Talking Tactics: Disecting Arsenal’s North London Derby win
Our apologies for the lateness of his article but with all the excitement of the day yesterday, the focus was understandable elsewhere.
“And once again, all things were right in the world,” was the general consensus in the footballing community as Arsenal came good and beat Tottenham 1-0 at The Emirates on this past Sunday. A tactically astute performance from Arsenal grinded out a very nervy win over our North London rivals, and put to rest the common notion that Tottenham have surpassed Arsenal on the pitch. And as we are so apt to say, North London is ours.
The nerves were high, the stakes were bigger even at this early part of the season. Tottenham were coming in with their shiny new toys and were the talk of the press and the world coming off a summer of completely changing the complexion of their squad. Arsenal on the other hand hadn’t done anything significant with the exception of Mathieu Flamini coming in a few days prior to the Derby.
But there was a general feeling, a quietly confident belief that Arsene might once again prove that he is not the tactical dunce many claim him to be. The hope was he was still willy enough to overcome what is probably the strongest and deepest Tottenham side he has yet to face. And while Tottenham surely had the talent, they had neither the experience or familiarity of a North London Derby to possibly do anything significant in London – and that goes for their managers as well as their players.
Arsene on the other hand took a page out of the book of those teams that had always allowed Arsenal to have possession without Arsenal getting a win. In a nutshell, Arsene Wenger sacrificied the Arsenal way of possession-based football, to falsely give Villas-Boas’ Tottenham domination, in which they never had total control of and allowed Arsenal to hit Spurs and their high line effectively and often on the counter.
Arsenal, lined up in their preferred 4-2-3-1, in order to play a fast-paced game of counter-attacking football, rather than our typical possession filled game. On any other day, even with a narrow win, every Arsenal fan globally would have criticised, but gaining a win over our local rivals, Tottenham, this one was allowed to slip by.
A deployed XI of Szczesny; Jenkinson, Mertesacker, Koscielny, Gibbs; Wilshere (subbed for Flamini early on), Ramsey; Walcott, Rosicky, Cazorla; Giroud — in a 4-2-3-1 gave Arsenal the variation to play a list of styles in and out of possession. Wilshere, not yet having hit form, went off with an “illness” (serious rumour was he had to crap – I kid you not) and replaced by Flamini – and to our surprise, it worked out better.
Without Eriksen in the squad, and Spurs fielding a midfield-trio of Paulinho, Dembele and Capoue, the visitors lacked any creative spark. Also with Townsend and Chadli on the wings, neither are particularly blessed with technical ability, AVB looked set to simply attempt to overload Arsenal with physicality. Arsene countered by establishing Arsenal to sit deep and press hard for interceptions and counter on the break – proving the route to our goal and in the end a victory.
Arsenal’s more technically astute midfield were much more in tune with each other and the difference in teams was evidence in the linking play coming from the back to the front. Arsenal’s passes took advtange of the spaces provided to them by Tottenham. Arsenal were able to do what Tottenham’s previous two opponents couldn’t and exploited the gaps in the field that Tottenham were creating. Whereas Arsenal were crisp and quick with their pressing, passing and transition play, Tottenham were lethargic and labored.
Tottenham without their creative presence played into Arsenal’s hands by keeping things wide. And while both Jenkinson and Gibbs had to make adjustments early on, the repeatedly forced the likes of Chadli and Townsend inside, where support took away opportunities to pass and create chances and made the Tottenham wingers try and take long distance shots. The defending enmasse by Arsenal left the box clear that Szczesny had good sight of almost every shot that came in from out wide.
It was the resoluteness, experience and speed that Arsenal would create their goal and many chances. With Tottenham making one of their few runs through the middle, Mertesacker’s big foot knocked the ball away from an oncoming Chadli who had come in from wide. The resulting tackle led to Santi Cazorla who was back deep to assist in defending picking up the ball and getting a pass to Ramsey who found Rosicky out wide to the right.
Spurs still struiggling to get back were not tracking back with the transition and as they did get back their CB tandem of Dawson and Vertonghen failed to effectively pick up the threat posed by Theo Walcott. Additionally Danny Rose failed to stay wide and was tucked in close to the CBs more intent on watching Rosicky with the ball then picking up Walcott. Both mistakes allowed Theo to get behind the Spurs misaligned defensive wall and as soon as he noticed that Rose was tucked in too deep Walcott came slightly wide to get a pass from Rosicky and with Vertonghen also not rotating down to defend the Englishman, Theo had all the space in the world to expoit the Spurs 18 yard box. His attack and the subsequent run by Giroud resulted in a beautifully timed cross and shot and the only goal of the match – a delightful side-footed shot that beat Lloris on the near post.
Giroud bears special mention in this match. Not likely to be many’s man of the match he has shown in the early season that he is up for the challenge of improving over last season. In this specific match he not only was a constant offensive threat but his defensive work has to be applauded. One of the biggest criticisms of Giroud last year was his speed. Giroud looks to have shed some weight this season and if it’s possible for GQ Giroud to look leaner and fitter he does. This has allowed him to pick up his work rate.
Coacing forwards you always tell them they are the first defender, we lose the ball you need to be the first one to try and win it back. And he did. He was winning tackles stripping the ball away and winning aerial duels. Beating Dawson in the air is no small feat. And Giroud did it 7 out of 9 times. Excellent stuff from the frenchman who’s feet alot rides on this season.
Overall the stats would say that Spurs were the dominant team but it would hide the truth of the matter. The never really threatened until Wenger decided to close down the match with 6 at the back. Who says Arsene won’t go defensive. With Arsenal sensing that Spurs would throw everything forward, offensive players were taken off for Monreal and Sagna. Monreal’s presense though was actually felt more offensively as 2 minutes into his time he missed a sitter that would’ve put the match beyond all doubt.
Arsenal sensing the coming Spurs push allowed the visitors to come. The filled the box and won aerial duel after aerial duel. For all of Tottenham’s size and strength they couldn’t get the ball past Arsenal. We all used to complain when Fergie or Chelsea did this to us. When Arsenal would chase a match against the bigger teams and they would shut things down. We applauded that. It’s why Arsenal deserve credit for a well deserved win.
In the end Tottenham rarely posed a significant threat except on two or three occasions and the narrative is that the team is likely taking time to gell. But their problems are broader than that and in fact it played perfectly into Arsenal’s plan. There was more of a fear factor to Spurs last season with the form of Gareth Bale and the speed the likes of Lennon and Defoe brought to the Emirates. Early in the fixture at the Emirates last season it showed they used the speed effectively There was none of that this fixture. All play was slow and without purpose.
Spurs didn’t have the passing effectiveness and with Arsenal’s pressing game it was the hosts who found themselves transitioning quickly and swiftly creating real chance after real chance. Additionally, for all the talk of Spurs going out and getting a bona-fide striker, Soldado was quiet for the day. Without proper service from a true number 10 the Arsenal back line bascially made him inconsequential. It says something that Jermain Defoe’s addition changed the overall dynamic but still without a true creative force nothing really materialized.
Additionally, there is something that can’t be figured out about Villas Boas version of the high-line in his back 4. It was his downfall at Chelsea (in addition to the huge egos at the club) however he has his back 4 setting up there are always large gaps for teams to take advatange of it was there in the first two games of the season with both opponents unable to take advatnage of. But with Arsenal adept at slick passing, it was Theo Walcott who was behind the line a lot on Sunday on the receiving end of pin point through balls from Santi Cazorla that forced Hugo Lloris to be more of a defender than I am sure he would’ve liked to be. Arsenal were very unlucky to not be ahead in this match 3-0 before the Spurs seriously mounted any sustained pressure.
Arsene Wenger is right to point out that for the most part this Arsenal squad is a team that has only lost once since March – to Spurs of all teams. Their familiarty with the system and roles they function in played a big part in being able to overcome Tottenham. It will also likely carry them through the season. It is a sound foundation to move forward with and with all the news from yesterday, adding a world class player like Mesut Özil to this crew is only going to make the system work that much better.
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There seems to have been several priorities this offseason:
1. Cull the deadwood. This is a highly significant step in itself and ensures we only retain those players that will contribute to the squad. Over the last 8 years Wenger’s experiments with project youth have seen us accumulate a lot of dross. We really have carried a lot of players on the basis ‘they might come good’. Almost all of those players have now gone – which is a little sobering in itself. Nevertheless this culling strategy was hugely important and suggests the club is moving to a state where it wants its funds better used.
Notice however there is still room for a couple of Wenger’s old injured chestnuts, Messrs Rosicky and Diaby. Interestingly I’m now ok with that, Wenger loves them, and we know what they are – they’re ‘bonus’ players that might give you 20-25 appearances in a season – that’s it. I’m ok with that, as Josh says in Wenger’s mind they’re special talents – and critically for us we’re no longer reliant on them.
2. Sign a name striker. We chased Higuaín, then Suarez, and appear to have explored the possibility of signing Rooney. None worked for differing reasons. Few would disagree this was a sensible priority given our teams relative strengths and that strikers give you end product on-field and high brand value off it. But it didn’t work.
3. With priority 2 failing to materialise the strategy seemed to move to Madrid and to recruit a star (or two) from their stable who might become available with the fallout from the Bale transfer. The 3 possibilities seem well established; the striker, the winger and the playmaker. Nothing wrong with this strategy, it was just a game of patience and a matter of accepting that we ultimately didn’t control who Madrid would choose to sell to us. Somewhat deliciously we won the lottery – Özil was the diamond. For me the moody Benzema was even less appealing than the 2nd tier Higuaín, and di María the lightweight winger seemed a tad peripheral as an elite signing. Özil on the other hand was truly a Galatico with all the consistency and class you’d expect from a player nurtured in Germany and polished in Madrid. Truly superb.
4. The other priority was gap-filling and upgrading the squad in specific ways. I honestly don’t think you could expect Wenger to do too much in this regard. Wenger rightly, sees this as an ongoing process. We reinforced the leftback position brilliantly in January with Monreal. We covered Arteta’s role and the defence (FB/CB) again brilliantly with Flamini. These 2 signings were really clever in my book – and I don’t judge the club lightly as you know. And finally we brought in the Italian keeper on loan to cover Szczęsny and to have the cocky young Pole look over his shoulder even just a little bit. Again not a bad approach in my opinion.
5. The glaring hole (and the only one imo) was and is striker. We tried with Demba Ba, that was an ok option but dim-witted given it relied on Mourinho. I can only think that this story is still running and yet to be finished. The final chapter may be written in the January window or the next offseason. Sadly, for us, we can’t predict what will happen because the context will now evolve over the next 10 months. Giroud may have a really good season and if so Wenger may target a younger up and coming striker, i.e. an upgrade on Sanogo. Or, Giroud may fail to convince or even disappoint the manager and if so, Wenger may retarget an elite signing like a Rooney. Even the progression of Sanogo and the performance of Podolski and Walcott may influence Wenger’s thinking if any of them start to shine in a central attacking role. We just won’t know until the season evolves. What we can say is we currently look light on striking options – and that snots me a little because it smacks of Wenger’s tendency to leave the squad lighter than is necessary.
Maybe I’ll close by highlighting the glow effect that an Özil brings. The star quality of Özil in the no.10 position just makes everything seem rather better. And this perception is likely to quickly translate on to the pitch as Özil goes about his work and becomes the glue that binds this team together. It would hardly be a surprise if Giroud, Podolski and Walcott all start to benefit directly from a player in his prime with world class creative skills. Nor would it be a surprise if Cazorla, back in his normal left sided position, excels even more now that the creative burden is genuinely shared by a kindred spirit at his side. And even a player like Ramsey eager to run from box to box will enjoy being found by Özil’s intelligent passing.
agree totally that we are really lacking any depth at CB…
for a team that’s supposed to be among Europe’s best, if either Mertesacker or Koscielny get injured, we’re going with replacements who are playing OUT OF POSITION… and this is 2 weeks into the season. That’s crazy, any way you slice it. Djourou as a 4th defender would have been a much better option… or Miguel as U mentioned.
and if Giroud gets injured… we’re probably calling up Nicky B…. but Wenger in his fantasy land, figured Chelsea was actually going to help Arsenal be a better team, by loaning us Demba Ba. Mourinho must have had a laugh at that idea.
Ozil make it all interesting…. he has that star quality we lacked, and hopefully, he can be “the building block”… like Dennis Bergkamp once was… hard not to make that hopeful comparison at this point.
the advantage arsenal had is they were more of a team. tottenham were a collection of individuals and the truth told on sunday. likewise, avb did his team no favors by failing to include a playmaker into the fray. his tactics were poor and you simply can’t afford that if you plan on beating a champions league team; even in a derby.
however, no one cares about the north london derby anymore. it’s all about oozil, baby. i’ve been a fan of his for years. i fell in love with him watching him boss the u-21 world cup as a 17 year old. sick! that was back in like ’07 or ’08 when i was still living in germany. he was a schalke man then so i looked on with envy while sporting my bvb 09 beanie. i feel like a clown because i bought my son a real madrid ozil jersey this past christmas. this signing is as big a surprise to me as arsenal signing van persie. let’s hope he’s just as dynamite a player.
for some strange reason, i’ve watched every real madrid match this season. everyone thinks this move is all about gareth bale. i don’t see how? they don’t even play the same position. bottom line is isco came in and ancelotti clearly fancies the young spaniard to the kurdish avatar; actually all kurds look a little like avatars. i noticed ancelotti seemingly take shots at ozil, continually declaring how hard di maria and isco work. it was so obvious. in fairness, real madrid is a different team with isco replacing ozil. he is spoon feeding benzema and not so much cristiano ronaldo. benzema, not ronaldo, will be the top scorer for real madrid this season. for real madrid to get 50 million euros for a guy who’s not even their first choice playmaker is a great deal for them. my question is did arsenal just overpay for a lazy guy (gorcuff)? i don’t think so. time will tell.
likewise, i think the “manager who will trust me” is less of a praise to wenger and more of a veiled shot back at ancelotti. if real madrid fail, fans will remember this rift between one of it’s favorite heros and the new italian boss. they didn’t even celebrate the signing of bale without mentioning the hope of keeping ozil.
rumor also has it that ozil was interested in signing for man united but they passed, only showing interest in fabregas. assclowns. regardless, he’s an arsenal player now. i’m looking forward to seeing him slip theo through on the arsenal counters. let’s see how it works out.
Posting my comment from the previous article to this new one, with minor changes:
Millions of fans have finally had their thirsts quenched. Important to summarize my thoughts on this GRAND DAY for people like us, who can be nothing else but Gooners :
1) No doubt, Ozil is a wonderful player with numbers backing him, and I am overjoyed that we’ve signed him. All day have ended up reading thousands of tweets and hundreds of comments welcoming Ozil, all around the web (lots of interesting ones in the comments section at Arseblog news), an activity I am sure many of you would have participated in too.
But its the vast difference in fee between him and Cazorla which I think is giving him a higher fanfare than what we felt when Cazorla came in last year. I think Cazorla is as good a player, IF NOT BETTER.
His passing, his knack for playing one-two, at times, with himself, to get out of tricky positions (as Arseblog lyrically mentioned a while back), his ability with both feet, his shooting, work-rate and most importantly his ever-smiling relaxed persona is a delight. So just showing my gratitude to his presence in this Club. Can’t wait to see the pairing of the two of them weave their kind of magic, reminiscent of Hleb and Fabregas (and we already have Flamini back and a Flamini-esque Ramsey)
2) Part of the mad excitement is definitely because the thrill and surprise element of it, after most people had given up hopes of any notable signing. Worth noting, that by the time of the NLD and days preceeding it, there was hardly any link-ups with regard to Arsenal that were being made, barring Cabaye. The happiness that we did not have to disgruntledly welcome Shrek or Suarez should not be discounted. Add to it, the satisfaction, from the disastrous transfer window, esp the TDD, that ManU had.
3) I think the team was already strong, and this the tonic that it needed. The strength of this particular squad of players is in their grit and cohesion. Not only will it help have a kick-in the back of Jack, it will help Zelalem and Eisfield and Gnabry hone their craft. The depth in this department is phenomenal, and is courting envy from supporters of most clubs. To recall them all, we have Rosicky (who is getting better with age), Jack, Santi, Ozil, Diaby, Podolski, Chamberlain, Zelalem, Miyachi, Eisfield, Gnabry, Walcott and at times Ramsey for the non-DM midfield roles. (Assuming a formation of 4-2-3-1 with only one proper DM and the other being a runner)
4) The DM position is also statistically well covered with Arteta, Ramsey and Flamini, and in very rare situations Diaby or Frimpong.
5) The real plus of the signing in my view is that it will help unite the club, even STAG (who’s been justifiably cynical all this while). There has been too much bad-blood boiling within over these last few years. Just one, not-so-exorbitant (assuming the quality and source and the CV of the player involved) signing, will propel mass conversion to the AKB camp. The Emirates will become a better place to be in, with the crowd, who were excellent last year, fully behind. The away crowd will be even louder. The disgusting FansTalk videos after the Aston Villa defeat will not happen for a long long time. The players will be able to focus on the game, as their will be less distracting noises and accusations.
6) It raises the stature of the club several notches, and will help in salary negotiations, attracting other WC players and also recruiting emerging talent.
7) The quoted salary of 140,000 pounds a week, is a real bargain, and would not produce any dissonance in the many players who extended contracts last year. The transfer fee of 42.5 million inclusive of a 10 million bonus payment on specific milestones achieved, effectively making the minimum fee at 32.5 million is again a steal. The fact that we freed up more than 350,000 week in wages, ensures we have hardly added to the wage bill, despite the additions of Ozil, Flamini, Sonogo and Viviano.
8) I still think we are defensively light, very light considering that we will be taking Carling Cup fixtures seriously. Are there any young defenders in the reserves whom we can trust, say even for Carling Cup fixtures ? Loaning out Muquel and Djourou, IMO is a big mistake.
9) The striking department could have been strengthened, in light of Podolski’s injury. Giroud (HFB), Podolski and Walcott would have been ideally fine. Hope we grab someone early in January. Till then, would prefer Afobe and Akpom getting a greater role than Sonogo, who looks very rusty until now. Hopeful that NB52 will regain fitness. His overall game is not that bad. Its his shooting that sucks big time.
All in all, this is a landmark day for Gunners worldwide, many of whom who would not have witnessed DB10′s arrival !!!