Written by Mean Lean on Sunday, 17 July 2011 10:58

Arsenal's second pre season match of season 2011/12 will certainly not live long in the memory. We could only manage a 1-1 draw with Chinese outfit Hangzhou Greentown and it could have been worse if the home side had been a little sharper in front of goal during the first half especially.

As I mentioned after the first friendly, it seems as if Arsene is already working towards our Champions League qualifier, by keeping together most of the team that are likely to play that match. It makes perfect sense as partnerships have to be re-established, the chemistry has to be rediscovered.

Whilst the first half performance was a negative, the good news is that only Bacary Sagna is a definite starter in our very important qualifier, possibly Arshavin but given that he ended the season behind Walcott, you could be forgiven for thinking the same will happen come August.

Defensively we were caught out continuously with threaded passes and balls down the side of our back four.

Johan Djourou was caught out early by a reverse pass that saw an opposition player slip past him and get a shot on goal to which Mannone was first to.

If the first error was the fault of Djourou, the second chance for the opposition must fall directly at the feet of Armand Traore who was playing three attackers onside.

The forward's shot curled against the base of the post and cleared away to safety.

Traore has always been very good going forward and played as a left winger whilst on loan at Portsmouth a few years ago but his positional sense will have to improve considerably if he wants to fight his way into our starting eleven on a permanent basis.

Although the defenders were not all in sync during the first half, they were not helped by the rest of the team. Playing such a high line requires pressing from the rest of the team to deny the opposition time and space to make accurate forward passes. This simply did not happen in the first half so the midfielders and defenders were able to loft forward passes at will.

The goal was coming and it was no surprise that it came from a set piece. Looking at many of our goals conceded last season, it was hardly ever about size and often about marking. It was the same again yesterday. For some strange reason we let go of all the opposition players and none of them were followed by our markers.

Mannone parried the ball out to a player to hit the rebound into the net. A familiar feeling and a poor goal to concede but I wouldn't get too despondent about it just yet. The team are in their second game of pre season and would have been more than likely only working on fitness before they flew out to Asia.

If on the 6th August against Benfica we are still watching the same errors from set pieces then you have the green light to go mental and I will most probably join you.

Another thing to point out from a defensive point of view was that three of the back four are likely to start the season on the Arsenal substitutes bench as well as the goalkeeper.

Moving away from the defence for a moment, a few of the selections were interesting. Carlos Vela for me is not a right sided player. He is what I call a straight lined player who is too predictable to play in wide positions. Players like Samir Nasri and Ryo Miyaichi can go either side, can shift their weight onto one foot and then push off onto the other side. They can go both sides, drag the ball away from defenders and are generally more unpredictable. I do not see Vela as that type of wide player. He suits the central position where his off the ball movement can allow him the chance to receive through passes in the box. However he was able to rotate with Van Persie and that worked quite well.

Tomas Rosicky was deployed in the Wilshere position for the first time which is an interesting position for him. He no longer has the goals to play behind the striker but I would like to see him play more often in the double pivot position with Alex Song when others are not available or are in need of rest.

Rosicky did not have a very good game and to be fair neither did his team mates but I hope it is not the last chance he gets in that position during pre season.

Samir Nasri was given the position behind the striker yet again and whilst he was on the ball more than most Arsenal players he did not provide many decisive passes and that for me is the reason why Nasri is not the man to replace Cesc, if he needs replacing.

Arshavin had been fairly quiet during the game but he provided a wonderful chipped pass to Van Persie on the stroke of half time, Van Persie's side foot was blocked by the keeper but Vela who had moved into the central position bundled the ball over the line.

Arsene Wenger changed the whole team for the second half. I wondered if perhaps he would have kept Sagna and Arshavin on for the first twenty minutes or so but the 45 minutes were enough. Ryo Miyaichi and Carl Jenkinson were given another chance to impress.

The second half team looked much stronger and better balanced. The work rate and pressing had improved while our combination passing had quickened.

While the defending looked more than suspect in the first half, I was very impressed and excited about the potential partnership of Vermaelen and Koscielny at the heart of the defence. Both players are quick and aggressive. Both fantastic on one on one's and they both compliment the high line very well.

Kieran Gibbs gave us an indication of what he will be providing for Arsenal this season. Offensively he is often like having an extra winger in the team. On a few occasions he dropped his shoulder and beat his man and had the presence of mind to find the cut back. Gibbs also had a shot well saved by the keeper following good work from Ryo Miyaichi.

Ramsey and Chamakh tested the keeper who came in for the second half but it was Theo Walcott who was left frustrated by the man in between the sticks. Theo who is an excellent finisher met his match yesterday as the keeper pulled off a string of top draw saves to deny him.

I thought Jack Wilshere was our best player in the second half along with Koscielny. Wilshere seems to have a greater attacking responsibility without Cesc in the side. Wilshere drove into spaces and slipped in Walcott on a number of occasions, he linked up with his attacking players and interchanged with Ramsey very well. Another step up would be frightening.

Jenkinson had a decent game but often couldn't get past his man in the final third but he looks more than capable of that which is a great sign. I am interested to see what he is like in the air from defensive situations, at the price we paid for him, he looks an absolute steal.

Ryo looks very talented and very skilful but you can see that he still needs to progress and work on his decision making. I don't think that is too far away and I don't necessarily think that he needs to go on loan to get that, the more he plays the better he will be. He currently is nowhere near what he can become. He is still a match winner though and almost won the game late on when he shuffled and shimmed his way inside and curled a shot to the far corner which was palmed away by the keeper.

Conclusion

While much of the post match talk will be about our poor defending in the first half, I do not think that is the full story. The team were much better defensively with a team that was much closer to our first team. Our opponents are currently in the middle of their season so are much fitter and sharper than we are which is normal. The squad have plenty of games and time to fine tune their game.

I love the energy and fight of the young core we had in the second half. Wilshere, Ramsey, Gibbs, Walcott, Ryo, Koscielny and Vermaelen all put in the graft when we didn't have the ball and hopefully this will be a standard procedure from all the squad when the season starts.

We were not at our free flowing best but another 45 minutes under the players belts will do them the world of good.

The players have returned to London, they can all mix in with Gervinho and work on the tactical side of the game as well as our defensive short coming from set plays.

I await the game in Germany against FC Cologne with interest.

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Comments (35)

• 17-Jul-2011 12:11 | | afc
  

  Just think if we added cahill, bains, tiote, and benzema, and got rid of bentner, squilaci, denilson, eboue, but arsene would never do this, why??? we will never know,, but just imagen what arsenal would do with those players added

• 17-Jul-2011 12:21 | | Vuja De
  

  Yesterday's game was interesting.
  
  First of all, the goal that we conceded from a corner had less to do with a lack of height in our penalty area, and more about the opposition being first to get to the ball once an attempted clearance - a poor one at that - was made.
  
  This is something that happens several times during the premier league season, and gives the impression that opposition players are somehow more switched on, and more determined, to get to both loose balls in the penalty area first, as well as balls played in the air first too.
  
  This is definitely something that should be addressed at training sessions and given a real priority this season.
  
  Secondly, we saw with the change over of centre halves at the break just what a difference it makes when you have two players - Koscielny and Vermaelen - who are very good at both reading the game and then pro-actively taking evasive action to close down the space into which opposition players are trying to play the ball into.
  
  This is definitely something that Djourou and Squilachi need to work on.
  
  If Koscielny and Vermaelen remain fit and healthy for most of the season, I suspect they'll be an integral part of any title charge that we may make.

• 17-Jul-2011 12:41 | | MeanLean
  

  Agreed on Kos and Verm. For me, if any new CB comes in then its 3rd or 4th choice or to be wheeled out to play the likes of Stoke City and Blackburn Rovers we will only offer long balls forward.
  
  If Koscielny can continue his rise and Vermaelen can rediscover his first season form then we have a potential world class partnership on our hands.

• 17-Jul-2011 12:53 | | aj
  

  The two halves of the game highlighted a couple of issues.
  
  In the first half, we played as we played much of last season - pitter-pattering our way round and round in circles, taking an age to make an impression, only to be confronted by a 'brick-wall' defense.
  
  In the second half, we played much better by keeping the tempo up, created an number of quick, incisive moves, getting good penetration through the defense only to lack a cutting edge up front
  
  I much prefer the second half style. With Neymar going to Madrid, we should really try hard to bring in Benzema and then I would be optimistic.

• 17-Jul-2011 13:03 | | MeanLean
  

  I think Benzema as a player is quality, great finisher, great technical ability etc but two questions.
  
  1) Where would he play?
  
  With RVP the number one in the false nine, it would be a massive gamble to move him into another position. He can play behind the striker but I am not so sure he can do that in a three man midfield. RVP is probably not able to cover the amount of ground needed to play in that position.
  
  2) Work rate
  
  Benzema is not known for his work rate and effort when not in possession of the ball. This has often been the reason why he hasn't been able to start as many games as he would have liked in Jose Mourinho's hard working team.
  
  That said, he is class and would score plenty of goals. I wouldn't complain at all but would be scratching my head as to where and how he would fit in.

• 17-Jul-2011 13:14 | | jp
  

  We have had the same defensive problems for the last 4 years, waiting till August 6th to lose faith. The time is NOW.

• 17-Jul-2011 13:27 | | Jekyll
  

  As Wenger is keeping on players such as Squillaci and Rosicky, who were comprehensive flops last season, it's difficult to see what will change next season - especially as he's now doing his usual backing away from immediate post-season comments about being 'very active' in the transfer market.
  
  If the same players and same system of play is being kept on for next season, where is the hope for change? Wenger seems to think that somehow things will just click with the players and they'll suddenly have the strength of character so clearly missing last season. He just lives on hope, not action. It's just not good enough from the manager of Arsenal.

• 17-Jul-2011 14:06 | | CG
  

  rosicky was not a flop. he was a good squad player that got a good number of assists. he's always commited and deserves a place in the arsenal squad.
  wenger probably wants the press to believe he is happy with the squad he has. I bet behind the scenes he wants to sell cesc and nasri for good money and is currently looking for ideal replacements! we know he's interested in english CB's and has mentioned the lack of englishness in our game. The arsenal playing this season will be different to what we've seen. If you're going to be a gooner then you have to believe in your best ever manager's judgement - IN ARSENE WE TRUST.

• 17-Jul-2011 14:37 | | mr h
  

  Well... if you want to imagine, why don't we imagine we are Man City. Just clear out all our players bar VP, CF, JW and then bring in all the players the newspapers tell us to, as well as Hiddink, then, maybe, just maybe, we will watch the worst team in the world win the quadruple, and I'll be watching it in the VIP box with Jessica Alba and Adriana Lima with copious amounts of contraband, that whilst we are imagining, isn't illegal, and in fact, you get PAID to do it!!!
  
  WOW... just imagine.

• 17-Jul-2011 15:03 | | keith  - Imagine
  

  Just like the Arsenal fans that said manure had the worst team last year and won the league. Imagine if Aw would spend some f****** money and win a trophy. WOW ... just imagine Smartass.

• 17-Jul-2011 15:06 | | richie  - Mourinho's way Benzema & us?
  

  ML I have a slight problem with that.
  Drogba arguably Mourinho's best buy as a striker has never been known as a player with a great work rate especially when not in possession. Mourinho's teams IMHO have all been built around the defense, and defending first. In attack they've been built around strikers taking their chances, which is why Drogba was so good. One on one against most defenders in the prem he's been lethal (Only slightly less in Europe me thinks).
  
  Likewise Ibrahimovic at Inter under Jose. His system hasn't changed, he favours a lone striker with 2 wide players that tuck in when not in possession, and provide width for crosses when moving forward. His front men (Drogba & Ibro) hold up long balls and providing assists for those joining the attack. The system has not worked as well at Madrid epecially for Benzema because thats not his forte. He's pacey and plays more in the role that many of us would like to see Theo play in.
  
  Strangely enough I think our own player Chamakh would suit Mourinho's system far more than Benzema, just as our other old player Ade bye buy fits more into Mourinho's thinking than Benzema. Like you though without some of our own making way I'm not sure where we would put Benzema. Although a Benzema RvP frontline would be something to see.

• 17-Jul-2011 15:21 | | richie  - Defence vs Attack
  

  Its so strange to me that everyone seems to point the finger at our defense? If our strikers had taken their chances at anywhere near the rate that any of the other top 4 did we win the prem. RvP playing only half a season racked up a great tally, but where was his strike partner that normally would have racked up the same or more? I keep saying our defense wasn't the famed back 5 but if our attack had succeeded
  our defense wouldn't have been under the cosh anywhere near as much as it was. I'd like us to strengthen but IMO 2 CB aren't called for.

• 17-Jul-2011 15:57 | | richie  - One missing?
  

  I think in Koscielny Djourou and Vermaeling we have the makings of the 4 CB's that we need, we just have one missing. Should that player come from within or without? If you listen to the tabloid pundits we need to spend plenty and buy Cahill and if we miss him then their choice for us is Samba. I had hoped that Bartlet would have stepped up for us but it seems he's not a present in our managers current plans, which is a shame because its clear that with the departure of both Sol and Gallas Arsene's sudden buy of Squillaci as cover didn't work out at all. Not with the long term injury to Vermaeling. If Squilla still figures in Arsene's plans I'll be shocked apart from as 5th choice cover. I wonder why Bartley hasn't been promoted above Squilla? I think he looks the part anyone think otherwise? Anyone prefer Squilla?

• 17-Jul-2011 16:18 | | Wolfgang
  

  It is difficult to see the gunners winning the epl.The two games against inferior opposition saw the gunners playing in the same mould. It was pass after pass near the box and by the time a shot was made,the defence had tightened up.
  Furthermore Wenger seems to have signed another kid when the senior team was in need of a statement of intent to be made.Sadly I concur with most fans Wenger has lost the plot. It could be the gunners would challenge until the last few weeks of the season before fading.
  Clich y has stated the gunners did not practise tackling
  in training session. If that were the case I don't see any
  change and the defence will continue to leak goals.
  Btw I don't share Wenger's bullishness. Even the bookies seem to agree.

• 17-Jul-2011 16:38 | | john  - what i want. fingers crossed...
  

  i keep hearing if we lose fabs we have to buy mata, hamsik what is wrong with ramsey and wilshire, spend the money on a striker and defenders. plus arshavin has always wanted to play central maybe he might get his old form back. plus we have naris but if we sell him we will still be fine. get a big time goal scorer. i am hoping tevez will end up at madrid, so benzema may become free, plus i think lakuka looks the busines, but if he goes to chelsea, sturidge may be up for grabs, new ian wright if ever i saw one. please wrenger we have this type of player and they are bloody good and only going to get better. ramsey was out for a year came back in pretty much his first game and bossed it against utd and scored the winner. cahill, jags, ventongen now he has said city do not interest him. and also if we end up with ventogen, lakuka, vermarlen it will make us a better option for hazad cause we will have a load of his international team mates. plus my mum is from napoli so i watch there games so if we do get hamsik its still good cause he is class, just we need other things sorted please first. i want 2 center halfs cause vermaelen is a central mid if ever i saw one, great on the ball, passing, goals, leadership, tackels a brick wall if he had to. closest thing to kean i have seen since the man retired. plus stone wall captain material. come on arsenal.

• 17-Jul-2011 16:51 | | john  - what are you on about
  

  he would play up front. and nothing wrong with his work rate its a mith, the guy sits on the bench at madrid still scored over 20 goals and 10 or so assist. under wrenger he would be class. At lyon he was a leader, ran the line, scared the crap out of the opposition. just not a mourinho player for some mad reason.. As far as van percy a: is always injured main reason we do not win, b: can play anywhere in the front four positions. and will do it well, the guy gets stuck in. c: you do not win anything with one player for each position.. maybe in a big game you may have to make a choice between them if there both fit but thats what gets the best out of players and breeds succes. even bergkamp got complacent, until wrenger brought kanu and he was dropped for a while, then we saw the really dennis back. please think before commenting..

• 17-Jul-2011 17:10 | | sammy  - idiot
  

  yeah lets not buy a young world class striker.. great plan!!!

• 17-Jul-2011 17:15 | | Ben Draper  - Proper Questions..
  

  Can he play in our system?: For me yes
  Is he good enough?: For me yes
  Do Arsenal need a striker?: For me yes
  
  
  Note: I love the way you all act like experts, suppose you would of pulled out of signing henry at the time. He was not really any good at juventus, well did not have a great time.

• 17-Jul-2011 17:55 | | gooner ian  - madness
  

  Why are you thinking of reasons and questions not to buy Benzema. Arsenal never get the chance to buy big stars. They either want to go somewhere else or we can not afford them. If wrenger buys him i will be over the moon. Unless Van Percy proves his fittness, he can quite easly play out wide. Left or Right.. he would be a treat either side and will score and creat goals from these positions.But going by his injury record we should plan our squad considering that he does not even exist. Then when he is fit what a bonus.

• 17-Jul-2011 18:12 | | MeanLean
  

  I think some need to calm down somewhat. Any questions I have will not stop the club from making any moves for any players. I wasn't even saying that we shouldn't buy Benzema, I was just asking certain questions because of the way the team is set up.
  
  We have played with one central striker for the last few years and neither player would sit on the bench waiting to be rotated. Mainly because Robin Van Persie is our best player and Benzema would surely be our record signing on big wages.
  
  If there was a way to fit both players into our team as well as keep our defensive cover from midfield then I would be all for it.
  
  Both players are world class and they could well compliment each other very well but we no longer play 4-4-2 and I don't see Wenger moving back to that anytime soon.
  
  If we get him then fantastic, I would be interested to see what the manager does but this is not even speculation right now, so probably no need to get defensive.

• 17-Jul-2011 18:15 | | MeanLean
  

  Agree with you on that. Have been saying so for pretty much all season. We are an attacking team who should have been better going forward. Our defending for the most part was good until the end of the season collapse. Looking at the results, it is clear that we did not score anywhere near enough goals comes the business end of the season.

• 17-Jul-2011 18:20 | | MeanLean
  

  I'm not so sure I agree that Drogba wasn't a fighter for Chelsea under the so called special one but I take your point that he likes a certain type of main forward, the type that Benzema isn't. It is probably why someone like Shevchenko did not do well at Chelsea.
  
  I could only see Benzema coming to Arsenal if Cesc left and Wenger decided to move RVP into that role.
  
  We certainly wouldn't lack goals but I wonder how the rest of the team would look.

• 17-Jul-2011 18:58 | | john  - it will work fine
  

  they will work fine in a front three, van percy may not be happy playing out wide, but neither is arshavin, wallcott or naris. they all want to play in the middle. van percy is our best player, but even he must admitt he never plays a whole season. We need a fit world class striker to do well and keep competing at the top. The structure of our team will not suffer as van percy knows how to play wide, defensively can not be worse than arshavin in that position. In so called lesser games where we totally boss other teams there is no reason we can not play two up top, like man utd do. rooney plays a whole host of positions to allow his manger options, so will van percy. plus he is injury prone. we need not good cover but for van percy to be the cover up top, cause it is so important. The question if benzema signs is where gervinho, arshavin or walcott plays. Thats the real question, they will be the unhappy players. Look i find the whole debate a little silly because its a dream to get such a player, and one i hope wrenger can pull off. Other option for me are lukuka, who looks the business. but if chelsea get him i think sturidge might be up for grabs, what are your thoughts on him? He will want out if they sign him. Also i would like maybe 2 center halfs. I like cahill, jags, and ventonghen. ventongen also this week said he had no interest in signing for man city. which i like shows a little character i think. I want 2 centre halfs cause i would love to see vermaelen play centre mid. score goals,passing, pace, leadership qualitys, tackels a brick wall, basically i watch him and think roy kean. just brilliant. I know center half is important but i think he is wasted there. let him boss games, wilshire and ramsey either side of him, with song an option for big away games to really sure up midfield, all of them can pass too. ps.. jenkinson looks alright, think i might be happy with him to. up the gooners. sorry for jumping on your back about benzema. have a good one...

• 17-Jul-2011 19:06 | | john  - hazad
  

  would just like to add, if we get lakuka and ventongen, which i know is all speculation and chatt. it might help to bring hazad in this or maybe next year, having vermaelen, ventongen, lakuka his international team mates at the club. (easyier to tapp up ha ha) Plus to make it happen my big idea would be to offer big money now and offer him back to lille for a year on loan. (and maybe some players) and just get him signed if possible. all a dream though

• 17-Jul-2011 19:14 | | Podge
  

  There's been a change in personnel in both the first team squad and reserves/underage squads with pacy wingers/forwards being the most recruited type of player.This may be an indication of more counter attacking football and dynamic runs which have been lacking the last 6 years Wenger has also mentioned the possibility of Walcott playing on the left and has had a look at Vela on the right. Maybe he wants pacy strikers in wide areas cutting inside latching onto a through ball and slotting it past the keeper into the far post.It would be a different style of attack and more like the goals Henry/Pires/Ljunberg used to score so often

• 17-Jul-2011 19:31 | | Podge
  

  This is something I just considered and haven't given it much thought but what about 3-5-2? if we sign Benzema(unlikely) Sagna and Jenkinson have both played as centre backs in the past and Vermalen has played as a left back I think Koscielney has too so we have the defenders capable of making that type of defense work. It would allow us to keep the Song-Wilshere axis while having another striker with Cesc just behind them. We are now lacking at left back a bit so just remove the position. The wide players would have to be very aware defensively but only Arshavin is lazy when it comes to our wingers. We tend to play something like that anyway as our full backs are pretty much in midfield for 75mins a game.Although 3-5-2 is very outdated and the only place you see anything like it is Italy and they always play wing backs in the their formations however a lot of teams still change to that formation when chasing a game late on. We have the personnel for it but I'm not so sure it should be used as a starting formation this century. Sign Benzema and let him RVP and all the other stikers/wingers battle it out for the 3 starting spots

• 17-Jul-2011 19:53 | | T.Danza
  

  What do you guys think of the progress of Frimpong so far? is he back to being the capable backup to Song he was last yr?

• 17-Jul-2011 20:18 | | richie  - Batistuta IMHO would've been JM's preference
  

  Drogba could easily have been described as a fighter, for the cause under JM,but his work rate for Chelski when they weren't in possession wasn't ever anything to write home about, either under JM or under any of the multitude since. One GOB would've been the so called special one's prefered striker IMHO - Not surprisingly as when played as a lone striker given less than half a chance he'd more often than not score. He certainly did against us! He was a defensive minded managers dream.

• 17-Jul-2011 20:29 | | MeanLean
  

  Frimpong looks fantastic so far. The trouble is we haven't seen him play in the strongest possible side against a very good team, only then will we get a true assessment of where he is at but from the pre season games this and mainly last season he has some great qualities.

• 18-Jul-2011 00:08 | | john
  

  to early to really say.. promising though, and good physical atributes. i think he is a few years away still, maybe a good prem loan move would bring him on. but i can say he looks up for it, and has a bit of quality that i have seen. fingers crossed. got them crossed for a few this year, JET, Lansbury, Frimpong, Gibbs etc also if we do invest in another left back i think Gibbs as well as providing cover there could do really well further up the pitch. Half of me wants to see a mass exidus to really bring on some of these guys, but massive gamble. but future looks good with a solid young british base of players.

• 18-Jul-2011 15:17 | | CG
  

  What i like about frimpong is that he will give everything he's got unlike diaby, denilson...etc. He is very muscular and a great tackler and he mentioned in an interview this year that he would beg the manager not to sell him. Arsenal is in his heart whereas a lot of our big players would probably rather play for madrid or barca.
  However, he is not good enough on the ball to play for Arsenal. Against Malaysai and Huang Zhou he gave the ball away cheaply and his passing is below Arsenal's required standard. I'm sure he'll improve but there are a lot of players who's passing is superior. Also, he has had loads of injury problems so far and he's only 19. If you're having knee problems at that age then you will certainly have the same injury cropping up every season (like cesc's hamstring). We could never rely on him to play 50 games a season.
  
  A good player to have in the squad, but like I said, not someone we can rely on and we'll always need players who can play his position.

• 20-Jul-2011 00:25 | | Omglol
  

  Frimpong, made 1 bad pass in the last game, i think, he was doing short passes and he was trying to get free from the ball fast..he was kinda afraid( Nasri was bullying him for the ball all the time ). For Sub he did good and dont think we count for him 50 games in few years, he need to cover Song (injury/rest)

• 20-Jul-2011 00:32 | | Omglol
  

  I have wrote few times here that if we get defender i want Vertonghen here he will be fantastic for us(just donno what we will do with so much left footed players) . With Lille in CL donno if we can match the price for Hazard next year, i would love to see him here but i think we missed the boat. We have Vela, Ryo, and Gervinho who can penetrate back line, its would be nice to have him, but this 3 can cover that.

• 21-Jul-2011 11:07 | | CG
  

  but like last year he could easily get a knee injury and be out for nine months. then song is on his own and when he goes to african cup of nations in janruary, we're screwed!
  
  unless we buy another back up defensive midfielder-cos wilshere needs rests as well

• 21-Jul-2011 12:15 | | sapman
  

  yeah i like the 352 ..i always use it in fm when the going gets tough and the team ships in goals left right and centre...however without clichy it is very difficult to employ it now.
  
  id go for ten cate's xmas tree ...4321 ... the three in mid in straight line..cesc the middle (pirlo) wilsh - song to the left and right ..then in fornt of them two attacking midfielders who have ability to beat players on one on one step in area and create assist or score..attacking midfielders who become inside forwards ..nasri and arshavin fit the bill perfectly...this is more natural for arsenal since we aint got natural wingers to strecth the pitch with intelligence. opponents def mid will have puzzle of who to mark first ..oncoming cesc..or arshavin or nasri ..theyre all coming through the middle. does the opponent centre back commit himself to mark either nasri or arshavin?

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