In the history of football tactics there is perhaps no formation that is more detestable, abominable, life-sapping, craven and braindead than a 5-5. So perhaps it was fitting that a team like Sunderland filled with players who are detestable, abominable.. etc. chose to play with 5 defenders sitting behind another line of 5, all staying within their half for the entirety of the game. Arsenal, started off as a 4-1-4-1 (edited to reflect common notation that doesn't make any sense to me) with Song as the def mid and Rosicky and Arteta playing the two midfielders up front. Ox and Walcott provided the width. But Sunderland were so content to sit back that wingers Ox and Walcott pushed forward enough to play alongside RVP in a rough 4-3-3 for most of the game.
Sunderland crowded the centre and made it difficult for Arsenal to play through the middle. Arsenal huffed and puffed during the first half but were unable to find a way though the Sunderland crowd. With the middle packed out, Arteta showed good distribution to spray the ball wide to the wingers. Ox is the kind of winger who likes to cut in-field and attack through the centre and that approach was bound to fail in a crowded defence like last night. He found himself running into groups of 3 or 4 whenever he cut in. Their rightback stood off Ox to give himself a good 2 yards advantage for he knew he couldn't match the Ox's pace and as a result the Ox did not pose that much of a problem. In contrast, Walcott often had the better of his marker but his crossing was so poor that it barely even made it to the D area. Song's passing was poor too. Yesterdays served as a reminder of the severity of his penuriousness and the distance of relationship with Xavi. With such a tight defence I would have like more of our back four to come forward to press the game and play in a more attacking manner. Verm and Sagna did not contribute going forward (not in the sense of that MBA phrase) while Kos who usually bombs forward remained at the back. Merte's slow pace means he never comes forward anyway. I think if Arsenal had stepped up the numbers in attack then something would have given. But I guess the players were a bit cautious about not leaving the back undefended lest Sunderland score from a counter.
Sunderland scored from a counter. Mertesacker twisted his ankle and fell to the ground whie McLean went past him and slammed the ball past Szcz at the far end. It was developing as a 3 on 3 situation and had Mertesacker not injured himself I am sure the goal would not have been scored. <peering into crystal balls only fans have>
In a way Merte's injury brought out a more direct approachy Arsenal. Wenger brought on Ramsey for Per and pushed Song into centreback. So you had a centreback who could press higher and three attacking midfielders. Arteta shot from outside the D, his shot was blocked by one of the 23 who stood in front of the Sunderland goal and fell to Ramsey who hit it first time into the net. Arsenal had equalised with about 15 mins left on the clock and this only hardened Sunderland's resolve to defend tighter.
And then there was magic. Arshavin, who is so out of form he could be an amoeba, was brought on far the last 5 mins. I had resigned myself to a draw, and was only dreading a last minute Sunderland counter resulting in a sucker punch 2-1 loss (that's Arsenal fans in general). Rosicky passed it sideways to Vermalen who took a step forward and passed it on the line to the Russian. Arshavin shimmied, ran at the two Sunderland idiots and crossed the ball into the D. Thierry Henry leaped up, adjusted his angle a bit, and poked the ball into the net from close range. Thierry Henry. 229th goal for Arsenal football club. Three points in the bag on a day where both Liverpool and Chelsea lost. You, sir, are a legend.
Now, should we have let this game go on until the 92nd min? Nope. This has been an oft-repeated strategy. Lower positioned teams play with ten men behind the ball, sit back deep and defend resolutely, disrupt Arsenal's passing and are wait patiently for the odd scoring chance from a set piece or a counter while Arsenal are content to pass the ball sideways from one flank to the other hoping to hypnotise the opposition. A certain more direct approach is missing in this team - and I don't know whether that is a good thing or a bad thing. Too often, most players are content to go for a sideways pass then try and go forward to find a way through the opposition lines. Keeping possession till the end of the world is all well and good if you have Messi in your team. Being half a Barcelona is the same as jumping halfway across a well.
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