Wing-wizards prove the difference for Arsenal against Blackburn Rovers
The writing was on the wall for Blackburn Rovers even before Gaël Givet’s red card effectively ended the contest for them – as early as the first minute in fact. Theo Walcott found it too easy to creep behind the defence and receiving Francis Coquelin’s pass, he was able to slide in a cross for Robin van Persie to score. This is what happens when everything falls into place for Arsenal and despite the brief aberration that was Morten Gamst-Pedersen’s equaliser, this was as perfect as Arsenal have played this season. Perhaps it’s not possible to read to much into a defeat of the league’s worst defence; the kind of beleaguered opponents that Arsenal thrive upon and should dismantle given their style. But they certainly did just that anyway.
For Arsène Wenger, it was the perfect response to their profligacy previously against Bolton Wanderers and given that the team’s game is based on confidence, Arsenal should take every positive from the 7-1 win. However, there was another part of this win which would provide Wenger with every inch of satisfaction and it was the contribution of the wide men.
Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Theo Walcott were superb, stretching the play before cutting into Blackburn like a pair of flying daggers. They played slightly differing roles, giving Arsenal a balance they had before lacked. Oxlade-Chamberlain, on the left, showed dexterous footwork allied with the ability to see the penetrative pass. Walcott, though, prefers to kill through subtle movement, darting off the right flank to deliver decisive passes. Indeed, the wide area has been a problem position for Arsenal in that it hasn’t delivered what they’ve wanted. Gervinho has got into great positions before inexplicably suffering from frequent bouts of nervousness; Oxlade-Chamberlain’s fearlessness is a marked contrast. And that Arsenal’s play has become more vertical, it’s forced Walcott into a more orthodox winger role. At least recently, Arsenal have shown visible steps to improve their ball retention. Here though, everything fitted into place as Walcott delivered three assists and he was rampant in creating for chances, evidently boosted by the presence of an overlapping full-back. Meanwhile Chamberlain – some regard as the player Walcott was supposed to be – showed his all-roundedness by scoring two goals, some fantastic footwork and a great understanding already with Robin van Persie.
It might be notable that the terminology Wenger uses to describe the system fluctuates, often in the same press conference, sometimes as the team playing with three “strikers” or “wingers”, highlighting the dual role. If the creative part of the game has slotted into place, the goalscoring hasn’t. Saturday – or rather, Wednesday night following the 0-0 draw with Bolton – might be the turning point. “[Sharing the goals around] was a problem I faced in all the press conferences at the start of the season,” said Wenger. “If he doesn’t score, who scores, you know? It was right, I couldn’t deny that. But I always felt that if you look at our numbers the trio of Gervinho, Walcott and Van Persie were involved in all the goals so they are more the providers because we play with two wingers. But the wingers can score as well, like today. It is something that is needed and we need some more goals from midfield as well.”
If there’s one affect the ideological slant has had on Arsenal’s play, it’s been their ability to keep the ball for sustained periods but here they had a lot of the play in the opponent’s half. That gave a great platform for the front three to revel and by keeping those wide players high up the pitch, it gave the midfielders a constant outlet behind. Blackburn manager, Steve Kean, explains: “It is very very difficult to affect the game against a side like Arsenal, they keep possession really well, they kept their wide players wide all game and that made it difficult for us.”
Arsenal 2-1 Bolton: Arsenal's second typified the effectiveness of the team's game plan. By keeping two wingers up the pitch, Blackburn's full-backs were forced to play narrow. But, with Arsenal keeping the ball so well and creating space by dragging defenders around, they were able to get behind with alarming frequency. Song was superb in aiding that part of the game, often threading key through-balls to the forwards.
But while it might have been a game where everything went their way, it wasn’t the case for Tomáš Rosický who looked visibly frustrated at some of the things he tried to pull off. A kicked bottle summed his mood as his shot at 6-1 was deflected wide. It wasn’t a bad performance by the Czech; he showed the fluidity he brings to the side and was brilliant as Arsenal responded to Blackburn’s equaliser. In fact, Rosický’s role was a great “decoy” role as he roamed across the pitch to create space for his team-mates. Indeed, in the lead up to Arsenal third, Rosický’s part was understating as he was felled playing a quick one-touch pass for van Persie to free Oxlade-Chamberlain to score. Perhaps a bit of his anxiety came from seeing his other attacking peers make a direct contribution to the goals and sensing that extra penetration may set him apart from his rival in the position, Aaron Ramsey. Nevertheless, in midfield, Mikel Arteta and Alex Song once again set the platform and all game, they instigated and probed. Song, in particular, gives Arsenal a drive that they have missed following the injuries to Jack Wilshere and Abou Diaby but his forte has since becoming his ability to play the ball round the corner as it is, the attack-braking tackles. Below the chalkboard shows how often he tried the pass behind, failing on four occasions but finding his man with a through-ball, three times (which is actually a large amount by any footballer).
Alex Song passes
On song – and with Alex Song’s passes – Oxlade-Chamberlain and Theo Walcott can be a formidable foil for Robin van Persie who got his 22nd league goal with a hat-trick. He took home the match ball but the day belonged to Arsenal’s wing-wizards as they put The Emirates in a spell with their performance. It’s as David Winner, author of Brilliant Orange: The Neurotic Genius of Dutch Football, told SI.com: ”the two wingers are creating waves while Van Persie dances and plays in the splashes that they make.”
Filed under: Match Analysis
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Theo Walcott deserves more credit for being a key player for Arsenal →
Perhaps Wenger has finally decided that there must be variation to his attack strategy.I f he persisted in the gunners trying to weave
through the centre in the face of massed defenders and numbers,Arsenal won’t make headway. instead they will be vulnerable to the fast breakout and result in the other side scoring.
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Arsenal Column Reply:
February 7th, 2012 at 12:55 pm
@Daniel Wong,
It must be noted though, a similar goalscoring impact to this game was made when the system was first implemented in 2009. Systems always evolve but let’s hope that this is a step towards an Arsenal that can marry their possession keeping with dynamism down the flanks.
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Jared Reply:
February 7th, 2012 at 2:34 pm
@Arsenal Column,
So where did that dynamism go in the following years , was it because of the type of players they bought ?.
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The Brain Reply:
February 8th, 2012 at 1:32 pm
@Jared,
Yes. Also, systems always evolve, players fall into habitual patters and routines so once one thing works, they tend to want to do it more. For example Nasri; he started brilliantly on the right last term – using his dribbling – but as the season wore on – grew more attracted to the ball and dropped deeper. Ditto Chamakh – which is another point; mentality – lost confidence and began to revert to type: a link striker when he had much success getting behind defences.
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and Vela on hand.
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Rosicky is much Better player than ramsey. His work rate and skill means a lot to arsenal. And he likes to play wide players like theo and Ox. When ever he plays we’ll win every game..
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Good read Brain.i agree with everything you have said.the direct footy was a joy to watch and this was because we played at a high tempo throughout.i’d also like to add Arsene may have unearthed a gem in oxo.last season nasri played left where he had freedom to cut in or stick to the byline.however,nasri rarely stuck to the byline to beat his man.he very often tucked in making our play congested and predictable.Oxo however can easily play as a winger roasting players out wide or tuck in since he has CM attributes just as easily making our attack very unpredictable.Couple that with Santos who makes excellent in field runs i’d say if we play at such a tempo it will be a nightmare for the opposition to defend against all that variation in movements.
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Arsenal Column Reply:
February 7th, 2012 at 1:01 pm
@K-TR7,
Oxlade-Chamberlain actually continues the Wenger tradition of dribblers with the ability to deliver the killer pass – Nasri, Hleb and Reyes. (Pires slightly different). It’s something that he’s always looked for but for differing reasons, hasn’t quite worked out. (Just a look at their transfer fees shows you how Wenger had planned to build a team with them).
What many people – including Nasri himself – don’t realise, is that Wenger was making Nasri a better player tactically. It’s no coincidence Nasri had his best form on the right and scoring those goals – because he was playing more direct.
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Jared Reply:
February 7th, 2012 at 2:39 pm
@Arsenal Column,
So why didn’t Nasri maintain the form that he had at the beginning of last season ?
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The Brain Reply:
February 8th, 2012 at 1:33 pm
@Jared,
Here’s my analysis last season on Nasri. I felt he was very consistent overall. http://arsenalcolumn.co.uk/2011/05/26/ten-conclusions-to-make-from-arsenal%E2%80%99s-season-20102011/
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hail gunaz,hail ox,hail theo,hail master rvp,on d road t top 4 if d tempo shld be maintained,Rosicky shld be playd reguraly bcs of his experience.We stil miss u jack
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@muktia, I don’t know why a lot of Arsenal fans can’t see this. Ramsey is too unserious and playful. Rosicky is more skillful and has more footballing abilities. He is always moving forward and much more business-like.
I don’t just get the hype with Ramsey.
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ive been raving the past 2-3 months on putting ramsey on bench, last 4 games i got my mates to watch my commentaries to show who gave the ball away, stopped our counters, held on too long, lacked composure in front of goal, fails to see teamates clear for a shot on goal yes..ramsey. and it was painful to watch. i even said before the blackburn game “no ramsey??!yess!finally we can win today”. no disrespect but i think he needs more time and should be coming off the bench for rosicky. and i personally feel any fan who has been calling fo rosicky to go is pretty much short sighted. i get amazed at how fickle our fans are. Rosicky has been in form since the season began. he always changes our style of play, a catalyst in the middle of the park unlike ramsey he looks to drive the ball forward and not backwards and sideways. that is what ramsey needs to learn from him and arteta. many a time he would even pass the ball back wards on the verge of a counter or whenever he is outside the 18-yard box. its been painful to watch. and lets not forget everytime we fail to score we allow opposition to begin building momentum to attack us instead and thats whats been happening in most matches that we have lost. we have simply been allowing teams to grow into the game due to our lack of finishing. by 2nd half teams that pack the bus they know we are not scoring and so they begin to have a crack at wining the game. rosicky all the way!
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Let’s remember it’s a good problem to have whether to play Ramsey or whoever. And let’s remember Ramsey can score. And also remember the incredulous MOTD pundits early in the season talking about the way Rosiscky turned away from the play after free kicks like he couldn’t really care.
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Arsenal Column Reply:
February 7th, 2012 at 1:05 pm
@tom Barry, Amen.
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Somebody should please help me tell Le prof.that at the moment Ramsey is not worthy to less Rosicky shoes talk more bench him.All gunners should please re watch the game to see the reason Rosicky is our neglected no10.There is no difference between him and Totenhams No 10 who they wanted to sell 50 million to Chelsea.
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Interesting point you make, about the “decoy” role of Rosicky. When I watched the game, I tought Rosicky’s reception count was pretty low, but this role you mentioned would explain it.
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A lot of comments against Ramsey. Let’s remember that Wenger has a history of doing this with players, with Fabregas being the example that he is desperately trying to reproduce and Denilson his greatest dissapointment. He has played Ramsey more than any other player this season and his recent performances have shown that he is starting to look a little bit jaded, thus Wenger will most likely rest him for a bit. The hope is that unlike Denilson, he will continue to improve, however due to the relatively poor position Arsenal are in the table, it is questionable whether his development should continue to the detriment of much needed points. As always with Wenger and his tactical decisions, it is a calculated risk.
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With the whole ramsey/rosicky debate neither has excelled. Ramsey isnt the finished product, his decision making isnt great so he picks the wrong pass sometimes. But that will come. So will better movement into the penalty area, when to time runs etc He just needs time and games. This is a new position for him, he was used to playing deeper and dictating the game.
With Rosicky he has that experience of when to play a pass and still has good pace to beat players. But he will never be an effective player goals or assists wise, he has a poor finish and just doesnt have the confidence when playing high up. I like rosicky, but prefer him deeper in the Arteta role. So for me he is back up for arteta.
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I personally believe that Rosicky is more suited to the way Arsenal play currently. With Arteta, and Song in particular, able to thread balls in behind, we don’t need a player who just does that – Ramsey has excellent vision, but his touch and dribbling aren’t up to scratch yet. Rosicky has the intellegence in movement (watch how many times he makes the overlaps the winger to allow the winger inside in transition plays) to create space for others, as well as better change of pace, better technique that allows Arsenal to keep the ball better. No, his direct offensive stats are not great, but he often gives the ‘second assist’, a very underrated stat. Plus his finishing isn’t as poor as the stats suggest; he lacks confidence because he hasn’t scored for a long time, once he gets a run of games and a goal, he will get more goals. See his pre – injury stats, he is a reliable goal getter (Plus, Ramsey has a conversion rate of less than 3% if I remember). The issues are a) Ramsey’s defensive qualities and b) Rosicky’s injury proneness. But when fit, Rosicky should be a starter
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For the Aaron Ramsey “bashers” (in both senses of the term!):
Via @Orbinho:
Mins/chance created open play in PL since August 2007 1. Fabregas 33.2, 2. David Silva 34.4, 3. Mata 36.8…… 8. Hleb 42, 9. Ramsey 43.1
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@ arsenal Column Well I don’t know about others, but I don’t believe Ramsey is not a good player; far from it. It’s only that at his current level, and our current system, it would be more beneficial to play Rosicky more often, especially in light our current position in the table. He still hasn’t developed some key abilities, I would argue as necessities as an offensive midfielder, such as his movement and his touch mainly. He obviously has talent; the stat you wrote demonstrates his supreme vision. It’s just that with the excellent Rosicky in Arsenal aswell, it seems rather silly to be under utilizing a great player who has plenty to give to Arsenal, and overworking a talented but not fully developed youngster.
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Just to add: The statistic you give shows he often gives the final ball, but it doesn’t measure the quality of the final ball (chance), nor does it measure the number of chance attempts he makes. He is one of the most dispossessed player (I think 2nd highest in top 5 leagues, I think I read it in one of your excellent articles), which perhaps is evidence that he attempts many high risk plays. In addition, the build up to a chance is often overlooked in football; often, the passes before is just as important. For example, take ice Hockey (a game which share some similarities with football), they count all players who play the 3 passes before as an assist, demonstrating that it is valid to place more emphasis on the build up passes (considering we aren’t Stoke City).
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The Brain Reply:
February 9th, 2012 at 12:45 pm
@Dennis,
All valid points and I have to admit, I was a bit surprised to see him that high. At times, Ramsey’s technique can be errant which sees him squandering good opportunities and decision-making slow thus the dispossessed stats. But, the statistic is still a good measure of his creative output even if it’s not qualitative; especially given his age and he doesn’t usually take set-pieces which skew the numbers.
I agree that the squad must be used more and Rosicky is wasted not being used as was the case at the end of last season.
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