da leao：
da bet nacional： Arsene Wenger has indicated that he intends to sign, at the very least, one defender in this summer’s transfer window. The Gunners’ defensive performance, Wenger said, has been ‘average’:
“If you divide the season into two – going forward we have done very well but defensively we have been average. When you concede 40 goals you don’t win the championship and I want to rectify that. My transfer policy this summer will be to keep our strengths going forward, add one player, and add more defensive strength to our team.”
A thought to consider is the cause of the defensive lapses this term. Has it been the fault of the defenders alone or is the team as whole culpable? If we take Thomas Vermaelen and his performances this season as an example; he has no doubt been a fine acquisition for the Gunners and, at 24, can really develop into a top class defender. His mistakes, though, have been costly (see here for an in depth analysis). The mistake highlighted in the analysis is Vermaelen’s tendency to push too far up the pitch in an attempt to close down the forward, leaving a huge space behind him for the opposition to exploit (Manchester United at home, West Ham at home, Barcelona at home and away). I do not condemn too harshly a simple mistake but it is the repetition of the same mistake that is criminal at this level. The management team and the player should have addressed the issue after its first or second occurrence.
Something that vindicates the defence and Vermaelen somewhat is the duty of the midfielders. The 4-3-3 requires a midfield trio of tactically astute players who either pick up the deep sitting attackers as they stray (i.e. man mark them) or, requiring more positional awareness, occupy the pockets of space near them so – if they do receive the ball – they can be pressurised immediately. In the case of Barcelona, Vermaelen had pushed up to cover Messi (not allowing him time and space to turn at the defence is something Vermaelen had undoubtedly been instructed to do) when Denilson and Diaby are essentially covering no one. Xavi was thus allowed a good few seconds on the ball (why so much time?!) before picking out Ibrahimovic.
There have been rumblings regarding the 4-3-3 this season and the team have come up drastically short when defending counter attacks (Man City, Man United glaring examples). I do not think the issue is with Fabregas’s role or Alex Song’s. Fabregas is allowed the creative freedom to roam because the other two midfielders will cover and it is in this formation that he has been at his most sublime. Song has developed remarkably this year and has the attributes to continue progressing as the relentless protector of the back four. It is the role of the third man in this midfield that has caused confusion for me; Denilson neither defends alongside Song nor does he stray forward to Fabregas’s domain. Diaby has at times shown his worth in the Vieira mould but his inconsistency is a stumbling block for being a central midfield player – consistency is the paramount quality required to succeed in that position. Nasri has only been deployed when Fabregas is unavailable so the pair is mutually exclusive in the centre of the park. This all leads to a very exposed and disjointed centre: Song is asked to do too much, the centre backs are left isolated, and Fabregas is sometimes forced to retreat resulting in the distance between attack and defence far too large to mount an incisive, penetrating counter of their own.
I think that 4-3-3 is logical for Arsenal purely because players like Nasri, Arshavin, Wilshere, and Rosicky are not wingers, nor are they strikers. It also allows Fabregas to orchestrate almost everything going forward. The introduction of Chamakh could mean Van Persie occupies an inside forward role on the right much like he has done for Holland in previous years but this all depends on the Moroccan’s mobility – there is the potential to interchange the forward roles and allow for a more fluid three-pronged-attack. This is pointless to even speculate however if the role of Song and Fabregas’s partner in midfield is not addressed; should they firmly sit alongside Song or venture further forward?
If you enjoyed this, you can follow me on Twitter