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In my previous article I mentioned about how Arsene Wenger would look to revert to his 4-4-2 formation, a system which stamped his authority in the premier league. In this article I am going to explain Why I feel he would shift to the formation with minor tweaks . The point of spending 35 million Euros on a World Class winger and not on a striker, something a lot of Arsenal fans wanted, and How Oliver Giroud could be a very important player for Arsenal from here on.
The ERA before 2006:-
When Arsene Wenger took over the club in October 1996, he had very little to worry about the defensive organization of the team. Former club manager and legend George Graham had already forged a solid back 4 boasting of the likes of Lee Dixon , Tony Adams, Nigel Winterburn, Martin Keown and Steve Bould with David Seaman at the goal.
Wenger's first few signings were Patrick Vieira and Nicholas Anelka. Wenger built the core of his team around Dennis Bergkamp by signing players like Marc Overmars and Emmanuel Petit to add more firepower and stability in midfield. The final piece of the puzzle fell into place on 3rd August 1999 when Arsenal completed the signing of Thierry Henry.
However retirements of club Icons (Tony Adams, Lee Dixon ) and departures of key players in defense and midfield forced Arsene Wenger to rebuild his team retaining only the core players Vieira , Bergkamp and Thierry Henry. The team that he rebuilt went on to become the "Invincibles" .
The team followed a 4-4-2 system as shown below. Wenger had used 2 midfield powerhouses, Gilberto Silva and Patrick Vieira, who provided cover for the defense but most importantly linked the defense to their creative general Dennis Bergkamp.
Pires and Ljungberg were used as wingers who drifted inside whenever an opportunity arose with Henry used as a number 9 (moved in from the left most of the times). The width was provided by the highly rated academy graduate Ashley Cole and the winger turned right back Lauren.
Dennis Bergkamp was the most important player in this team, he was the glue that kept the entire Arsenal attack together. Arsenal at this time played a more direct style of football relying on the quick transitions from their midfield power houses and troubling teams with the pace they had upfront.
Arsenal post 2012
Having seen off the financial crisis, which was restricting his plans to rebuild his team, Arsene Wenger started the rebuilding of his team by getting rid of the deadwood and replaced them with players like Per Mertesacker, Laurent Koscielny, Santi Cazorla , Lucas Podolski and Oliver Giroud. The only setback was the loss of captain and world class striker Robin van Persie.
Mesut Ozil's arrival in the summer of 2013 was the clubs most expensive transfer ever. It was a statement made by Arsene Wenger to tell everyone that he could now match the spending power of his elite counterparts. The signing along with the previous ones was crucial in ending the 8 year trophy drought.
Why sign Alexis and not a striker?
There are two important reasons to this :-
1.) Giroud still has lots to offer and is yet to be used in the right role.
2.) Unavailability of a world class striker
Now with the arrival of Alexis Sanchez, Arsene Wenger has not only added enough quality to the first team but also given him an option to change his system .
The image below shows how I feel Arsenal would line up for the 2014/15 season.
I feel Wenger would use Alexis in a similar role to Thierry Henry and Oliver Giroud would now play a key part in how Arsenal play. Giroud has been a player who has been constantly criticized by Arsenal fans. In reality, they have just made him a scapegoat. Oliver Giroud for me is not a proper number 9, he is more of a second striker or target man who should be playing with another striker and not upfront on his own.
Giroud is a very intelligent striker, he has superb vision , control and the ability to hold on to the ball while bringing in his teammates into the game. Wenger will be using him in the same role as Dennis Bergkamp, don't get me wrong here, I am not comparing the two players.
Giroud in this role would allow the likes of Walcott and Sanchez to move into much more attacking positions. With Ozil being the chief architect and having a player like Ramsey who is one of the best box to box midfielders in the league the role of Giroud becomes even more important. He will be the glue to hold all these players together. He will be the one to link everyone in attack, a perfect modern day target man. Giroud scored 23 goals and had 11 assists in all competitions last season and these numbers are bound to increase with the additions of Sanchez and the return of Walcott from his injury.
Why Arsenal fans compare him with other strikers or with their former strikers is beyond me. He is an entirely different player to the rest of them. Giroud is a jack of all trades, He has good physical presence, his vision and creativity is very good, a good header of the ball and a decent finisher. Of course you can argue that scoring goals is important for a striker but hasn't he done that too?. He is a player who is similar to Berbatov for me. Berbatov's best figures in the league came in his penultimate season for Manchester United where he scored 20 goals, Giroud's highest so far is 16 !
Free role for Mesut Ozil ?
Ozil had a fantastic World Cup for Germany. Ozil is evolving into a more complete player, becoming more and more like Iniesta and Silva. The change from being a more direct playmaker to a more complete and mature playmaker seems to have thrown a lot of doubts regarding his quality. I have seen a lot of people telling how his numbers in terms of goals and assists have gone down from his time at Madrid. How he is not a big game player anymore. Well, when you look up at Iniesta's and Silva's stats you get a better idea of what I am trying to say here.
Ozil is becoming that kind of a player who helps in carrying the ball forward during the transition, who plays a huge part in his teams ball retention. The most important statistic for a playmaker is the chances created, in that aspect Ozil is right at the top for Germany with 17 chances created in 7 games. Arsene Wenger would be happy he is turning into a more complete playmaker than just a usual number 10. With Players like Alexis Sanchez and Walcott, Ozil will find a lot of space to drift into. He should be used as a Trequartista. Wenger should give him a free role than just a central number 10 role .
Differences with the older 4-4-2 system
The biggest difference would be in the style of play; opposed to the direct, pacy hitting on the break style in the past Wenger would now look to integrate his possession based style of play into the new system.
This would require a few tweaks to the system. Like the Free role for Ozil, Giroud playing as a withdrawn forward, constant inward movement from both Alexis Sanchez and Walcott and most importantly a high line in defense.
The high line was something that made Wenger pay dearly but he continued using it . Games against Liverpool, Chelsea and Manchester City saw the team concede a galore of goals and their slow highline was cited as a reason for the defensive frailties. In my opinion the lack of a defensive midfielder is what made things worse and not playing highline. They did not have the right cover to play a high line and that is something Wenger will have to look into if he is going to play this system.
The new system would be something like a 4-2-1-3 , with Ozil playing a free role as a trequartista and Giroud playing as the withdrawn striker.
What signings to make?
The only signing I feel is needed the most now is a player to partner Aaron Ramsey in midfield. A work horse or a defensive midfielder to cover the defense and someone who would allow Ramsey to storm forward when an opportunity arises.
Wenger in a recent Interview said "‘Up front we don't need any more, maybe I will still bring in one centre-back. I will bring in a goalkeeper for sure and we are still out there to strengthen our squad".
This again is an indicator that Wenger feels Giroud is his ideal man upfront, at least until he tries him out there. They do have enough back up in Lucas Podolski, Yaya Sanogo and Costa Rican World Cup star Joel Campbell. Walcott as a striker is another option for Wenger should Giroud get injured or needs to be rested. Getting a striker later on should this set up fail is not a big problem for Arsenal given their cash reserves and spending power. Arsenal fans need to understand that the signings required now are a centerback should Vermaelen leave and the midfielder to partner Ramsey.
Verdict :
Wenger's motives seem pretty clear here. He has been wanting to change his system for a while and finally gets a chance to do it. This system would bring out the best in his players and would make the best use of their qualities. Arsenal look more sorted out now from a tactical perspective, the team is superbly balanced barring the Defensive Midfielder and that signing is something which should be done soon. A new era for the Gooners !
