The Beautiful Game

I will not believe anything anyone tells me about Arsenal anymore. When they beat the title favourites they are labeled as the next super team but when they lose to a lesser side they are suddenly in crisis. I think that the one lesson managers should learn from recent media speculation about Arsenal (for the few who don’t already know better) is just don’t read the papers! Any manager doing so will surely have a bigger complex than The Emirates itself.

I suggested at the start of the season that Arsenal will probably do better in the Champions League than on the domestic front and I have no reason to change that opinion now. They most probably won’t win the league because of their record against the lesser sides in the division but they seem to excel against teams of similar quality.

I thought that they were superb against Chelsea. Many will assert that Chelsea were under par, but I don’t think that Arsenal allowed the Blues to settle on Sunday.

From the first whistle they collectively threw themselves into the challenge as if it was the last game they would ever play. They closed down, harried and didn’t allow Chelsea time on the ball. And, crucially, they played two main strikers.

In doing so, they forced Chelsea back and rarely allowed them to push forward as a unit.

When you have players as good as Adebayor and Van Persie, you simply have to play them together (fitness permitting), home and away.

Adebayor may not be back to top form after his injury but his inclusion in the side was still essential. And there is no point living by an attacking philosophy but not playing an attacking formation. For all the talk of the 4-3-3/4-5-1 being the most effective shape for the modern game, Arsenal took the bull by the horns and won the game because they played a 4-4-2. And if the Gunners can beat one of the most feared teams in Europe in their back yard with a 4-4-2 they have little excuse to ever return to a system where they employ five somewhat inexperienced midfielders and just one up front.

Arsenal’s defence is still leaky so, until suitable reinforcements are found, they must maintain the belief that they can simply outscore the opposition. For me, this is their best route to a successful season.

It’s argued that the game turned on an incorrect offside decision, and had the offside been called we would be talking in very different terms today, but this shouldn’t distract us from an Arsenal performance at Stamford Bridge that surely bettered their performance against United a few weeks prior. As the game continued they grew in confidence and by full time Chelsea looked anything but title favourites. They didn’t even look like the home side.

Whilst Scolari has work to do, he correctly suggested that Wenger is one of the best five coaches in the world. I have always been a big fan and genuinely believe that he could better any team on the globe. Their season has been a roller coaster so far and there is no reason to think that this white-knuckle ride will come to an end anytime soon. But Arsenal never fail to provide great entertainment and they play the game in the way it should be played. This is surely one of the few statements pertaining to Arsenal that cannot be argued! So, for Arsenal fans the season will continue to be a mixture of heaven and hell, but most neutrals must be glad that such a team exists in the Premier League.

As for Chelsea, a similar conundrum exists for Scolari. After a confused performance from his side, he will be concerned about how to get the best out of his squad. It’s one thing playing narrow and packing the midfield when you have a squad of average players but I feel Scolari needs to trust his players and play a more expansive formation.

Chelsea predictably started with four central midfielders in Lampard, Mikel, Deco and Ballack . Whilst the first three names arguably offer something to that area, I’m still not sure that Ballack warrants a place in the team. If you took him out and added another natural wide player, it would improve the shape and balance of Chelsea immeasurably. They simply don’t need that many players in the centre of the park. And even if some of those players were deployed in wide positions yesterday, their footballing instincts will eventually suck them back into central areas, which leaves Ashley Cole and Jose Bosingwa to do all the flank work. Excellent as the full backs are, I’m strongly of the opinion that they need more wide support if they are to maximise their potency on the wings.

The result was what the title race needed. Chelsea remain the favourites but the top three sides all have an equally good chance of running out winners in the spring. And if Arsenal can find some consistency on the back of this result, they may well push harder than expected for the title. We talk every year about exciting title races but this year might just provide the greatest race of all.