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Arsenal host Marseilles on Tuesday knowing that a win will secure their place in the Champions League knock-out round with a game to spare. The Gunners beat Marseille 2-1 in France in September, and their opponents sit pointless at the bottom of Group F.
If Marseille are to leave the Emirates with anything, then a key battle will be their attempts to stifle Arsenal’s plethora of creative players in midfield. They made a good fist of such a job in the first tie between the two, and conceded both goals from wide areas rather than the middle.
Should he start, then Gianelli Imbula – a rumoured transfer target for Arsenal – will be looking to replicate his performance from the sides’ previous meeting, when he successfully reduced Mesut Ozil to a Squawka Performance Score of minus 25.
Whilst Arsenal as a whole produced a good performance in Marseille, the French side’s holding midfield players – Imbula and Jacques-Alaixys Romao – performances meant that Ozil and Olivier Giroud’s performances were eclipsed by the rest of their teammates.
Marseille Tackles Won vs Arsenal
By stifling central midfield areas through the holding duo in front of their defence, Marseille restricted the impact that Ozil could have from the central area in which he played that evening. The French side made nine interceptions and 11 tackles with – more importantly – a huge proportion of these coming in defensive midfield areas in front of their back four.
Marseille Interceptions vs Arsenal
Marseille’s interceptions map from the first-leg (above) is particularly impressive, and shows how they successfully managed to stop the Arsenal midfield from linking up and finding lone striker Giroud, with seven interceptions in the final third as they successfully broke down Arsenal attacks.
Key Passes Marseille v Arsenal
Whilst they ultimately lost the game, they restricted Arsenal to just five key passes. Marseille actually completed more key passes than Arsenal – eight – meaning that the difference between the sides was mainly in finishing.
Ozil will be looking to improve upon the last time he played Marseille, when he was a marked man every time he received the ball. Whilst he did contribute two key passes from inside the box, Ozil ‘s pass map (shown above) shows that he frequently resorted to dropping deep or into wide areas to pick up the ball, with very few forward passes made from central positions.
Arsenal midfield players switching positions is, of course, not unexpected, but the fact that Ozil kept popping up deep on a right wing occupied by Theo Walcott suggests frustration rather than interchanging, given that Walcott is the one Gunners midfielder who is expected to occupy his right-wing position all game.
Imbula scored the highest Performance Score of any Marseille player in that game as they successfully crowded out Ozil, and could be key again on Tuesday. The Action Areas map above shows the positions that he took up, protecting his defence whilst also attempting to stride forward.
Imbula Duels Won
Over the course of the season so far Imbula has contributed 20 tackles to the Marseille cause, as well as an impressive 67% of his 27 attempted take-ons. Whilst his role at the Emirates on Tuesday is likely to be mainly defensive, he does have attacking traits. In a game in which Marseille are expected to be limited to counter attacks, his athleticism and ability to stride out of defensive areas could be particularly important in supporting what may end up being an isolated forward line.
Romao Defensive Actions Ligue 1 2013/14
Alongside fellow holding midfielder Romao, who averages five defensive actions a game in Ligue 1, Imbula provides an impressive shield in midfield and so Arsenal may find themselves having more success attacking from wide areas than centrally on Tuesday. With this in mind, the return from injury of Theo Walcott looks like perfect timing.
In September both of Arsenal’s goals came from their left hand side, with Kieran Gibbs involved in each of them. Walcott opened the scoring in France, and will be able to provide the genuine width that has been at times lacking in recent weeks. The Gunners can use Walcott’s directness, in tandem with a resurgent Bacary Sagna, to circumvent the centre of Marseille’s midfield, and can subsequently stretch the French side.
Providing a plan B when Arsenal need a goal, Walcott’s pace is a key tool in the Gunner’s armoury. As shown against Manchester United recently, if Arsenal’s passing game doesn’t click, or is stunted by a stubborn midfield, then they can be found wanting in terms of a plan B. Walcott provides the pacey option from the right, and his width ensures that opponents are punished if they decide to set up a narrow defensive shape and pack central areas to try and stop Arsenal. Before his injury Walcott played well against a pretty unambitious Fulham side, completing four take-ons, and Arsenal could need him to do a similar job against a side with no wins in Europe.
