Zlatan Ibrahimovic inspires Milan to the perfect game
If there was a football equivalent of a “perfect game” then AC Milan might have executed it. Unlike baseball though, it’d be qualitative because Milan didn’t overwhelmingly dominate in any of the main statistics – except shots – but their game-plan went perfectly according to plan to emphatically defeat Arsenal 4-0 in the 1st leg of the Champions League knock-out stage. It doesn’t happen often; FK Crvena zvezda (Red Star) might have claimed to have done that when they beat Liverpool 2-1 in the European Cup in 1973, imploring even the Anfield crown to applaud their winner. Or Ajax in 1966 as they defeated the same club 5-1, forcing Bill Shankly to peculiarly declare that “they were the most defensive team we have ever met” – everything just went right for Ajax. Milan’s 4-0 win over Barcelona in the 1994 final may have been as perfect as it got in the European Cup while you can argue Barcelona themselves do it every week (except very recently), winning by doing EXACTLY what it wants.
There is a feeling, though, that Milan played a perfect game because Arsenal’s inefficiencies make that more likely to happen against them.
For all of Arsenal’s progress this season after a summer of discontent, there are still teething issues throughout the squad. Arsène Wenger admitted before the game that this Arsenal team had more “mental quality” than technical quality in comparison to the 2008 side which conquered at the San Siro, noting that that side were “technically perfect.” However, last night they well and truly suffered on both departments. Arsenal had a game-plan – to play in the opponent’s half (“at the start we will try to get out of our own half and try to get up there and play. Spurs won the game when they were dominated, but that is football today”) and in training the players were given instructions on what they might face and must do against the red-and-black. The reality was much starker as on the pitch, Arsenal didn’t react to scenarios Milan threw at them. Patrick Vieira talked about Arsenal lacking “leadership” on the pitch and he’s right. As Gus Hiddink stresses, players must “coach” team-mates on the pitch and Arsenal don’t do that enough.
Much was made of the pitch beforehand and that may have had some influence on Arsène Wenger eschewing a wide game. He started Tomáš Rosický on the left instead of Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, possibly to help cover the returning Kieran Gibbs but mainly to help retain possession better. In that, it wasn’t such a bad move because he was one of Arsenal’s most creative players and by working the ball wide, they might have shuffled around Milan’s supposedly narrow midfield. Milan, though, threw a spanner in the works and set-up much more dynamically than expected.
Massimiliano Allegri played a 4-3-2-1 shape, using the three forward players in a roaming capacity when in possession which overwhelmed Arsenal’s defence because when they attacked, it meant Arsenal’s centre-backs had an extra man to watch. They couldn’t mark man-for-man because they didn’t know who to pick up as Milan committed runners superbly. In midfield, they alleviated any numerical disadvantage, partly because of Arsenal’s shape, but also because they closed of any gaps with a midfield three which was backed up a vociferous three in front. ”Our positioning was excellent and it prevented them from creating good openings,” said Allegri.
Arsenal partly played to their downfall as their shape was closer to a 4-4-1-1 and especially when they pressed, only Aaron Ramsey and Robin van Persie did meaning it was very easy to bypass the men closing down and get into midfield. And when Milan did attack, they used all areas of the pitch, stretching it with a roaming front three and pushing the full-backs forward. Arsenal’s inefficiencies were exposed.
Arsenal's strategy fell desperately apart. Their pressing game was non-existent beyond the front two and that made it easy to pass into the midfield. But it was the front three who caused problems all game for the Arsenal defence - backed up by an energetic midfield. Arsenal might have been expected to have a numerical advantage but Milan overwhelmed them with their tactical dominance.
But Arsenal, famed for their exuberance in attack were improbably flat and suffered from a “poverty of ideas”; they could not get any telling support to Robin van Persie. At half-time, Wenger whipped off Walcott – not necessarily for his individual performance, because were bad all-round but because he characterised the team’s lack of ingenuity. Arsenal were able to work it into wide areas but most often just crossed the ball into the box. Wenger resorted, in the second-half, to looking to play through the two players that Arsenal have that can make something happen – van Persie and Thierry Henry – and now one of those is now gone. The narrow shape created one great chance which was saved brilliantly by Cristian Abbiati but the lack of technical ability in the side is galling. It’s just not Arsenal and Wenger knows it; his words before the game remained upbeat but were filled with underdog rhetoric. But, this is not a club in decline although the strategic direction since the move to the Emirates has hampered their competitiveness. The blow was delivered by Zlatan Ibrahimovic, the man who got away from them because Arsenal insisted a trial and The Gunners were unable to handle him as he created SIX chances. He was at the heart of all the Rossoneri’s attacking play. Tuttosport wrote this morning, that it had been a “magical night”. It was the perfect night for Milan.
Via @OptaJean
Filed under: Match Analysis
← Mark van Bommel at the heart of a new, harder Milan
Yossi Benayoun selection epitomises Arsenal’s philosophy in derby win →
The bit about Zlatan needing a “trial” might’ve been just to check whether he fit physically in the PL. Honestly,what do you feel about the relaying of the pitch? A Milan conspiracy? I’d rather not go into such things myself as it undermines the efforts and qualities of our opponents and we don’t need such excuses. I have to say that Zlatan plays quite similarly to DB10 but with a lot more body strength to hold defenders off,draw a 2 2nd defender in and lay off a chance for his teammate.
I don’t recall any Milan FB actually joining in the attack yesterday. Again as you mentioned earlier,Walcott’s limitations as a player come to the fore against such a well organized defence .It’s also not helped by a poor show from the Arsenal midfield.
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Arsenal Column Reply:
February 16th, 2012 at 3:10 pm
@shrek2be,
It had been snowing in Italy which will have had a part to pay in relaying the pitch but there must have been some – if very small – gamesmanship in doing it so closer to a big game.
I think the fact that Milan’s full-backs were as noticeable – certainly they weren’t marauding but provided key support and energy – highlights the lack of credit Milan have received for the “perfect” execution of their game-plan. Ibrahimovic was all that Barcelona wanted as the “inverted pivot” and the two behind in the 4-3-2-1 used him superbly. The fact that it was a fluctuating 4-3-2-1 seemed to have caught a lot of people; it helped closing down space for Arsenal to pass through and win the battle in the middle.
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The key to Milan winning was they sat back when arsenal got the ball, used an incredibly fluent and talented front three lead by Ibra who had one of the best games ive seen him play, and timed runs from midfield excellently (especially Nocerino).
Arsenal on the other hand left Van persie completely isolated and I think this will be the nail in the coffin for him leaving in the summer. Arsenal were supposed to thrive outwide, but both fullbacks were poor on the ball, Walcott was driven back into deep positions and Rosicky just drifted inside all game which meant he came up against van bommel (much stronger defensively than the Milan RB).
http://economicinterest.wordpress.com/ Also sorry for spamming by my blog, but give it a read if intetested, about economics, but am writing a piece to do with football.
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For the first time in a while as an Arsenal supporter, I sat back watching that game fully accepting of the fact Milan had Arsenal in their pocket the entire game. I enjoy seeing a tactical effort being conducted at the highest quality, and this game was enjoyable for me because I was able to witness that type of effort. I am not saying I wasn’t saddened by the loss, but I was able to sit and think to myself after the game, we were beaten all ends-up, and we had to accept that. I don’t think I have ever seen Ibra used so effectively in a Milan shirt.
I don’t like the criticism being launched at Wenger right now because I believe he can only do the best with the resources he has (I think this was implicit in his comments about technical sides/mentally strong sides). I am glad you took a positive approach to his inclusion of Rosicky because despite the animosity towards him I know he has that one attribute that is pervasive in most of your reviews on Arsenal this year; technical quality.
I also prefer the inclusion of a player like Rosicky in the side, because I believe it would encourage more tempo in our passing game, as I would argue good technique usually equates to more confidence with ball movement. I feel a good example to contrast would be the difference between Walcott and Van Persie. Time and time again Theo needs 2-3 touches of the ball to get it where he really wants it to be to make a decent pass; Van Persie plays one-touch. I did a bit of research on the 2008 team after the game and it was really apparent how much higher the tempo of the passing and movement (especially) was.
So it brings me to the question, Would it be conducive to the long-term identity of this team for Arsene to try and revert back to this style of tactic? Sagna, Song, Van Persie, Wilshere, and Diaby are accustomed to it, and to touch on Vieira and Hiddink’s points, the players with the experience would have a better knowledge of how to execute a game-plan (since they have been part of its implementation for that last several years). It just seems that when faced with adversity, Arsenal lose their identity, something that I don’t recall them doing as much in prior days. Thoughts?
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Arsenal Column Reply:
February 16th, 2012 at 9:03 pm
@Mike,
Hmm..firstly, I’d be very intrigued to read your research even if it’s not the most academic. I’m a junkie for this kind of work.
In regards to reverting to such a style, I’m sure it’s one of Arséne’s disappointments that the team hasn’t been able to keep the ball as well. Indeed, recently Wenger’s sought measures to keep the ball better. Wilshere’s key to balancing a possession approach with dynamism – perhaps we could slant towards ball retention more. Though this team doesn’t seem like it’s the best for that approach – it’s a transitional one in my view.
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Mike Reply:
February 17th, 2012 at 12:11 am
@Arsenal Column,
My bit of research was mostly observational from some of the 07/08 season I have been watching recently. Cumulatively that season Arsenal did not keep as much possession as they have this year (55% vs. 59%), but (I felt) that the quality of their possession particularly around the box was much more impressive than recently. Tempo of play is a bit difficult to put into a stat, but I think it is fair to say with players like Hleb, Cesc, Rosicky, and even Flamini who are mobile and all share good ball control, their collective influence allowed for better ball movement. The big difference for me was the amount of runs made into the box by these players (minus Flamini), and the amount of short 1-2′s in such tight areas (I still see glimpses of this approach from Rosicky, and perhaps that is why I have more sympathy for him than most).
I think that from a defensive point of view for the opposition, having to track runs into the box while still not giving room away for a shot is a very delicate compromise that Arsenal were able to exploit. I feel we are miles away from this type of offensive approach nowadays, and although I realize Arsenal must play to their personnel (Chamberlains/Walcotts) the approach seems to be a bit more predictable.
I am really looking forward to the return of Jack and perhaps Diaby as well if he is able to add to Arsenal’s quality of possession (I think he has been one to attack the box and look for space). If Arsenal can try to re-introduce this type of dynamism like you mentioned, it feels like they would be back on the path to cultivating the type of intricate passing style and ball retention that was effective (and entertaining) in 07/08.
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Jared Reply:
February 17th, 2012 at 2:03 pm
@Mike,
I don’t really like to bash players, but to get back to that kind of football like the 07/08 season , Arsene needs to think about selling Walcott, i think he is meant more for championship football.
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Milan might not have trumped Arsenal spectacularly on any statistic except shots and goals but one might be telling. They made 25 successfully found runs in the penalty area in comparison to Arsenal’s 9.
Delivery/solo runs in penalty area:
First half: 14-2
Second-half: 11-7
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I think that, of all the things we lost from last year (Fabregas, Nasri, Wilshere, greatest striker in the world Nicklas Bendtner), the biggest loss was our possession-oriented, structured pressing game. I think that it is a much better defensive strategy than our current strategy of much more eased pressing from the midfield. Part of that is probable due to personnel problems – our creative wingers this year are not as good as Nasri, and our best wingers are dynamic ones – and Ramsey is nowhere near as good as Fabregas (which would be important when we camp outside their penalty area for 70% of the game trying to find an opening). Still, that doesn’t preclude the possibility of aggressive pressing, like Real does against Barcelona sometime (with a similar team – Alonso only creating from deep, wing players who are more wingers than playmakers). If there’s anything that has exposed Arsenal defensively this game, it is not the individual frailties of the back four; it is the fact that we continue to press ineffectively, and I think that shows in our defensive record this year and last (if you ignore the set piece goals that we conceded). And every time we need goals, we push Ramsey into the 4-2-3-1 that we used last year – why don’t we ever start from that strategy?
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Very informative piece (Y)
Whilst we left a lot to be desired going forward, I feel as though our defensive set-up lost us the game.
As you mention, our pressing game was very poor.
Contrast the way we pressed compared to Milan, and you could see a huge gulf in tactical astuteness.
The front free of Milan always pressed towards the side of the field Arsenal were playing, leaving a full-back on the opposite side of the field free on most occasions.
It may seem slightly reckless to leave a full-back completely open, but ultimately, it’s the least threatening position to allow the opposition time on the ball – particularly when we were so reluctant to quickly switch the ball to the opposite flank.
Beyond the front three, their midfielders closed us down to a degree, in order to stop our centre-backs/deeper-lying midfielders pushing forward, but mainly concentrated on positioning themselves between the man on the ball, and the Arsenal players in behind.
They didn’t focus on harrying us off the ball as quickly as possible; they ensured that all of our passing options were cut off.
With our slow ball circulation, Milan were easily able to reorganise themselves whenever they lost possession, and created robust defensive lines between our man on the ball and the goal.
When we relinquished possession, the front men were quick to close down, but ultimately, the organisation wasn’t right.
As you highlighted, Milan always had an option available through the middle of the park.
I feel our frontline should have adopted a similar mentality to theirs. Instead, the widemen in our 433 seem to stick to the fullback, and a lot of room is afforded to their central defenders.
This, of course, changed a bit when Henry came on, but we still suffered from a lack of compactness in the centre of the park.
Another problem with our set up was the combination of full-backs pushing up and the gap between defence and midfield.
This left Milan with space down the channels and in front of the centre-backs to play with.
If Song has dropped deeper to support the defence (like Busquets for Barcelona), the full-backs would have had more freedom to push up, there would have been less of a gap between midfield and defence, they wouldn’t have had such freedom to go direct (Song could stick in front of Ibrahimovic to cut off the high ball), and the centre backs could have got tighter, without fear of leaving a huge gap in behind them.
I appreciate the benefits of a more attacking midfield set-up, but against opposition like Milan, we can’t allow their forwards the time and space that we did.
It’s not about a comparative lack of quality; we need more organisation, IMO.
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dy Reply:
February 17th, 2012 at 5:31 am
@DaStuDawg, I think Arsenal didn’t realize and appreciate the quality of the Milan team right from the kick-off. Its a mentality thing, if they’re not properly psych themselves before the game, the battle was lost before it even started. I can vividly recall last season’s home game against Barca and later the second against ManU, both matches saw Arsenal with the same alertness and ‘aggressive’ approach. Not for a moment they dropped the level of concentration during the ninety minutes. This is the kind of performance you need to win any game.
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Depressing defeat against Milan. No performance whatsoever to speak of.
Things do not seem bright today against Sunderland. I think it is better to give chance to youngsters rather than field the first team again so that even if there are lose or have injuries in this match, we do not have to compromise against Spuds.
I believe 4th place in EPL is more important than FA cup. Wenger will take the right call.
I will be watching the game
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I wanted to let the match sink in for a few days before commenting.
I’ll start with the midfield performance, since it was the most baffling part of the match. Against Milan, there are two main approaches in midfield without the ball. The first is an aggressive press, targeted at Van Bommel, who is the weakest passer in the entire side. This risks Boateng (and to a lesser extent Ibrahimovic and Robinho) finding space in between the lines. The second approach is leaving Van Bommel free and focusing on denying space in front of the defense. This denies Ibrahimovic space to drop off, but risks allowing Milan to dominate possession. We attempted an anemic compromise, sometimes failing to close down Van Bommel quickly, and sometimes allowing too much space in front of the defense. Milan’s best passer (Seedorf) left the match early, but we still lost the midfield battle. Even though we had lots of the ball, we utterly failed to control their midfield. That brings me to our midfield with the ball. When in possession, we rarely stretched the field, but instead Rosicky and Walcott took it in turns to motor right into the jaws of Van Bommel. We struggled to bypass their midfield, and RVP was left on his own to try to beat two center backs, one of whom is arguably the best in the world at his position. It also didn’t help that Christian Abbiati had a very good match.
With our midfield looking especially flimsy, great performances were needed from Vermaelen and Sagna, our two leaders in defense. Unfortunately, both proved comically incapable of handling Ibrahimovic, who had an excellent game. Ibrahimovic is a far more versatile player than people think, and he caused problems in the air, over the top, on the wings, and with the ball at his feet.
While we were tactically and technically inferior to Milan, what turned a defeat into a rout was poor mentality. Szcz made a baffling punt in the lead up to the first goal, and Sagna failed to play to the whistle for the second goal. However, the worst moment of the match for me was Robinho (who is an excellent player, but is short and has about as much muscle as Kate Moss) winning an uncontested header off of an Abbiati punt. Unacceptable lack of effort and focus.
Hopefully our younger players learn from the discipline and footballing intelligence on show from Milan, and this match provides an impetus for positive change.
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