In football, how much possession you can have in opponent half is what matters mostly in winning than how much you enjoy in your own half.
Arsenal: Arsène Wenger please play 4-4-2
In the book, The Winning Way by Harsha Bhogle there is a beauty line that says “When changes happen, champions do make changes to their game but not in their success”. The good example for that line will be how the champion cricketer Sachin Tendulkar attacked with all the power at young age scoring at a rate more than 80 runs for every 100 balls then when injuries had him, he doesn’t changed his game drastically in technique instead used the pace of the bowlers rather than his own power and still managed to score more than 80 runs per 100 balls.
The changes do happen and it’s a must one that every teams needs to cross in their path. Wenger and Arsenal are no different. Arsenal enjoyed huge success 6 seasons ago in Premier League but now succumbs to teams that barely challenged them when they are on the winning road. There is not even single player in the present team who played in that invincible team but the manager is still remains the same.
Wenger had huge success with 4-4-2 formations but actually he created players rather than to say he had the players for that formation. But once those players left the club, Wenger strangely decided to change to more ball controlling formations like 4-2-3-1, 4-2-1-3 and 4-5-1 leaving either too little space upfront or too much space at back. His quality of players went down but the situation is more or less same for him when he chosen the 4-4-2 formation.
In the last match against Blackburn in league match, Arsenal went down after dominating for most of the match. Wenger magically managed to find defenders who can score goals but to his agony, only on their own net not on the oppositions. But what happened in last 20 minutes of the match is the reason why Wenger must still consider 4-4-2. In came Chamakh at 73rd minute, formations changed to more 4-4-2 with wings attacked by Walcott and Gervinho. From that minute to till the match ended, ball was played more by Arsenal in opponent half. They defended better, players anticipated the passes better and more importantly if Persie misses, there is Chamakh who gets onto the ball with goal scoring chances still. Towards the end of match, Arsenal fans would have enjoyed the match more atleast with the near misses by players than passing ball skills in their own half.
Once Vermaelen and Wilshere comes back to strengthen the defence and provide more support in midfield play then Walcott and Gervinho as attacking wings along with two out of Van Persie or Chamakh or Arshavin in forward, Arsenal can still play better in 4-4-2 and trouble the opponents.
In Arsene, we trust!
Tags: 4-4-2, Arsenal, Arsene Wenger, EPL, Football, Formation, Harsha Bhogle, Premier League, The Winning Way
