Should Arsenal go 4-4-2?

By: Darren_v | June 29th, 2011

So it’s transfer season, and everyone is in a tizzy with rumors of whether Cesc Fabregas and Samir Nasri are going to stay or go, when Clichy, Bendtner and Denilson will say good-bye, and who may or may not be coming to Arsenal to be our saviour with the required mental strength, leadership desire. This must be very interesting to most people as every blogger will tell you that the most hits they get in a month are during the transfer windows. Now, I could sit here and tell you what I think of Cesc’ desire of being in London and Barcelona at the same time (an impressive feat, if he can manage it), and whether he should be captain, and if he was truly injured last season, or if it was just in his head. But I truly cannot sit here and think I know more than you, or than Joe Blow next to you since we all read the same newspapers and blogs, and none of us truly know without speaking to Cesc himself. It’s all nonsense to me, and please wake me when something actually happens.

At the end of the season when Arsenal were absolutely dire and painful to watch, there came a cry from more than one section of the Arsenal blogosphere that Arsenal’s formation was the problem and should revert back to the old tried and tested 4-4-2. After all, that is what the Invincibles played, and the formation that Arsenal have experienced the most success in. But is this old formation the way forward for Arsenal?

Arsenal have been playing their own variation of the 4-2-3-1 for the better part of two seasons now. It generally looks something like:

The arrows show the basic tendencies of player in each position. Fullbacks bomb forward, providing the width. Wilshere and Song giving cover where needed, with Wilshere having more a license to go forward. Fabregas goes where ever he needs to collect and distribute the ball. Nasri and Arshavin come off the left flank as inverted wingers, rarely going down the line. Van Persie’s job is to find open space by dropping off the opposition centre-backs and have midfield runners come off him, or roll off their shoulders for a ball over the top. Walcott is the outlet for long balls over a high line and to cause fear amongst the EPL’s left backs if they push too high off the ball.

What would the current Arsenal squad look like in the 4-4-2 though?

The first thing you notice in the 4-4-2 is that Chamakh is now in the lineup, and you now have to make a choice between our three best central midfielders. There is simply no way you can play Wilshere, Fabregas and Song in the same team with the formation like this unless you move one of them out wide as a conventional winger, which we all know is not any of their strengths. So what to do? You must play Song as he is the only Gunner with a clue about defensive midfield duties, unless you want to play the 19 year old, attacking midfielder for all his life, Wilshere as the nominal defensive midfielder. The choice then becomes between either Fabregas, one of the best midfielders in the world, or Wilshere. And yes, we are assuming Cesc Fabregas is still at Arsenal come September. I wonder how many people will claim Arsenal is better with one of these two off the the pitch, than on it together?

Personnel is not the only issue I have with the 4-4-2 however, as there is a greater problem with the formation in this era of football. For it is now a game of possession, and the team with the most possession generally creates the most chances, and that in turn gives you the best chance at winning. Now of course we all know this isn’t necessarily true in every game, but this theory remains true and steadfast over the long run of a season. The best way to dominate possession is typically by dominating the middle of the pitch, as that is where the ball will naturally go to the most. He who controls the centre, controls the game. More and more clubs and nations are realizing this, and are playing with more players as central-type midfielders. In the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, it was noted that 3 of the 4 semi-finalists nations played with a variation of the 4-2-3-1, with Uruguay the lone exception. Uruguay however, played Diego Forlan in a free role, dropping back into an advanced midfield, not unlike Wayne Rooney’s role at the end of this past season. Uruguay though, benefited from a large amount of luck in terms of the nations they had to face to get to the semis, and statistically were clearly the weakest team left.

The trend to packing the centre of the pitch is obvious wherever you look. Barcelona have been absolutely dominate in recent years, using Iniesta, Xavi and Busquets to control the centre circle. Inter Milan during their double winning season used three in the middle, having Sneijder drop into the middle of the pitch and creating from a ‘withdrawn forward’ position. Chelsea have played a diamond formation in the middle of the pitch since the Mourinho days, and is something that every club Mourinho goes to, plays. With players so athletic and fit, two midfielders simply get over-run by runners through the middle, a problem compounded by more and more clubs playing with inverted wingers that cut through the middle. And with fullbacks providing the width defenders are unable to cheat infield to help out. If Arsenal were to adapt the 4-4-2, this is how the pitch would look against Barcelona:

Take a look at the middle of the pitch and it’s painfully obvious that Arsenal are out manned in the centre of the pitch, against the best in the world. The only solution would be to drop Van Persie to occupy Busquets, basically playing as a 2nd striker. Now we all know Van Persie is not always the most studious in tracking back through the middle, and it’s not one of his many strengths in the game. Now matches are not won and lost through formations, but through individual battles all over the pitch. In order to give your squad the best chance at winning those battles can be achieved by not being out numbered in vital areas, playing your players in positions to succeed rather than to fail and by simply having the better players.

So where is the issue with the Arsenal squad, if it isn’t formation? Why did Arsenal struggle mightily at the ‘business end of the season’? I believe the squad is too one paced, and too many players with similar skill sets. Fabregas, Nasri, Arshavin, Wilshere, Ramsey, Denilson, Diaby, Rosicky all look to come to the ball, prefer the ball in their feet with close control, and rarely look to get beyond defenders without. Chamakh and Bendtner are fairly immobile players with good heading ability and should be played in the central striker role, a role best played by Van Persie who’s movement, ability to find space between the lines, and technical ability are superb. Walcott is the lone Arsenal player who excels by running unto balls, rather than to the ball. Only one player with this quality at a club like Arsenal is simply staggering. The Invincibles had the likes of Henry, Pires, and Ljungberg eagerly latching onto through balls, with players like Bergkamp and Vieira moving to the ball, and distributing it. It is not a coincidence that Arsenal are at their best with ‘Theo Van Nasgres’ together on the feild and have a massive drop off without them. They offer different forms of attack, whereas the rest of the squad is too similar. Alex Song is the lone defensive minded midfielder in the squad. The only one who’s greatest strengths are tackling, breaking up plays and getting his head on the ball. With a squad of terrific individual defenders, it’s no wonder that on a whole they look absolutely shambolic and ready to crumble under pressure when there is only one midfielder with a defensive skill set. The cover and competition is simply not there to prolong the inevitable, that is, defensive howlers.

Arsenal are not in need or a new formation. They are in need of variations to the way they play, which does not include ‘cross into the box wildly in hopes one of our midgets will beat Terry or Vidic or Samba in the air.’ Arsenal need another winger or two that looks to get beyond defenders, rather than coming to the ball every time, and someone other than Arshavin and Nasri who is willing to go one v one without fear of losing the ball and just pass sideways for the 483th time. Arsenal are not in need of Chris Samba, a lumbering oaf with ‘physical presence’, but more organization and training on the practice pitch in regard to set pieces, and more competition for Song to help protect the back four.

Some Related Stories:

Category: Arsenal News

« Transfer News Roundup- Cesc, Mata, Gervinho and more.. | Home | My Mid-Summer Predictions on How the Transfer Window Will Play Out – Part I »

Judy Lau

fashion and cheap LV,DIOR,D&G,FENDI,GUCCI online store: www voguebloom com www voguebloom com www voguebloom com www voguebloom com
WWW VOGUEBLOOM COM WWW VOGUEBLOOM COM WWW VOGUEBLOOM
We offer these brands of products:Nike, Jordan, NIKE DUNK,ADIDAS,PRADA,PUMA,TIMBERLAND,LACOSTA,GUCCI,COACH etc.
Include footwear, jersey ,clothes,handbags purses,t-shirt,jeans,jackets,hoodies,sunglasses,hats&caps,scarves,ties,
socks,underwear,pants,sports suits,jewelry,watches,electronics and so on for you to choose,
low price&good quality,accept credit card and paypal.
fashion and cheap LV,DIOR,D&G,FENDI,GUCCI online store: www voguebloom com www voguebloom com www voguebloom com www voguebloom com
WWW VOGUEBLOOM COM WWW VOGUEBLOOM COM WWW VOGUEBLOOM
We offer these brands of products:Nike, Jordan, NIKE DUNK,ADIDAS,PRADA,PUMA,TIMBERLAND,LACOSTA,GUCCI,COACH etc.
Include footwear, jersey ,clothes,handbags purses,t-shirt,jeans,jackets,hoodies,sunglasses,hats&caps,scarves,ties,
socks,underwear,pants,sports suits,jewelry,watches,electronics and so on for you to choose,
low price&good quality,accept credit card and paypal.
fashion and cheap LV,DIOR,D&G,FENDI,GUCCI online store: www voguebloom com www voguebloom com www voguebloom com www voguebloom com
Erik

I dont know about you guys, but for me its Bendtner>Chamakh
FredJacob

Clichy going to Mancity they say, hope gibbs is healthy for the entire season
Benjamin Dockter

I think it's pretty clear at this point that Gibbs cannot stay healthy for more than 2 games in a row. The word around the water cooler is that Wenger will be signing a new LB if Clichy leaves.
Tomisin

Preferably Leighton baines.
Homey_Mills

Don't we all wish.
Hibro

there trying to sign 2 defenders because vermalean will play left back with samba , cahil 2 centre backs if gael clichy goes.....
Darren_V

Ok people.
Let's all realize that playing LB for Ajax is much different than playing LB for Arsenal. Play your players to their strengths and in positions to succeed, not to fail.
Benjamin Dockter

I guarantee you Vermaelen will not play left back next season unless there are injuries to our starting LBs. He's much better at CB and unless we sign someone great (not Samba and Cahill), he will be our best CB next season. I would not be surprised at all if we don't sign an English CB either. It's becoming apparent that talent-wise we can do much much better for the same price. 17mil each for those 2? Give me a break.
Perry S.

Samba will come cheap, likely 10-11 mill. Don't read the media hype, Blackburn need the money, and we have the upper hand. Its a matter of if Wenger truly desires him or not. Not to mention his very public decree that he wants to go, they don't have much leverage.
Augustus Jonah

I agree with that, leaving one of Wilshire or Fabregas out does not make us a better team. And playing one of them out wide is not an option, so I think we should just stick to the current 4-2-3-1. But definitely our defense needs a bit of work. Had this been FM I would have sacked my defensive coach but back to the real world we need to really get our team defending as a unit more and I think a really experienced goalkeeper could help Wojo and Fabianski improve their goalkeeping abilities.
TJ

fuckin' good shit. But while I agree with everything, all I've ever said is if we improve our set piece defense by 50%, we give up 10ish less goals a year. Now, I think training is important, but we've grown used to this type of output on the field, meaning extra training might just not be in the cards. Leading me to think Samba would be good for us. That's the only disagreement. Well done. Very well done.
Darren_V

How do so many ppl not see how terrible Samba will be playing a high line like Arsenal do? You think Sylvestre and Squillaci were terrible, wait till you see the lumbering oaf Samba try.
Omar Aris

Can somebody tell me about the possibility of fab and nasry staying??

Arsenal fans in Peru
Homey_Mills

Funny you should ask that. I'm typing a blog on that topic at the moment. Look for it tomorrow. Thanks.
Omar Aris

gracias
youngbob

My compliments to the new crew.

Excellent reading.
matt

i've advocated this on this blog to a jeer or two (not a fan of your team at all btw...) but..

if you would run the 4-2-3-1 with ramsey as the box to box/passer type of guy who still isn't afraid to give a tackle next to song who is there to truly bust up any continuity you'd have a platform to rotate any of your best attackers into the front 4 whether you want to go w/ width or stay narrow.
Baz

ok now im an arsenal supporter through and through, but Ramsey hasnt done anything, why do people comment on him to be somebody we can rely on? i love the guy but if we would be putting faith in him to deliver and stay fit, we will not win a trophy. hes got a few years to go before hes an influential player. wilshere is similar, the guy had a stellar year, most improved player in the team, but some are saying that if fabregas goes, its ok wilshere can fill the void. the kids is 19. we need a playmaker in the center of the park, if worse comes to worse and we dont sign somebody that needs to be nasri moving central (if fabs goes)

we are arsenal, one of the biggest clubs in the world, lets act like it

if we have another season relying on a young team i will be whole heartedly disappointed. every season my optimism goes down slightly, and I'm not one of those people who thinks every problem can be solved by many signings, but we have dug ourselves such a whole that this season it definitely needs to be done (as opposed to one good signing)
Baz

hole*
FredJacob

they should have different formation for the type of players on the pitch, for instance when Bendtner plays go to a 4-4-2 not stick him on the wing if Chamakh the main striker an no RVP in line up run 4-2-3-1 and rotate the formation like he rotates the team, this would also keep the opponents guessing
Benjamin Dockter

I read an interesting article the other day that suggested the reason Bendtner was played on the wing was because he is able to win long balls off the left backs a lot easier than the CBs and that he is one of the better crossers in the club to then send the ball in from the wing. Maybe not 100% true, but he did assist with at least 3 very nice crosses from the wing last year.
Felegy

Yes.
J___V

It's hard to argue with that comment.....did we score?
Tomisin

I'm a regular reader, but not so regular a commenter, but i have to say you hit the nail smack on the head Darren by stating we don;t need Samba. First of all we play witha high defensive line and we need players who can return to break up a counter as quickly as possible, fast players. also we have defenders of reasonable height, Djourou and Koscielny are over 6 feet, not sure about vermaelen. So what we really need is set piece training, a coach to focus on defending dead ball situatuons. and of course a Dm to compete with Song dare i say mertesacker/vertoghnen? this is my own two cents on the matter. alo, i'd like to say good luck on making the transition as smooth as humanly possible, who needs mummy and daddy? We're grown now! lol
Mickess

Couldn't agree more about the Defensive coaching. I was at the meeting with Ivan Gazides and the Arsenal Supporters Trust and that very subject was mentioned. However Ivan with a very political answer refused to talk about internal failings of the clubs training methods and deflected every similar question. His only concession which he kept repeating was that the club knew and ackowledged what the faults were and would do something about them even though he refused to say what the faults were because that was an internal club matter. Oh well lets just hope that the club really do know we need new coaching in various areas.
Benjamin Dockter

If you pay attention to what the Ex-Arsenal players say about our defensive problems almost all of them blame the coaching and not the players. We have had a few really huge individual errors, but every team has those (ours just seemed especially costly this year). I don't think we need to buy any big lumber CBs. I would crank the defensive training to 11 and bring in a new defensive coach and buy Vidal and Hummels. Both are excellent players and would fit into our system perfectly. Vidal is a fantastic DM (and good at RB) that is much better offensively than Song and Hummels is a true ball playing CB. He's quick, a great tackler, scores lots of goals and a great passer. He and Verms would be an unstoppable team. I'm giving myself a semi just thinking about it.
Tomisin

Amen
FredJacob

Well i would prefer to have Samba than Squizz any day, and i dont think samba would be a starter
Perry S.

That last bit is what everyone seems to not understand....WE NEED DEPTH and he is a perfect player to have in our squad against some particular teams that we get man-handled against. Its almost as if people here have only been watching Arsenal for the last decade or so, so soon they've forgotten that we once had a very Samba-esque player in Sol Campbell who was a phenom for our club.
Darren_V

Sol Campbell was able to turn and out run ppl. Can Samba?
Perry S.

1.) He's played on a club where hasn't really had to do that considering they play a game of bus parking for the extent of the match
2.) Given the opportunity he may well be receiving from Arsenal, I'm willing to bet this man is going to hustle his heart out.

Given what we have, given we don't have very good shot blockers, given we get man-handled day in and day out, I think he will be a great addition to this club to help in those areas I have mentioned. Will he solve world hunger? No, but he will come for a very fair price and do what is expected of him at that price. We still need another CB & LB, but I'd take him in a heartbeat.
J___V

For me, the issue is in finding players who suit the positions they are playing in and the team concept as a whole. Any traditional formation can be made to work. At the moment, I feel will lack quality from wide attacking areas and in addition little back up is offered from these positions to our midfield trio defensively. On top of that, cesc picks when he gets back anyway(he wouldn't get away with that at barca).

I don't care what formation we play as long as it's effective & we can defend & attack well in pretty much equal measure. However, defending with a 4 man midfield against 3 central midfielders can be made to work if they defend tight. Everytime an area of the pitch is overloaded by a team, they simultaneously become more vulnerable elsewhere. You can either be fearful of your opponents strengths and go on the defensive, trying to compensate. Or you could look at it and say right if you're going to push him, him and him on then we're going to take advantage of that space, that lack of cover or overload on that player.

Ultimately it's about good players playing in positions they understand and are effective in. At the moment, I just don't think we've got the mix right.
Benjamin Dockter

I agree with Darren for the most part. I don't think changing formations will do anything to improve our standing next year. Mostly because we don't have the right players to play a 442. You need wingers and tough CMs and we don't have either. Plus, RVP may not be an aerial threat, but overall he is by far our best player in the CF position. He brings other players in to play with his movement, he can turn the defenders, he decent in the air and can score from nothing.

I think the real problem (other than our lack of defensive solidity) is the lack of runners. Possession is great, but if you don't have anyone running away from the ball into space, you never go anywhere. That's what we saw last season. Everyone would just pass the ball around, but no one was running forward to get into dangerous positions. How many times did we see a ball crossed into the box with no one there to attack it? The reason that Barca dominate so much is not only possession. It's because everyone constantly makes probing runs into dangerous positions. If you continue to pass in front of the oppositions defense, you won't get anywhere. The reason Walcott is a starter when he's fit is not because he's better than others, it's because he's the only person in the team who makes those kinds of runs.
Orion

In my opinion a 4-4- 2 would be a good option only if Nasri stays and we get either one of Gervinho and Mata. Putting Walcott in the forward role with RvP would make the forward line similar to what we had to the Invincibles. Walcott and Henry have a lot in common, as do RvP and Bergkamp. The first two were two speed demons who could finish the ball and had outpaced defense by laching onto through balls that were given onto by the latter two; two Dutchmen who have a superb ability to pick a pass into space and control the ball, both with shooting and passing, with quality. I mean, come on, even the numbers are the same! Wenger has been training Walcott in Henry's shape for many months now, and I think the time has come to unleash Invincibles' Forward Line 2.0

On another note, great article Darren, worth the wait.. but isn't the "Beast" called Theo VanNasregas? ;)
Benjamin Dockter

The formation that the Invincibles played was actually pretty close to what we play now. When defending, our current formation becomes a 442 with Walcott and Nasri dropping back and Fab and RVP pressing the CBs. If you look at how the Invincibles played offensively, what made Henry so lethal is that he constantly peeled of to the left wing. He would usually pick up the ball in the area that Arshavin/Nasri play and then attack centrally (which is what Nas/AA do, just nowhere near as effectively). Bergkamp played a very similar role to RVP currently since he was central, but he would usually drop off to collect the ball and play the wingers in. Then you had Freddie on the right wing bombing forward. It was a little more lopsided than what we currently play, but very similar in a lot of ways.

The main difference from now to then is not the system, but how the players play in it. As I mentioned in a comment lower down, none of our current players run into space like they used to. Formations are largely irrelevant as long as you have the right players and they're organized. Possession is great but gets you nowhere without players willing to run off the ball into dangerous positions and that only works if those players are capable of finishing their chances. With better coaching, a slight change in tactics and a few quality signings, this Arsenal team could be great.
Darren_V

Yea, formations are largely just 'starting points'. Anyone can play a 4-4-2, but can play them completely different.
Homey_Mills

Yes, I knew there was a reason we were keeping Darren around. He shall no longer be called the international man of mystery.
Orion

He must be really pissed Gervinho hasn't signed yet..
SJGgumby

How about either (1) RVP up front and someone like Nasri or Arshavin in the second striker role or (2) playing Theo as the first striker and RVP as the second (though this doesn't solve Darren's fears that we'll lose control of the middle of the pitch)?
Davi

How about a new DM to partner song, wilshere on the right and walcott up front instead of chamakh. Vela is a good striker as well when he doesn't have to play there alone; he's been excellent every time I've seen him play there.
@DanKing - we never played with wingers since overmars left; none of pires, ljungberg, hleb and rosicky were real wingers but we had success with this formation with these guys playing out wide. The last time we had a real shot at the title was 07/08 and we played this system well, with clichy and sagna rated as the best 2 fullbacks because they had decent protection and were able to attack with more freedom. Our defence looked good that year even though we had two relatively small centre backs.
We have changed to 433 purely to accommodate fabregas it seems, but it hasn't worked. It doesn't seem to suit any of the other players in the squad. Some have adapted quite well, but they all seem better suited to 442.
DanKing9

the players might not have been out and out wingers but could play there better than arshavin, nasri, and walcott can. and you're right about the protection. watch the games where someone other than arshavin is out on the left and see how much better clichy looks. our defense wasn't completely terrible last year, and towards the end were performing much better than our offense who (minus rvp) couldn't score to save their lives. a bigger variety in the way we attack is needed including the quick counter attack which we used to do so effectively
DanKing9

quick comment as i don't have time to read the whole article: changing to a 442 doesn't change the fact that we still don't have true wingers, actually exposes that even more.
Gavin Mceedy

read the whole article you gronk...
DanKing9

just had the chance to do so. pretty much agree with all of the points made on it and something i've thought for awhile, but thanks for the advice gavin ;)