Recently, our Manager commenced his 13th year at the helm of our great club. In that time, opposition managers have worked out that if you close down the space in front of the 18 yard box

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By Henry Friedman

How often over the past few years have you seen this happen?

We walk out on the pitch against a “lesser” team, the game begins, we have the lion’s share of possession as the opposition play a 4-5-1 formation where they camp out on their 18 yard line with ten men behind the ball, we pass the ball in pretty patterns in front and to the sides of these ten men working frantically to close down any and all space, we have umpteen corners which we fail to capitalize on, while the “lesser” team lumps the ball up to their forward whenever they manage to gain momentary possession as they attempt (and succeed much more often than I like!) to hit us on the break and nick a goal.

My frustration at out recent result against Sunderland has prompted this essay / rant, because if you’ve seen as many games as I have, I’m sure you’re shaking your head at the moment and saying, “Too bloody often!”

Firstly a clarification. I say “lesser” team with no arrogance (or trepidation). I feel Arsene Wenger (AW) has assembled one of the purest and finest football teams most people have ever had the pleasure to watch, and when teams come against us and try to play football, they tend to lose.

However, the problem AW’s side now seems to face on an almost weekly basis is a simple one. It is one of evolution.

Recently, our Manager commenced his 13th year at the helm of our great club. In that time, opposition managers have worked out that if you close down the space in front of the 18 yard box, and deny us that space (and time), we can be negated. If your choice is to play football and get thumped, or defend for your lives for ninety minutes and possibly get a result, the answer is unfortunately rather blindingly obvious.

One of our largest problems today is that our style of play as a team, though fluid and very pleasing on the eye, is, after 12 years, one dimensional and therefore sadly predictable. The defensive 4-5-1 (D451) now seems the sole tactic for which we have not evolved any solutions to counteract, other than to score first to open up the game.

But I feel there is another solution…

What is it, I hear you ask?

We must hurt these teams by scoring so many goals that it becomes futile to keep playing this system.

Ha Ha, smart arse I hear you say…

So how do we do this, I hear you wonder?

When trying to isolate the problem of why this 4-5-1 tactic is so frequently effective I asked the following questions. Is our inability to break down lesser opponents a technical issue? A tactical issue? A personnel issue?

My personal answer to these is no. Man for man, we have some of the brightest talents in world football, with fantastic technical and physical abilities, currently being guided by one of the greatest managers in World Football today.

So what is the problem then?

My answer is:

IT’S NOT ABOUT THE SPACE (OR LACK OF), IT’S ABOUT THE ANGLES!

To my thinking, the problem of our inability to break down this D451 is STRUCTURAL in nature.

Everybody who has seen a few of our games can tell you our game is based on passing and movement, that our typical formation is a flat 4-4-2, that our fullbacks provide width by running the line, that AW tends to prefer his “wingers” to be more playmakers who come infield etc. etc. and the simple truth is that I love our style of play.

I love the way we move the ball about. I love the way we can have the opposition chasing shadows as we zip the ball about the pitch and score for fun…but the one thing that causes me to despair is when we’re chasing the game to such an extent that I see Gallas or Toure bombing up the pitch to try and make an extra man in attack.

This is why…

D451 tends to look something like this:

We tend to line up like this:

Several times I’ve noticed AW try and play 4-5-1 with Adebayor up front on his own in order to get an extra man in midfield to combat this, but there’s another way!

AW generally leaves his two CB’s at home to mark the lone opposition front man, but instead of two CB’s playing in a flat four across the back, we could modify this and play with a Sweeper…and a Stopper / Defensive Midfielder!

Pushing one of our CB’s into a DM position in front of the opposition striker while the other adopts a Sweeper position behind changes the game completely as:

1) It makes it more difficult for the opposition to get the ball out to their target man. When gaining possession of the ball it forces them to either play the ball over the top, or out wide into the channels. The longer the opposition can’t get the ball, the harder they work without respite, the easier the game for us.

2) Having one of our CB’s playing further forward changes the shape of our midfield and allows our Central midfield pairing to play in more advanced positions.

3) This allows our forwards and Attacking Midfielder(s) to press further up the pitch and onto the opposition’s defense. Do they have our ability to keep the ball with one of our boys always breathing down their neck?

4) Instead of having one of our Centre Backs trying to play as an Attacker when chasing a game, we instead play round pegs in round holes.

5) Most importantly, this structural alteration changes the angles of our passing triangles through the centre of the pitch, and will allow us to pass our way through our opponents like a hot knife through butter.

The below diagram is very primitive, but is there to try and give an idea of what I’m talking about. As you can see, it will allow us to press higher up the pitch, and go much more “man for man”. At that point it becomes about the football again…

As this example roughly shows, this changes the midfiled balamce in our favour…

To be honest, I had this idea years ago when Sol Campbell was the best Centre Back in the world and I found out Gilberto began his career there. I thought Gilberto could play CB in a 4-4-2, but move into midfield when we needed to change our shape in a fluid way to take into account the opposition changing from 4-4-2 to 4-4-1-1 to 4-5-1.

Today (though Gallas may not be a perfect Sweeper) I don’t see why Song or Djourou could not perform a similar function.

Maybe I’m wrong, and completely clueless in my thinking. But the truth is that I can’t take this anymore! I felt I had to get my idea out in the public domain in the hope that I’m onto something.

Arsene Wenger has probably forgotten more about football than I will ever know, but my wish is that someone at my beloved club hears this idea and possibly tries it in training, that maybe someday, when it matters (or not!) I will see my idea become a reality and we pass our way through that vile 4-5-1 like a hot knife through butter, and the wish of my heart comes true that I never see that awful bloody tactic again!

Whether you agree or not, the next time you watch The Arsenal, and you see us trying to break down that god awful negative 4-5-1, just ask yourself, “Could it work?”