Historical Review: Analysis of Undefeated Arsenal Tactics

Opening: How difficult is it to remain undefeated for a season in the five major leagues? Now it seems that this is almost an impossible task. Even PSG, which is now superior in Ligue 1, cannot do it. Therefore, we cannot simply say that Arsenal's unbeaten record back then was due to the Premier League. There is no rising light. After all, Paris' current strength in Ligue 1 is much higher than Arsenal's back then. It is indeed not easy to remain unbeaten for an entire season. Of course, we cannot deny that Arsenal seems intent on maintaining this record and has played a bit conservatively in some games. They did have too many draws. But, no matter what, that Arsenal may be the best Arsenal in the hearts of gun fans.

Days without games are always difficult. We always have to find some topics to keep the popularity of football alive. The author has been following Arsenal since 2002 and regards it as his only favorite team. Even though there has been no championship for eight years, I, like many Arsenal fans, fulfill the promise of "Once a Gunner, always a Gunner". However, all fans must admit that Arsenal is no longer a wealthy team. For the time being, we can only remember some of the glorious years of the past while waiting for revival, and then weakly say "We Our ancestors were once rich." Yesterday we missed Arsenal's tactical changes during Wenger's period. Today we will take out Wenger's most glorious season, the 2003-2004 season, and analyze it individually.

In my opinion, the two most significant symbols of the undefeated Arsenal period were the French gang composed of Henry, Pires, Vieira and Wiltord, and then the world's number one left winger at the time. The left corridor composed of defender Ashley Cole + Pires + Henry always presses the opponent's right wing.

Of course, other positions are still important, but these two signs are more obvious. After Seaman's transfer, we have to say that Arsenal welcomed one of their strongest goalkeepers in the Premier League era-German Lehmann. Although his historical status in Arsenal is not as good as Seaman's, he is better than the England national team in terms of strength, especially his technical characteristics of attacking, which is more suitable for Arsenal, whose overall formation is relatively advanced.

On the defensive line, Campbell's level at the time was no less than that of Ferdinand, the world's most valuable center back at the time. Wenger's young center back Toure, who bought him for 200,000 Taobao, was already at the end of the previous season. He successfully replaced Keown and became Arsenal's main central defender. Although the right wing guarded by Cameroon international Laurent is not as beautiful as the left wing, it is still stable, especially with Ljungberg in front of him always cutting inside. , Therefore, Lauren, who has excellent one-on-one defensive ability, is indeed the patron saint of Arsenal's right wing.

Gilberto Silva, who became famous in the World Cup in the midfield line, was signed by Arsene Wenger for 4.5 million euros. At that time, the Brazilian was known as the "invisible wall". He became a player in the Premier League and even at that time. The world's top offensive terminator, and Vieira was called the world's number one defensive midfielder at the time; right midfielder Ljungberg is not a traditional full midfielder. His role is to insert into the penalty area and score goals at any time. A rather unique wing player. In addition, Bergkamp on the striker was an artist comparable to Zidane at the time, a true poet on the football field. He didn't score many goals but he was a classic.

This was Arsenal’s main lineup at the time. At that time, many people believed that Arsenal’s bench was not deep enough. In fact, if there were veteran Keown in the back line and the maturing Clichy, France at that time would He has already shown his talents at the end of the season; the midfield line has Parlor in defense, the Brazilian Edu is in attack, Wiltord is the "best 12th man" on the wing, and there is a Nigerian center on the front line. Kanu also bought Spanish striker Reyes in the winter, which was even more luxurious. Therefore, Arsenal's bench strength at that time was definitely the top in the Premier League.

These people were Arsenal's main rotation players at the time, and they were undoubtedly the best in the Premier League in terms of strength. Especially at that time, Manchester United had just lost Beckham, and Roman Abramovich's Chelsea had just taken shape. Although teams such as Liverpool and Newcastle United were considered powerful, they had never been close to the Premier League championship. In terms of hard power, Arsenal was already No. 1 at the time.

In fact, the 2003-2004 season was a season of change and turmoil.

This is not only because the Premier League has lost its signature player Beckham, but also because the rubles brought by Abramovich have brought the Premier League into the era of "gold dollar football", and then Ranieri's arrival in the Premier League has gradually overwhelmed the mainland football style. A pure British style.

Wenger is the first non-British head coach in Arsenal's history. In the Premier League in the 1990s, this was not common. In today's Premier League, it is difficult for top teams to find English coaches. , Lampard became the only one, but the situation was the opposite at that time. Wenger seemed to be an alternative. However, you have to deny that the things he brought were indeed something England had never seen before, and even seemed a bit alternative.

At that time, the Premier League adhered to the 442 unchanged. The two centers were either one tall and one fast, or a two-tower combination. In general, the center stayed in the penalty area and waited for points to score at any time, similar to Shearer. Such a center is a model; and the midfielder is usually a combination of one offense and one defense, but whether it is an offensive midfielder or a defensive midfielder, it is necessary to be able to rush and run. The style of play is to open up and combine, and take advantage of The ball is swung to find the wide players, and then the two wingers make endless passes to find their own center. Each position has an extremely strict division of labor, and they work well with each other but seem a bit rigid.

Arsenal was also 442 at that time, but we would rather say that it was 4231 in the guise of 442. Judging from the number of goals Bergkamp scored, he was definitely not a qualified center. , after partnering with Henry, his goals in a single season have never exceeded ten. Is such a forward worthy of erecting a statue for him?

Yes, he doesn’t score many goals. The season in which he scored the most was the season he just arrived, scoring 16 goals. Just as the Dutch continued to polish his body in the summer, he planned to When he hit the 20-goal mark in the following season, Wenger came. This coach from a romantic country told him that your place is not there. Step out of the penalty area and there is a wider world. From then on, the football world gained a poet.

This seems to have become Wenger's common method for tall centers, allowing them to step out of the penalty area, stand in the midfielder position, and use their physical advantages to pass the ball to their teammates. Bergkamp is In this way, Kanu was like this, and later Adebayor and Giroud were like this. High center forwards always looked so "coquettish" to Wenger.

Therefore, Bergcambu is only a nominal forward, and the only real forward is Henry. The defensive midfielder composed of Vieira and Gilberto is difficult to break through in the whole of Europe, not to mention the Premier League, not to mention that there is Campbell behind them. Toure's gradual maturity has made Arsenal's defense in the center a nightmare for opponents. In addition to his header ability, Kolo Toure is top-notch in every center back skill, and this only weakness can be made up for by Campbell.

Of course, Arsenal’s main offensive line is still the left corridor we are talking about. Cole is more like a winger than a full-back. The area where he most often appears is not on the left side of his side. Near the baseline, but near the opponent's right baseline. As a center, Henry often came to join in the fun. Pires was called the most technical full-back in the world after Figo at the time. These three people can go to this stop. Suppressing everything, Wenger is also more willing to tilt more resources in this direction, which can be seen as an extreme form of unilateralism.

Of course, the players on the bench also have their own roles. Although Kanu is not a stand-up center, he has the height and tonnage. If he replaces Bergkamp, ??Arsenal can play some simple British routines; and Wiltord's appearance can speed up the wing; Edu can replace any defensive midfielder, which can give Arsenal's midfielder an extra ball point; Keown can become a solid backing for Toure and Campbell.

With both the stability of the main force and the changes in the substitutes, Arsenal has a unique style both in terms of lineup and play style, especially their play style is not traditional. The British style of play, and if there are simple substitutions on the bench, it can always bring about some changes. This is the root of Arsenal's strength.

As we said above, the traditional British style of play is to set up two pillars in the opponent's penalty area, ready to hit headers at any time, even if it is a combination of one high and one fast like Liverpool. There was at least one nail in the penalty area, but the forward's first reaction after getting the ball was to shoot, which was obviously not the case for Arsenal.

Arsenal's attack is extremely unusual. One is that there are no "nails" in the penalty area. The British defenders at that time learned how to fight with the opponent's center in the penalty area and how to get there. Blocking the shot, but I have never seen Arsenal play this way. They have no one in the penalty area, to be precise, there is no fixed person.

Arsenal’s penalty area may be Henry who rushes in, or it may be full midfielder Pires, or it may be Bergkamp, ??and the inconspicuous No. 8 Ljungberg on the right will also attack. In the penalty area, even after buying Gilberto, his impact header has become a tactical setting for Arsenal. Originally, they only needed to study the defense of the two forwards, but when facing Arsenal, they had to study the four forwards. It's too difficult to play with five people.

One of the center backs must be close to Bergkamp at all times, and the other one dare not follow Henry until the midfield. This will allow Henry to repeatedly start dribbling the ball from behind the opponent's right midfielder and then kill the right back. Kill the central defender. What's even more painful is that if the defense line leans too far to the right to help defend Henry, the gap left in the left rib will be inserted diagonally by Ljungberg to surprise. How did Henry get his terrifying 320 data? That's how it came about. Yes, although Henry does have good passing ability, it is far from the point where he can get 20 assists in a single season. You must know that even the top ten Zidane in the world at the time couldn't do it. Henry's Assists are rarely imaginative and mostly straightforward.

The use of space in the ribs was the most advanced aspect of Arsenal at the time. Pires's crazy inward cuts and Ljungberg's downward shots from the other side were all based on the impact on this part. It seems now that this position is often the weakest place in defense, but at the time, The focus on this position was far less than it is now. Arsenal was the first to do so, and then Arsenal bought Reyes in the winter of 2004, and the prototype of 433 was formed.

After Reyes gradually entered the main lineup, Arsenal's lineup looked more like a butterfly-shaped 433 position. Pires basically moved to the center to act as a standard attacking midfielder, while Reyes and Henry switched positions at any time. One was a center and the other was a left winger. Ljungberg's position was premised on the right wing, and the rest of the midfield and backfield positions were different. Change, isn't this the 433 that has been popular since then and even now!

The sharp blade serves as the left wing of 4231. The two technical team players who are best at passing and cooperating and equally powerful in attack take turns serving as the middle and 1st of 3, which completely makes the opponent's defense lose focus. You will never Know who is in the penalty area the next second. "Left midfielder" Pires played more than 40 games and scored 23 goals. This buried statistic can only be described as terrifying even among all midfielders today.

Arsenal at that time subverted the tradition. They had no fixed positions except on the right, and their frequent position changes made it seem that there was no one in the opponent's penalty area, and there seemed to be many people. What’s even more terrifying is that when these people appear, their first reaction is not to shoot. They have a balanced left and right foot and can pass and shoot. Those traditional British central defenders have no idea what these guys are going to do in the next second, let alone talk about it. Defended.

After talking about offense, let’s finally talk about defense. Perhaps Arsenal in the later period can still play a beautiful offense under the leadership of Wenger, even more beautiful than when they were undefeated. For example, the midfielder consists of three No. 10s, namely Fabregas, Rosicky and Hleb. , its technical content is only higher than that of the 2003-2004 season, but Arsenal's defense will never return to the height of that time.

In the author’s opinion. The two people left one after another, causing Arsenal's defense to fall into an abyss of destruction, so that they frequently staged scenes of besieging their opponents throughout the game, and then being taken away by their opponents with a corner kick. These two people are Vieira and Campbell, a super iron waist and a defensive leader.

As we said above, the defensive midfielder combination of Vieira and Gilberto was quite powerful and could be called the number one defensive midfielder combination at the time.

In today's terms, Vieira is a pure B2B-type defensive midfielder who can cover his own penalty area to the opponent's penalty area; while Gilberto is an S2S-type defensive midfielder. You can defend from the left to the right, with Vieira covering the vertical direction and Gilberto covering the horizontal direction. A perfect "cross" helps Arsenal build an iron wall in the midfield.

Vieira's departure started a period of "eight years without a championship", which was actually a difficult road to "strengthening the waist". Arsenal has never been able to find a player similar to Vieira. After all, in the summer when Vieira was sold, Wenger spent more money to buy Hleb and Rosicky. Wenger was no longer satisfied. The current technical content is high, and he hopes to fill the lineup with more technical players. However, Wenger has forgotten that football itself is a passionate sport. How can it be without iron blood and will?

In the following year, Arsenal let go of Campbell, who was out of form. The departure of this central defender made Arsenal repeatedly fall prey to opponents' set kicks. Arsenal never lacked tall players in the future. Central defenders, such as Senderos, such as Mertesacker, and now Papastathopoulos. But they are not the leader of the defense. After Campbell, Arsenal's defense no longer has a calm commander.

We use a different way to tell about Arsenal's defense that season, showing everyone how outstanding Arsenal's defense was at that time, and how unbearable Arsenal's defense was afterwards. Two The departure of the "Black Tower" took away Arsenal's stability and iron-bloodedness, and Arsenal has since become a somewhat "soft" team.

Arsenal's defense in the 2003-2004 season was solid. In addition to the two core players, Lauren did not participate in assists very much, which allowed Arsenal to maintain a stable three-back formation, which can effectively ensure that Arsenal will not be taken away by counterattacks. Whether it is a positional battle or a counterattack, whether it is a sports battle or a set piece, Arsenal's defense is always impressive.

In fact, it was not Manchester United that ended Arsenal, but Abramovich’s money and Mourinho. With the arrival of Mourinho, football has entered an extremely simple style, the direction of football. A transformation has occurred. Wenger never beat Mourinho's Chelsea and that's proof of it.

Take the 2005 game against Chelsea as an example. Arsenal attacked wildly throughout the game, but Chelsea decisively gave up two wings and returned to defend the center with 10 men, using a sea of ??people to compress Arsenal's passing space. However, Drogba only made two counterattacks of 5 seconds. Arsene Wenger's team suffered a setback and this became a template for other teams to follow when facing Arsenal. Therefore, we see that Arsenal can beat giant teams such as Juventus and Real Madrid in the Champions League, but when they return to the league, they cannot face the "bus" of relegation teams like Sunderland. Therefore, let Arsenal It was not Manchester United's 2-0 that went to the altar, but Mourinho and his Chelsea.