of player you break the bank for.
@OziKenyan, I don’t mind your opinion on Theo getting overpaid, but the fact remains he’s been our 2nd best offensive player for 2 years now… he has improved, and Wenger created the monster by overpaying all the mediocrity… now that Theo has a few seasons with decent point totals, what do you expect him to do? say, just give me what Diaby bets, I mean, I know he doesn’t play at all, but I’m cool with that!?!
of course he wants more money…
@stag133,
“of course he wants more money…”
Of course he does. Who doesn’t? That doesn’t mean we should overly indulge him. We’ve given him a raise, and a fair one at that. He’s still only 22/3 and IF he performs and continues to improve then his next contract will have even higher wages. If we indulge him now, not only would it stunt the reconstruction of our new wage structure but it would also create future problems.
@OziKenyan, he wants MORE MONEY because we pay CROCKED and SHIT players over the top money…
so the GOOD ones, want to be paid above and beyond that.
@Stag
“So City has a lot of money… as does Chelsea…
that means we don’t buy anyone or pay anyone?”
No but it means that if it comes down to the wage packet we have zero chance. How exactly do you see us competing on the wage front with these guys? How do you see the scenario playing out? Let’s say City offered him 250k a week and they REALLY want RVP. Mancini has decided he’s the Tevez replacement and the Sheik has developed a dutch fetish.
Okay, you’ll get rid of Squillaci and Almunia* etc etc etc, that will allow you to pay RVP 260k istead of the reported 130k. At which point, if City are actually in for him and RVP’s primary intention** is to get the highest wage then the Sheik will go sell some oil barrels and offer him 280k a week. Then what? Ah but wait! We have Vela and Arshavin still to sell! Suddenly we can pay him 350k a week, but the Sheik’s RVP crush is only deeper than his oil wells so he comes in with an offer of 400k a week… and repeat.
*I (and EVERYONE else here) are with you on the point that we pay crappy players too much. The club has come out and said that they’re going to change it. Hopefully it’s not a load of steam as they are capable of, but the fact that they have verbally come out and acknowledged it is a start. It will be a slower process than we want as you can’t simply go to Denilson et al and say “sorry mate, we’re cutting your weekly wage in half.” Contracts and all…
**Money isn’t going to be the primary factor in RVP’s decision. If we want to keep him we need to strengthen to at least give him a glimmer of winning trophies here. He still might leave as the chances of trophies is likely higher wherever he chooses to go, but if that’s the case, then throwing money at him like you’re suggesting isn’t going to make a difference.
@OziKenyan, I’d say you have to pay RVP more than Arsenal want to… no, you don’t have to match what City can offer, but if you offer more than the “Arsenal wage scale” indicates, AND, as you stated… bring in some players so we can complete on the pitch… I do think he’d seriously consider staying.
Do I think that will happen?
HELL NO.
I think Podolski and Giroud will be “replacements” for when we sell RVP and Theo.
and we’ll be where? at the same place we were… not any better off, with a less cohesive team… of movable parts and pieces… where we make profits selling off our best players.
@stag133,
Our 130k a week standing offer has already pushed past the Arsenal wage scale limit and I’m sure if RVP came back with a counter offer for a few more quid then we’d comply. Not City level wage demands but I’m fairly certain that we won’t show him the door if the compromise ends up being at 150k or whatever (unless we’ve learned sh*t all from the A.Cole saga)
@OziKenyan, you mean Ashley Cole, who went from Arsenal to Chelsea and has gone on to have a great career, best LB in the Prem for years… won trophies and medals at Chelsea?
yeah, looks like he made the right decision… and Arsenal made the WRONG one in not signing the guy to a better deal.
Looks like that Giroud Rumor is TRUE.
Arsenal set to sign Oliver Giroud for
12 MILLION GBP.
(can we please send Chamakh the other way? please?)
With Poldolski IN, Giroud now IN… I don’t see the point of all the strikers frankly, (with no creative MF to feed them in proper spots!)
This could be where we sell off RVP.
(Geez, his stock was so high, how’d the Euros do in raising his price?)
@stag133,
“with no creative MF to feed them in proper spots!”
Yup, along with Josh, and many here, we really do need that creative mid. Out of the available ones I’d personally love to hijack the Sigurdsson to Liverpool deal. Saw most of his games for Swansea last season and he was brilliant. Well in line with our transfer policy as well
@stag133, this is my post from the previous thread concerning giroud.
i really don’t like the idea of signing giroud. first, and most important, i don’t think he’ll make a telling contribuion in arsenal becoming title challengers. second, sure, he’s a big, stong boy who’s great in the air and has a half-decent left foot, but that’s all he’s got. he’s not quick or pacy. he’s not clever. he’s not skillful. he doesn’t really work that hard. i don’t think he’s that good a footballer; christopher samba.
bendtner is as big and as good in the air as giroud and has a half-decent right foot. if you were to put bendtner in the montpellier team this season, he would have done at least as well as giroud. this is not to say i fancy bendtner but to say that montpelier have a good team and made giroud look a tad bit better than he actually is. it’s also to note the difference between ligue 1 and the bpl.
the only way i see grioud being good at arsenal is if wenger were to move van persie back to a #10 role. frankly, i can’t see that happening. if arsenal do sign him, i hope i’m wrong.
one montpellier player i do like is younes belhanda. that may be because i think arsenal need a playmaker more than another striker. gervinho, podolski, and walcott can help van persie score but we need someone to get them the ball. belhanda or dembele. arsenal just need a playmaker who can help create goals.
@joshuad,
He looks alright on the highlight reels and the couple of times I’ve seen him play. But spot on about the Bendy comparison. Meh. The way I see it, he should at least offer more than Chamakh/Park..
@joshuad, sorry Josh. I watched a fair amount of Giroud, and in my humble opinion, he’s better than Bendtner… Bendtner’s attitude SUCKS. He thinks he’s a great striker, but he’s never done shit.
How do you know what he’d have done at Montpellier?
I doubt he’d get close to Giroud’s totals for the season. Bendtner’s never done it anywhere.
Montpellier came from about as far back as Sunderland were … they were nobodies… and they rode
Giroud’s offensive juggernaut season…
hopefully, we get to see Giroud at Arsenal… and hopefully, i never see Bendtner in an Arsenal kit again.
what, exactly…. has Bendtner EVER done to be considered a top striker?
Firstly, maybe you should give some credit to some of the fans who know what Arsenal needs in order to improve, as it certainly doesn’t seem that Arsene does. His inability over the past 5 years to structure a sound and organized defense is nothing short of appalling.
His tardiness in bringing in quality GK’s and defenders and irrevocable faith placed in overpaid, underachieving players reeks of a coach who has lost touch with reality.
During that period his player acquisitions have been very hit and miss and the likes of Bischoff, Arshavin, Sylvestre, Squillaci, Chamakh, Park, Gervinho, Almunia, Vela, Botellho, Galindo, etc. bears potent testimony to that effect.
And please, don’t tell me it’s because of lack of funds. Juventus and Dortmund’s wage packet is substantially below ours yet they have managed to win titles.
Secondly, the reason why his formation fails to impress is that he has not acquired players who can thrive under the system so he tries to fill round holes with square pegs.
Thirdly, Wenger’s attacking full backs,ball playing CB’s and creative midfielders is not his concept. Go back as far as the late 60’s and watch Brazil and you will see them utilizing that to perfection.
@Caribkid,Ah, I love it when people compare Arsenal to clubs that don’t play in the same league. It’s laughable. The Premiership is a different animal both financially AND in practice than both the Bundesliga and Serie A. Juventus? Really??? The titles they have won in recent years have been marred by controversy and political subterfuge and the pay structure of the Bundesliga is so distant from that of the PL that I won’t even comment.
Also, I do give credit to the fans, just not the ones who make blind assumptions and gain all of their insight from Football Manager and the FIFA series.
@RossJohnston82, yes Ross, your opinion is pertinent and no assumptions made, but others here… we are FIFA Series managers only.
of course.
the new schedule’s out! the new schedule’s out!!
First 5 matches:
Home v Sunderland on Aug.18
@ Stoke City on Aug.25
@ Liverpool on Sept.1
Home v Southampton on Sept.15
@ Man City on Sept.22
its not the formation, its the lack of talent in the squad.
you can line them up any way you like, but its not going to matter defensively, with the smurfs we have, and inexperience and strength we lack.
lastly…
what makes the future look bright?
what has changed? we have our Captain (and best player)… unsigned, and rumored to be going… and we’ve signed Podolski.
Have not addressed all the defensive failings, the DM issue that has been ignored for years, and the Creative Midfielder issue with Cesc gone.
The future looks exactly the same as the past 7 trophy-less seasons… we still have time, but I’d say it was more likely we sold RVP and Theo, and made a lot of money …
and we can all look and say:
“nice piece of business, that”…