Should Arsenal use 4-4-2 as an option against defensive teams?
Arsenal’s wins against Everton and Aston Villa were hard-fought and while the points were all taken, there surely has to be some questions raised over the 4-3-3 formation’s productivity in those matches. Let us not be mistaken – in both matches Arsenal pulled out hard-fought wins, but chances were fashioned far and few between and it was fortunate that the players took them. But both of them were as lucky as winning the Jackpot on The Mummy Slot Machine as far as I was concerned, and perhaps our chances could have been improved with a little forethought about the team’s layout..
The 4-3-3 formation, though, has seen great success when the players are energetic, confident and moving all the time. Emphasis on playing from the flanks and keeping possession has definitely allowed Arsenal to achieve fantastic results, such as the 5-3 victory against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge and the 4-0 demolition of Wigan at the DW Stadium most recently.
However when the players are not at their sharpest and when the injuries come into play, the possession is meaningless and the play from the wings ineffective. In the match against Aston Villa, with van Persie marked by the superb Richard Dunne and the pair of wingers Walcott and Gervinho failing to exploit the space behind the opposing fullbacks, the formation’s attacking threat was more or less nullified.
With a lone striker being deployed in the 4-3-3 in the form of Robin van Persie, the formation works very fine indeed against teams who choose to play an attacking style against the Gunners. But when teams are determined to “park the bus”, or in other words mark the forwards extremely tightly and have many defenders in the penalty box, there are no outlets for Arsenal to attack with anymore.
The solution is a simple one which Arsenal can easily implement, that is, having two strikers up front. This not only lessens the burden on van Persie, but gives Arsenal an additional attacking option up front. Arsene Wenger will have plenty of experience with the formation too, having used it to win just about all the titles in his time as Arsenal manager. The formation allows Arsenal to effectively attack through the middle, particularly effective in matches against ultra defensive teams. This of course does not mean that Arsenal will have to abandon the 4-3-3 formation, but perhaps the 4-4-2 formation can prove to be a useful backup tactic?
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Does the Pope have a balcony FFS ??
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What u fail to realize is that in every game, there is more to starting formations.
Atimes 4-3-3 change to 4-4-2, 4-5-1,4-2-4, 3-5-2,4-6-0. and d list goes on and on. We have a capable manager in person of Le’ Prof. Arsene knows best. In him we trust.
Top Gooner!. Agree or not?:
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yeah! lets do that! so that Gervinho will find his position threatened! he will be much more competitive while playing… so he won’t slack at every game!
Opinions divided. What do you think?
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what bout the central midfield when this is changed, arsenal is a team that have out and out wingers and rely on a defensive mid, a in-between, and a attacking one to work in tandem…..
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THE ANSWER IS NO, WE ONLY HAVE ONE STRIKER, ROBIN VAN PERSIE, IF WE HAD PODOLSKI OR ANOTHER QUALITY STRIKER, WE COULD CONSIDER DOING. UNFORTUNATELY, RIGHT NOW, NO.
Opinions divided. What do you think?
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song and arteta cn hold the middle.we cn play 4-4-2,bt evrythng dpends on wengie.he nver try to imployed new tactics r trying somethng dferent..so doubt he wud change the 4-2-3-1 system. rosicky need to start on the next match ahead of rambo.hope wenger sees that. song-arteta-rosicky”cud bring the beautiful style back in the middle.cnt see rambo cn hndle it now.mybe for a few years more.
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I don’t think there is a problem with the 4-3-3 formation we played against Everton and Aston Villa. Granted we have seen better attacking performances but with the pressure against us (particularly in the Villa match) we battled well and grinded out a result which a year ago for me would not have happened. As much as i hate to compliment Manchester United; a lot of times last year they gained 3 points from matches they had their backs against the wall…its what champions do. Granted I think Arsenal need something more to be considered champion material but we are certainly in the mix.
Also we don’t have another complete striker like Van Persie, Walcott is settling well now as a wing player this year and Gervinho can’t finish for toffee. Chamakh has hit a career brick wall and Park is good but is not experienced in the English Game. (Bring back Henry?)
Also I dont think the possesion arguement is valid as Aston Villa had pretty much equal possesion in the game so we did what we could with half as much of the total ball
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I remember Wenger opting the 4-4-2 last season against Chelsea from the start. It worked in our favor: we won 3-1. It could be a switch for certain matches that need to be won “ugly.”
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The 4-4-2 formation seems very well balanced to me no need to play `ugly` (what ever that means?)
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I wouldn’t mind it for now, with Song and Arteta in the middle, Gervinho and Arshavin on the wings and RVP and Walcott up-front…but who do we drop when Wilshere’s back? Song has been absolutely brilliant and Arteta has settled in very nicely too. If people don’t like the idea of Walcott up front, then why not Chamakh? He’s actually not that bad, he just needs confidence and a few games will help him get it back – he isn’t good as a lone striker and so why not try maximise his potential in a 4-4-2 system?
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@ Rashgunner
Well put, you sponged up the remains of my spilt brain
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Talking abt this for ages!
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Winning is fine but at Arsenal just winning is not enough.
Over the last sixty odd years of supporting Arsenal I`ve become accustomed to winning in`style`. That`s what seperates Arsenal from the rest. Being a snob I`m hard to please, as snobs should be. (only joking, don`t bite my head off)
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Well am glad this 442 issue has come up finally Wenger is so slow at changing things… and it is boring we gooners, we shld not be talking only 442 sometimes we shld implore 451. Arsenal isnt passing the ball going forward anymore as we shld yes we end up having the greater ball possession bt check it out that is becos we pass it a lot at the back and not up front where it matters. Against Villa Rosicky, Andrei and Benayoun change our shape a bit and suddenly we passing alot better. Gervinho and walcott shld stop hugging the wings they shld come in and help keep possession in the middle of the pack.
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As we are in a defender crisis due to injuries, Boss should really consider getting a new defender. I feel the best option would be Chris Samba with the way Blackburn is currently performing he would be considering his chances elsewhere. Vermaelen could play as a right back and now it looks like Koscielny could play anywhere in the defense. So Mertesacker & Samba cit could make our back 4 rock solid.
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4-4-2 atm with the team we have available
Schezney
Coqulen Koscielney Mertesacker Vermaelen
Walcott Song Arteta Gervinho
RVP Park-Chu-Young
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@ Scorpian
I like that team except for one thing: Francis Coquilan at RB, I dont know if you saw the Villa game but Charles N’zogbia ( a good player who is having a shocking season tbh) was absolutely destroying francis every single time…he is far too inexperienced at that position much like Carl Jenkinson….ideally I would love Sagna to be back buuuut with the team we have available I would say maybe Frimpong or Song alternate at CB and CDM and have Koscielny move in at RB because he has actually impressed me at full back lately…seems quite comfotable being a abll playing defender which is one of the reasons I love Vermaelen
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yes 442
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