{"id":1251,"date":"2020-08-19T13:32:53","date_gmt":"2020-08-19T12:32:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/?p=1251"},"modified":"2020-08-24T19:33:14","modified_gmt":"2020-08-24T18:33:14","slug":"squad-review-3-midfield","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/?p=1251","title":{"rendered":"Squad review 3 \u2013 Midfield"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

A Polo Mint, An Aero Bar, But No Turkish Delight<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
It\u2019s apparently all in the arm movements. From 90min.com<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Some thoughts on\nArsenal\u2019s midfield play in EPL Season 2019\/20<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

What Do We Want?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The crown of creativity and skilled at unpicking the lock of\nthe most tightly parked defensive bus; a ring of steel providing a nearly\nimpenetrable barrier in front of our defence; the heartbeat that drives the\nwhole team along at the tempo required by the master conductor; great\ncontributors of extra, often unexpected, goals at critical moments; the\nshowcase for the technical skills of a team hallmarked for a brand of football\nthat has tens of thousands turning up week after week to be thrilled.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Your subconscious will by now have thrown right to the\nforefront of your minds the names and visual images of most of the players\nyou\u2019ve seen deliver excellence in all of these dimensions for Arsenal in\nmidfield roles and so I won\u2019t dwell on a single one. I know that you all know\nexactly whom I\u2019m thinking about. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Did We Get It?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

There have been times in the fairly recent past when several\nor even all of the above descriptors might have been used to characterise the\ncontribution made by Arsenal\u2019s midfield as a unit to the team\u2019s collective\nplay. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Season 2019\/20 was not, by any stretch of the imagination,\none of those times. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In fact, for much of the season a neutral observer might\nwell have wondered at times whether Arsenal actually had a midfield, or any\nplayers who were acknowledged specialists in midfield positions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Did we get it? Did we heck as like.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mediterranean and\nNordic Menus<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Context is important and it goes almost without saying that\nquite apart from the ingredients in the mix, there are other factors that need\nto be considered before the perfect cake can be baked. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s critical that there is an overarching strategy and a consistent\nstyle of play that the players understand and buy into. While tactics may vary\nto cater for the style of play of opponents, they have to do so in a measured,\nnot an apparently random way. The likelihood of success is increased\nsignificantly by regularly selecting the same players and playing them in the\nsame positions. In this way, they master their roles, both individually and\ncollectively.  This is a case where familiarity\ncertainly does not breed contempt. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

And as for the players themselves, it really helps if they\ncan cover ground quickly, play with both feet and their head, see opportunities\ngoing forward and have the speed of thought and skill to action against each;\nand likewise, see danger coming, tackle well to win the ball and use it effectively\nwhen defending. The basics.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And so to the season that almost never finished; a season\nthat has already been described magnificently here in the blog in preceding\nposts, saving me the effort of doing so! <\/p>\n\n\n\n

2019\/2020 \u2013 The Cast\nof Characters<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Three different chefs. Three different dishes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After more than 20 years of stability under Arsene Wenger,\nthis was a season in which Arsenal endured the turmoil of three different \u2018Captains\nat the wheel\u2019, three very different characters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Arsenal.com lists our midfield players as: <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mesut \u00d6zil, Lucas Torreira, Ainsley Maitland Niles, Joe\nWillock, Matteo Guendouzi, Granit Xhaka and Bukayo Saka. There is still no\nmention of Dani Ceballos.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We should feel encouraged to see three academy-graduates\nfeature in this list alongside the captain of Switzerland, our famous German\nWorld Cup winner, Guendouzi the new sparkling talent, and Torreira, a Uruguay\nlynchpin.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On paper, particularly when Ceballos name is added, this is\na list that encourages optimism with the caveats that i) all players play to\ntheir full potential and ii) the team is set up to play to a consistent set of tactical\nplans that key off the players\u2019 strengths and individual talents.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And it would be remiss of me not to mention that when we\nplayed (often) with three at the back the two wing backs Bellerin and Kolasinac\nbecame part of a five-man midfield. Alexander Lacazette too was often charged\nwith coming back there, either to win and carry the ball forward, or to \u2018mark\u2019\nan opposing player.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And\nfinally, lest we forget, in his report on the opener at Newcastle, Goonerholic\nwrote \u201cHenrikh Mkhitaryan was accompanied in midfield\nby Joe Willock and Rhys Nelson\u201d. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In short, we were not <\/em>short of numbers in the midfield of 2019\/20. Quality was\nanother matter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Act 1: Basque Soup – From League Leaders to the Danger Zone<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

An away win at Newcastle followed by a home win\nagainst Burnley had Arsenal sitting briefly at the top of the pole. The latter\nof these two games was the more notable from a midfield perspective because it\nwas on that day that Dani Ceballos announced himself with a swashbuckling\ndisplay that engendered real hope.  That\ngame also signalled our first coach\u2019s cautiousness when Lacazette and Ceballos,\nwho had both looked capable of creating more, were substituted by Kolasinac and\nTorreira resulting in a nervy finish to a game that should have been won easily.\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Emery set the team up unsuccessfully to defend\nand win on the break at Liverpool using Ceballos ahead of Xhaka, Guendouzi and\nWillock in midfield. The Xhaka\/ Torreira double pivot with Guendouzi as creator\nfared better in a 2-2 draw with Spurs<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At Watford, \u00d6zil, Guendouzi, Ceballos and Xhaka\nall started in a midfield that didn\u2019t last more than an hour against the bottom\nclub. Emery rung further changes by introducing Torreira and Willock in an\nattempt to find a more potent blend.  A deflating\n2-2 draw resulted. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

For Villa\u2019s visit Guendouzi and Saka were introduced\nto add sparkle going forward. Arsenal won, but two easy Villa goals really\nhighlighted our defensive fragility. A double pivot of Xhaka and Torreira, with\nGuendouzi as creator this time, brought another positive, a 1-1 draw at Old\nTrafford.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I was in the stadium for the next game, but still\ncouldn\u2019t quite believe that we beat Bournemouth 1-0.  This, for me, was the day that things began\nto unravel for Unai. In contrast to the sparkling football displayed by our \u2018B\nTeam\u2019 in Europe, this eleven lacked both confidence and competence. Visibly unsure\nof what they were being asked to do and uncomfortable with passing out from the\nback, their ability to pass the ball disappeared completely and Bournemouth\nwere able to ghost through a non-existent midfield to apply pressure that\nshould have brought a different result.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Guendouzi, Willock and Xhaka lacked robustness\nin a 1-0 defeat at Sheffield. And that was followed by Crystal Palace and Xhaka-Gate.\nXhaka had been a constant under Emery and on this day, Unai\u2019s wagon lost a very\nbig wheel and began to tilt toward the cliff edge.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Absent Xhaka, Emery turned to \u00d6zil for\nsalvation. Away defeat at Leicester (with a back three) and two draws (Wolves, Southampton)\nrevealed player confidence in themselves and their coach to be in the bucket,\nwith midfield defending as solid as the centre of a polo mint. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The only surprise about Emery\u2019s dismissal was\nthat it came so late. Many players, many combinations, many different tactics,\nmany, many mistakes, many incomprehensible communications left us on a dangerous\nvector.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Act 2: Pickled Fish – Staying Afloat.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Freddie Ljungberg\u2019s brief spell on deck\nreturned four points from a possible twelve, one encouraging win at West Ham, a\ndepressing hammering by Man City, an even more depressing defeat against\nstrugglers Brighton and a scrambled draw at lowly Norwich. Freddie quickly\nreinstalled Xhaka in his team, looked to \u00d6zil to wave a magic wand, liked the\nlook of Torreira as DM and gave Guendouzi and Willock two opportunities each to\ndisplay their wares. Nothing worked in terms of real creativity and at best, the\nmidfield\u2019s defending moved from polo mint to chocolate aero in terms of\nresilience.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

New coach. Same players. Same outcome.  Predictably, this prompted the lazy\nconclusion from some that Wenger had \u2018left the club with a pile of sh*te to\nplay with\u2019. The wiser amongst us weren\u2019t swayed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Act 3: Hot Paella – The Gleam of Silver in Mikel\u2019s Eye. <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mikel Arteta\u2019s impact on arrival was immediate\nand impressive. From the moment of his opening statement on arrival right\nthrough to his after-match summary of Arsenal\u2019s FA Cup Win and Europa\nqualification, Arteta has personified lucidity in his communications and\nclarity of purpose on the task in hand.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis is what we need to do. This is how we\u2019re\ngoing to do it.  And, by the way, we have\na great squad but we need to add more quality.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Immediately, increased tactical\ncoherence became apparent. Players, now absolutely clear on purpose and\nskilfully coached, grew measurably in confidence and commitment to meeting\ntheir coach\u2019s demands. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

And for MA8\u2019s midfield, Xhaka was an imperative, a constant\nand a talisman \u2013 results were better when he played. The new boss hoped for\nTurkish delight from \u00d6zil, but swallowed hard after an extended run revealed\nthat the German\u2019s delicious days of craft at Arsenal were in a pile behind him.\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Like his predecessors, Mikel fostered youth. Guendouzi and\nWillock, featured often with Saka, Maitland-Niles and Tierney adding midfield\nguile, bite and pace from central wing-back positions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In Dani Ceballos, Arteta found a willingness to \u2018work like a\ndog\u2019 to meet his demands as a midfield player. In Matteo Guendouzi he found a\npetulant youth incapable or unwilling to fight his way off the naughty step and\nhence with no future at Arsenal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Properly schooled, marvellously motivated, constantly\ncajoled, this time: same players, new (and much better) coach and excellent\ntactics, good team selections, propelled every department of the team forward\nand midfield was no exception.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Finale: A\nHard Road Ahead<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Arsenal\u2019s successes in 2019\/20 were attributable principally\nto Pierre Emmerich Aubamayang\u2019s predatory instincts, some wonderful goalkeeping\nand Mikel Arteta\u2019s motivational and tactical skills. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

This was a season in which Arsenal\u2019s midfield did barely\nenough to get by, often looked to be missing in action and in which several\nplayers were revealed to be lacking the skills, the temperament or the\ncommitment necessary to drive the team to the level required and demanded by\nour coach. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

On an overall average measure of the two key missions of the\nunit, midfield creation and defence, it would be difficult to ascribe a score\nhigher than 5 out of 10 for either. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

There was rarely ever evidence of Arsenal \u201cbossing the\nmidfield\u201d and that is a situation that absolutely must be rectified as a\npriority in a summer in which, to quote the boss, \u201csome hard decisions need to\nbe taken\u201d. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

And so to the cast:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

  • After an excellent start, a very poor middle, then a wonderful end, I thought that Ceballos<\/strong> was the standout MF player. <\/li>
  • Xhaka<\/strong> returned from the death to become an Arteta favourite and guarantee his place for next year. Doubts remain however about his pace, his speed of thought and his tackling ability. <\/li>
  • Torreira<\/strong>\u2019s best role is DM and Emery\u2019s early decision to play him further forward didn\u2019t help him to shine in a season troubled by injury. We may need to look elsewhere than Fray Bentos for corned-beef supplies next year.<\/li>
  • \u00d6zil\u2019s<\/strong> race is run. Best for everyone if he can be found an exit. <\/li>
  • Guendouzi<\/strong>, who promised much, delivered little and is the poorest header of a ball I\u2019ve ever seen, is no longer a team sheet fixture.<\/li>
  • Saka <\/strong>(in particular), Willock <\/strong>and Maitland-Niles <\/strong>can all be proud of significant advances in their careers. All three may not survive the summer of hard decisions (my preference is that they should).<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n

    So that\u2019s my take. You all know I want to Partey<\/em><\/strong>\nnext season. Please make that happen, Arsenal. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Have a great summer, Holics.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    A Polo Mint, An Aero Bar, But No Turkish Delight Some thoughts on Arsenal\u2019s midfield play in EPL Season 2019\/20 What Do We Want? The crown of creativity and skilled at unpicking the lock of the most tightly parked defensive bus; a ring of steel providing a nearly impenetrable barrier in front of our defence; […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[13,10],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1251"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/8"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1251"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1251\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1257,"href":"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1251\/revisions\/1257"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1251"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1251"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1251"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}