We’re not copying Barcelona, they’re copying us
Posted by Arsenalist on February 5th, 2010
Yesterday George Graham was talking smack:
Whether Arsenal can do a Barcelona in English football… there’s a big question mark over that. I think Arsene Wenger loves the way Barca play and I think he wants Arsenal to evolve in that way. Arsene was the manager who developed that pacy and athletic game in England and I don’t know why he has changed it. It is a question I would like to ask him myself. When you have succeeded in a certain way at the top level, why change it. He had great success with the technique, athleticism, intensity and aggression. Can you play total football in England and win the league? I don’t know. But it looks as if Arsene is going to go down that route of trying to play like Barcelona.
I don’t know what he’s talking about, Wenger’s got a passing oriented style of play which is nothing close the long-ball Route One nonsense they used to play in England. If trying to pass the ball around with a purpose and playing team football is considered “Copying Barcelona” then screw it, let’s copy Barcelona. I’m not even sure Barcelona have always played that way, in fact, you could make a case that under the Wenger regime it’s us who have been at the forefront of playing “total football”, not Barcelona.
Anyway, it’s just a non-story that’s a story because there’s no other story.
Team news ahead of Chelsea:
John Terry is in. Eduardo is out. Diaby is a maybe. Cuntley in. Obi Wan Kenobi in.
My guess at our first team:
Starters: Almunia, Sagna, Vermaelen, Gallas, Clichy, Denilson, Song, Fabregas, Rosicky, Bendtner, Arshavin
Reserve: Fabianski, Silvestre, Campbell, Nasri, Walcott, Traore, Ramsey, Eastmond.
Vermaelen is saying that Drogba and Rooney are the best strikers he’s faced.
“Nicolas Anelka and Wayne Rooney are runners but Drogba is just standing there and he gets long balls, gets it down and he plays. Then he gets in the box, but he’s not a big runner, no. I couldn’t choose between Rooney and Drogba, they are the best I’ve played.”
No offense to the Eredivisie, but there’s hardly any imposing strikers that would be better than anybody Vermaelen might face on a day-to-day basis in the Premier League. I really hope his height disadvantage against Drogba doesn’t come into play. I’m not sure how fit Sol Campbell is or whether he can run 50 feet without needing to catch his breath, but I wonder if a physical presence like him is the key to slowing down Drogba, who uses his strength to get his advantage.
Wenger says that we gave Man Utd too much space.
“The biggest regret I have from Sunday [the 3-1 defeat by Manchester United] is that we gave them too much freedom and allowed them too much to play in a game where we should have been dictating. My players wanted it so much that sometimes you can be a little bit restricted and our target is to get that freedom to play in this game [against Chelsea].”
Well Arsene, I’m guessing it was your decision to attack so hard in the opening minutes that it was only natural for us to be left vulnerable at the back. If the instruction was to be more conservative, maybe we wouldn’t have conceded on the counter on the first two goals, no?
One thing I don’t like is when Wenger says that we should perform well since there is no pressure on us, I mean, we should be performing well in the case of pressure or no pressure. I don’t think it speaks to our “mental strength” that we only perform well when nobody sees us coming and we sneak up on somebody because we’re not expected to be a threat.
“I believe we should be more relaxed at this time because at the start of the season nobody expected us in the top four or in the title race. Now, instead of being intimidated, I believe we have to really have a go because we are entitled to have it.”
Can’t wait till Sunday.
February 5th, 2010 at 1:24 pm
arsenal -> wenger copied cruyffs barcelona …
February 5th, 2010 at 1:25 pm
or even beter holland 1970
February 5th, 2010 at 2:08 pm
hope diaby plays on sunday and i really dont wanna see denilson he is to small we need more people like diaby
February 5th, 2010 at 4:07 pm
Wenger was inspired by Cruyff alright, but pre-Barca. Gunter Netzer’s Borussia Moenchengladbach were his first inspiration though, when they tussled with Bayern throughout the early 70s. Echoes of the Man U – Arsenal rivalry.
It’s in here and makes sense to me:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Wenger-Making-Legend-Jasper-Rees/dp/1904095542/ref=sr_1_8?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1265410606&sr=1-8
February 5th, 2010 at 8:28 pm
yeah there might be teams are are similar in some way or form but there are distinctions and areas that do differ. i started following arsenal in the mid 90′s & i’ve yet to see a team in the english premiere to be even close to what they display….. i can’t wait until sunday bc i want to see the critics silenced!!!!
February 5th, 2010 at 10:21 pm
You misinterpreted what George Graham said. He never likened the previous Arsenal to route one tactics, he just noticed the subtle change in play that the team employs now, which is a stark constrast from their glory winning days in the 90s and last decade. Barca’s style of play was created by Cryuff’s title winning Barca side in the 80s, and they have been trying their players for years on how to play in that formation. Notably, Pep was the deep lying playmaking in that formation.
Back in the late 90s when Wenger’s teams featured players like Anelka and Overmares, Wenger’s strategy was focused on speed, speed and the counter attack. Generally, Arsenal would gain possession in the defensive third and would blaze down the field and score, similar to the goal Rooney scored against Arsenal last week. Our formation was a 4-4-2, (and has been till this year) a formation which Wenger preferred because there was some definition in each position but still allowed some freedom to interchange (the Total Football concept). Wenger also famously said the reason he used to always play the 4-4-2 was being it was (paraphasing) “the only formation where 80% of the players covered 80% of the space”.
What George Graham is referring to is the transition to the 4-3-3 system and the idea of ball retention and control. The change to the 4-3-3 is enormous because it put a huge strain on our wingbacks to charge forward to keep width (because the 2 wide forwards on Arsenal generally like to cut inside). Another reason why Wenger shifted to this formation was because our midfield shield to the defense was very weak. The combination of Denilson and Song now allows Fabregas to express himself more creatively going forward and he has responded with his greatest form in his career this year. Probably the best thing the 4-3-3 did was really develop Van Persie as one of the elite target man in world football. The dutchman is capable of holding the ball, creating goal scoring opportunities for his teammates and scoring himself.
The previous era teams had a direct attacking formation while Arsenal’s current squad has a more Barca-focuses passing and ball retention.
While I see many benefits with the 4-3-3 formation, I still think the 4-4-2 is the best formation both with respect to historical success and our current personnel. The 4-4-2 is a safer formation and is better at managing space, an aspect very important in the fast-paced EPL. Barca’s 4-3-3 relies on high pressure on defense and passing, and Arsenal have not shown they are capable of instilling the high pressure system needed to make this formation a success. This echos what Graham was saying. However, the 4-4-3 would have been more effective this year had Van Persie stayed healthy, because Arshavin is not capable enough to be a modern-day center forward, he is an ideal winger.
February 9th, 2010 at 1:52 am
The previous era teams had a direct attacking formation while Arsenal’s current squad has a more Barca-focuses passing and ball retention.
February 9th, 2010 at 1:53 am
You misinterpreted what George Graham said. He never likened the previous Arsenal to route one tactics, he just noticed the subtle change in play that the team employs now, which is a stark constrast from their glory winning days in the 90s and last decade. Barca’s style of play was created by Cryuff’s title winning Barca side in the 80s, and they have been trying their players for years on how to play in that formation. Notably, Pep was the deep lying playmaking in that formation.
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