442 We need it! We Will WiN!!!
Over the past two- three years,the biggest concern with Arsenal and its supporters, Besides transfer policy, and besides loyalty to certain players, its the formation or lack of tactics from Wenger.. Simply it’s said plenty of times we need to play the 442, its how we went undefeated, its how we got to the UCL Final, its when the league was decided by only United and AFC.
…. Well harsh reality is, the 442 is outdated and the game has evolved so much that the formation is irrelevant.. imagine we line up in a 442 one central midfielder is Rambo (by popular demand) and you fill in the blank with your own personal fave DM _________. We lined up against a midfield which consisted of Kroos, Modric, James.. We than later in the week lined up against a team like Xavi, Busquets, iniesta.. Or play against Schweinsteiger, Muller, Martinez.. Its almost a double edged sword, do we get physically beat by size and pace? Do we get beat by the constant tiki-taka and chase in the middle?
Another concern in the 442, is where would we actually play our team? Ramsey central for sure, But what about Ozil, a midfield of rambo and Ozil alone would get destroyed week in and week out. Easy fix! Ozil plays wide left! and we get our CDM… but then (well we all saw how effective Mesut is as a wide player just does not suit him at all)..
So I 100% agree with Wenger’s 4231.. But on a different look, i would LOVE to see us play a Barca style 433..
Would love to see One Defensive mid, who never ever gets ahead of the ball, stays back strictly for defensive work.. that way even when both our fullbacks push up we should have a numerical advantage on the counter attack with Per, Kos/Chambers, and our DM.. In this more attacking formation, it would give us the benefit of getting the absolute best out Mesut and more importantly Santi!
As we all know Cazorla still has MAJOR game left in the tank.. But its the physical attributes he losing. His vision and creativity gets completely cut in half outside having to challenge much faster players, its no coincidence when Cazorla has amazing goals and assists he has drifted into the middle.. and in this way we would never have to play people out of position. were perfectly balanced for it. at the two advanced mid positions we could all rotate, Ozil, Cazorla, Rosicky, Rambo.. we could do a roration of 2 games on 1 game off, and we wouldn’t have to ever worry about one quality player being over played. Of course in when the big games pile up some will get more minutes than others, but this type of rotation I guarantee we would have much fresher players in the long run. On the wings, we would then have Ox, Alexis, Theo, Joel, Poldi (I pray is still around) all rotating for 2 positions.. and need I mention that Cazorla and Ozil will be feeding them from a central position at the same time!!
Its a minor adjustment but when that i think we could benefit from massively, because lets be honest more times than not we play against sides that are parking the bus and might as well combat it with an extra number with the quality we can offer..
Now the question then comes back to, Will Wenger Spend Some Fucking Money and Buy a DAMN CDM!! well in all honesty Khedira fits the bill, yes he does play more of a Box to Box central mid, But his size, strength, and aerial ability, under Wenger i have no problem to believe he can make him stay behind the ball. My vote goes to Khedira. Last year missing out on Luiz G from Bayern was a major blow. He would have fit into the system flawlessly. There are a few others that could fit in Morgan from Southampton, Carvlaho for anything under 20 would be good. Bender would do the job fine. Then again it’s all up to the boss to see what direction he is going in. I can not wait for September 1st so we can get on with the season and not have to think about anymore transfers, I absolutely hate this time of the year..
Thank you for reading please comment on your thoughts what would you change if anything..
@AFClife14
Before I write this piece, before you read this piece, let me make it clear. Cesc Fabregas was one of my favorite Arsenal players in recent times just like everyone else. Just like others I was highly disturbed with the image after the world cup final. It was inevitable our “captain” was leaving. I was hurt just like everyone else, I can honestly say I was equally hurt as when Thierry left, Crazy Right?!
I like a few others do wish and hope our boy comes back to wear the cannon again. There is something as growing up as a young man that I feel will be the deciding factor why Cesc will be back, ready for the Dilemma?
Now, Cesc was always going back to Barcelona. It did not matter if he was bought by Paris Saint-Germain, Bayern Munich, Manchester United, or even Real Madrid at (the age he was picked up by Arsenal.). He always made it clear it was his “Boy Hood Dream” to return to Barcelona. The part that gives me a reason to believe why he will come back is simply because a boy hood dream, and a Grown Mans love for something is completely different. Think of it like this, comparing the two clubs, to his mother and Arsenal his True Love..
The city Barcelona, The Club Barcelona, The Family in Barcelona thats his homeland, who nurtured him in his youth. His dream was to always wear the blue and red stripes of Barcelona. To show his mother “Barcelona” I made it! thank you for everything, the dreams and memories of the Camp Nou at such a young age. He always envisioned himself playing there..
Like everyone you want to branch out from your mothers wings. The love that Arsenal showed Cesc is unmatched. The love the Fans showed him has never been replicated at Barcelona. The complete trust from the manager has not been the same. As the time passed he learned the way of the Gooner! he was shown the way how to act as a true Arsenal member of the club. He was given the highest accolade and trust by being named captain. With all these things earned by him I like to consider Arsenal as his Wife/True Love in Life. All you have to do is follow cesc on twitter or Instagram and you can easily see for yourself he still has major admiration issues on where his heart truly lies. Is it with the mother land of Barcelona, or is it With his true love Arsenal, where he learned to love as growing up from a 15 year old kid to a mature young man?
Now after comparing the two the question I continually ask myself, is whats next? What would I do if I accepted the chance to fulfil my boy hood dream win a few cups, play a semi important role, and realize I still have admiration for someone else? I really do hope he chooses to come back to the Fans that adored him, To the manager who changed a formation for him, and more importantly a place where he smiled more on a home game in one day, then he has in a few short years at Barcelona.
To conclude this article, Cesc if he does come back wont be until 2016 when his current deal expires. There is a buy out clause set at 200m Euros, so lets be honest we will not and I would not want to crack the piggy at that price. He will be 29 years old in 2016. I for one think the Love for Arsenal will be the deciding factor when he is put under the microscope again and will choose to return to the place that made him. Of course I was hurt when he left, but the joy to have him back, I would instantly forgive him knowing he came back for one reason, His True Love for Arsenal Football Club.
have any questions or comments please feel free to follow me @AFClife14
with 9 games left in our season, I think we all have the confidence and belief we will finish in the top four. That is no longer the question.. A lot of what we have been reading lately outside of the Wonderful collapse down the seven sisters road, is transfers. For once we are not loosing any top talent… or so we hope. So we will build on, but how big are the club willing to go?
The biggest player we could have lost signed a new deal this year which was Theo. We now look for once this summer to Revamp every position instead of looking for holes voided by a departed star. In the defensive third of our field we need a few players to really see a difference in the squad. A goalkeeper for one is a necessity, I do believe Woj is a good future star, but for now he needs to be learning behind someone at such an early age. Remember a lot of goalkeepers do not show their best seasons until they are later in their career. It is a position of angles and reading, and although the younger Woj may have good reflexes and hands, his decisions in a lot of games have been pretty poor. Two names I would like us to atleast attempt to get is Asmir Begovic and Steklenburg, both would do just fine in my opinion.
Right in front of our goalkeeper we have our two centerbacks. This is where my article poses a question to anyone who reads this. How ambitious will we be in the summer transfer market? With 3 centerbacks all coming back (4th being squid who’s contract expires finally) in Tommy, Kos, and BFG. Will the club look out to buy a new center back? We do have Djorou on loan at Hannover 96 in Germany, and is coming back I believe. With him coming back AW has 4 center backs that all have premiership experience. If we are to buy a new center back everyone wants a big name such as Hummels, subotic, or even Ashley Williams. With AW in the past, its hard for me to believe that he is going to buy a big name superstar to take the place of where his current loyalty lies, with the our first 3 choices. If we buy a superstar center back I would be highly surprised, because frankly AW has something called belief and loyalty to players, even though sometimes it is the worst for all parties included. Which ever center back we get I hope its a no non sense type of center back, a Sol Campbell type, not the best footballing skills, but Absolutely loves sticking in a good tackle and wins every aerial battle possible.
To the outside backs, On the left side I am 100% convinced were secured. Gibbs has been a standout player of the season when fit. Monreal is a great talent. You can tell he is playing with a few shackles on him, and only recently started to move further and further up the pitch. Give the Nacho man a full summer of chemistry and learning AW tactics in and out, I know we will have a lock down and offensive attack coming from deep. Right back is a bit more complicated, Carl is the future we all know that. Bac on the other hand could be gone to PSG, or any where else that is reported. Frankly, a lot of fans give the man a bit of stick. He has had two broken legs recently and he has not recovered from it mentally. He does not have the same attacking or defending intent and it shows. If he is gone, I would love us to pick up Micah Richards who is currently out of favor at city. Behind Maicon and Zabaleta and looks like he has no chance anytime soon. Remember the Olympics as well, he can play center back as well… The chances of Richards wearing an Arsenal shirt I highly doubt but we can all wish right?
Midfield seems pretty controlled. We all know we lack one thing and one thing only. That coveted Defensive midfielder. Arteta does what he can in the role he just doesn’t have enough pace at times,when our outside backs are pushed high up the field, he doesn’t have enough speed to cover the distance and usually puts our center backs in bad decision making periods. I really do like Mikel a lot, but deeper down the field does not suit his best abilities. This is one position I have no idea how AW will address it, again he has his Loyalty tied to a young Coquelin, and bringing in a star or big named player would certainly makes his development a longer process. Remember we have now had two full windows to fill the position left by Alex Song, and nothing has changed. Here’s another position I disagree with, but have a feeling that Wenger may not strengthen.
Forwards I think is something we all know will be bought in the summer, recently I’m reading everywhere that we are going after Jovetic for sure this summer. Again, were reading this from the same rumor mills that said Villa, M’Villa, and Sahin were are all Arsenal players and completed medicals. Jovetic shows to be a great talent and scores goals! a finisher with great instincts. We have to stop going into games with no strikers on the bench. Giroud has had sparks of great stuff this season. But in AW preffered 4231 system, It does not suit his style. He needs a second striker to play off of to really see his abilities, hence all the gorgeous flicks ons we have scored this season (Podolski, Gibbs, Theo) he is a good combo target man for a second striker to run off. With Wenger not going to change his formation, we desperately need a new striker that can lead the line, a more agile striker with quicker pace, to cause a threat when jack or santi is driving up the field with the ball.
With all this being said, every big name superstar we want, or talented player like Isco, Cavani, Shneiderlin. Remember a player must be put to the bench or dropped down the pecking order. Do we all want it, YES. Do we know we need a stronger team to compete for a premiership title, YES! but is Wenger willing to do it? I think not. So will we buy players this summer? Absolutely, but how strong of the player to make an immediate impact on the starting IX is something we need and hope it happens. If not get ready for another roller coaster of a season. We have a squad capable of competing for a Cup, with good rotation we can win a cup. Outlast rotation and win more points in a 38 game Premiership season? We need to strengthen the squad massively to make that happen, to become Champions of England again.
Any questions or comments feel free to ask me and follow me on twitter: @AFClife14
It’s a bitter cold night in Munich, 90 minutes have been played, and The Arsenal have pulled off the remarkable, the unthinkable, the Impossible.. Arsenal have not only shut out one of the most potent attacks in European football in Bayern, but they have scored three goals to get them into the quarterfinals of the champions league! This is what dreams are made of!
This is something us as Arsenal supporters really hope we hear come Wednesday night.. In all honesty it is a inevitable feeling that we all have, Are we giving ourselves false hope for no reason? Or is there a legitimate chance of us pulling this off? After the tough loss away to Spurs, why should we have such a hope in this type of game? Well frankly because there have been upsets and turn arounds in the past to give us some type of hope.
Back in the 1974-75 Season Derby county played against Real Madrid in the European cup in the second round. Derby beat the giants 4-1 in the first leg. In the second leg Real got back into the tie with a brace from Roberto Juan Martinez and another from Santillana. George from derby made it 3-1 at the Bernabeau soon after. Pirri then scored and leveled the game at 5-5, in extra time Santillana then sealed the come back victory for Real by scoring from the penalty spot winning 6-5.
A more recent game took place in 2004, Deportivo La Coruna lost its first leg game against AC Milan 4-1. Deportivo then completely took over in the second leg by winning 4-0, to win the aggregate of 5-4!
For a little bit of German flavor Real Madrid got thrashed by Borussia Monchengladbach by a score of 5-1 in the first leg in 1985 in the Uefa Cup. Madrid then stormed back in the second leg to win 4-0 and win the tie on Away goals of a final score 5-5.
There are just a few examples of big comebacks in the second leg. We even have our own in 2012 when, we lost to AC Milan 4-0 in the first leg, we then came back and got the win 3-0 in the second leg. Was it enough to go thru to the next round? No, but I remember vividly we had enough chances to score 4,5, or even 6 goals that night. With this bad 3-1 loss at the Emirates, Munich now have a three goal advantage and 3 away goals. With that being said is it impossible? No, but it is it a a tie we could come back and win? Yes.
The continued tweets I read about is everyone knows we have a very strong attack of our own. Scoring goals wont be the issue. Especially with players like Bastian and Jerome Boateng both being out of the game. We have the same issue that has haunted us all season long, care to take a guess? …. Yes, defending. Just in the premier league alone we have given up 32 goals in the 28 games. Bayern have only given up a small 8 goals on their current Bundesliga campaign. Too many times this season we catch ourselves saying “Tommy what are you doing!? Kos are you even awake mate?! Per Your too slow what are you doing on the pitch anyway!” So the reason for concern is a valid point. It will be a tough task to shut the Germans out. With that there is a reason why we have some faith left. All we need is minimum 1 goal in the first 45, then a second somewhere before the 65th, then its game on in the final minutes. Huge task, absolutely but we have a very emotional group of guys. When were down and morale is low we can loose to anyone (anyone remember bradford and blackburn) but we also know when we are inspired we can pick a part any team like the night we put it on Newcastle at the Emirates.
Wouldn’t it be something if the trophy drought is over because we win the champions league? All we can do now is be positive and hope for the best. The away fans making the travel to Munich, as I have said before we know you will sing your lungs out as you always do. Push the boys on and all the fans watching on TV around the world. This can happen, it might happen.. But like the rapper T.I. said ” Even When Winning is Illogical,Loosing Still Far From Optional” Loosing is not an option no matter how far back on aggregate we are, we will fight together as one team, one club, with one goal in mind. Get out of Munich with a win and onto the quarter finals of the Champions League.
Any questions, comments, or feedback follow me on twitter let me know what you think @AFClife14
5pur2 was the recent cries as Arsenal fans had incredible times recently playing the spuds. Now its supposed to be “Tottenham’s Time” to show the world why they are better than Arsenal this year. They apparently have a superstar in the name of Gareth Bale that is some where between the top 3 footballers in the world. He is better than Ronaldo, not quite better than Messi, but absolutely better than the living legend of Thierry Henry!!!
Yeah, Right!! first off to any real Tottenham fan they are absolutely deluded to even make an assumption that Bale is as good as Ronaldo. The only thing the monkey boy has compared to Ronaldo, is how he tries to have the same exact slick comb over hair style. He undeniably tries his hardest to emulate Cristiano’s stance in free kicks to the point where it is pathetic. If chimp boy was asked who do you idolize? I would take my life savings and bet that he would say Ronaldo. Next off Messi? Well there is a reason why no one says it because well frankly you would get laughed out of the pub with the audacity to even think it. Finally you want to say he is better than the King of Highbury? Lets be honest and clear with this, Gareth would not even be able to Lace up Henry’s boots to training. There is no doubt what Bale is doing this season as bad I hate him and his so called club, I do say okay that was a nice goal. But in no way ever in an unbiased opinion is he better than Thierry. If you compare Bale to just Theo Walcott there is no comparison. In both of their seasons a few weeks back both 22 appearances, bale has 1,934 minutes played while Theo has 1,487. Goals Bale with 13 and Theo with 11. Assists Bale has 1 and Theo has 8. So bale has 447 more minutes played than Theo and only has two more goals and 7 less assists? and you want to compare him to Theirry in Bales best ever season and he cant even statistically beat Theo? Stop it, your embarrassing yourself with that argument.
As of right now we are currently 4 points behind our bitter rivals, with 11 games to go. There is a lot riding on this game and as supporters we all know that. If we do not win this game and take a loss down the seven sisters road we will be 7 points back and our morale will be at an all time low this season. The good thing is I feel the boys will be up to the task. Tottenham no doubt has a decent offense, we all know adebuywhore will have a tough go at us. Lennon always has something to prove being the “shit Theo Walcott” that he is, but lets be honest on his day he can have slick moves and great pace but feel Monreal in his more reserved right back position will have it under control. Monkey boy will play well and usually does get a goal or assist. the thing that gets me excited about Tottenham is there defense it is very leaky and not a strong back line by any means. As bad as us Arsenal supporters have seen our defense this season we have given up 30 goals in the prem up to this point where as Tottenham have given up 32. So not much more, but as bad as we have seen ours, for the scum to have given up two more we know we can absolutely break thru and get some goals, anyone up for 5pur2 part3? It can happen.
Which lineup and tactics will we use against Tottenham? personally, I hope we go back to our usual front three of Giroud cf Podolski at LW and Theo at RW. I want Santi back in tucked under neath Oilivier, Jack and Mikel doing the hard bit in the center of the park. the back line I want to see Per and Tommy at the center than Nacho, and Carl at right back. that’s possibly our strongest line up, and with Olivier’s great back to goal flick on’s i would not be surprised if we get a few of those goals this weekend on the counter attack.
With this all said the last time Tottenham finished above us in the table it was in 1994.. Yes The last time was in 1994 when Arsenal finished below the scum. So I know with out a doubt we will finish in the top 4, and not only that, but there will be another St. Totteringham Day! Believe it Arsenal Fans! whether you want the manager in or out, Whether you like the transfer business or not, There is one thing we all want… to defeat the Spuds again! To the fans making the trip to the Shite Hart Lane, Sing your voices out like you Away lot always do! We will all be behind the boys and your voices,We Will Get The Job Done on Sunday!!! Come on You Arsenal! We got this!
Whether you agree or disagree with me, share your opinions! Follow me on twitter @AFClife14
Jack Wilshere today against Stoke has once again proved he wears the Cannon for nothing else than pure love and passion. Is he the captain of the current Arsenal squad? No, but anyone who has been watching Arsenal in the recent seasons (especially this year) it is proven he is the voice of the squad. We have seen time and time again that Jack truly loves his club,and his team mates.
Today The bench warmer gives a little extra attention to Arteta after Mikel serves him with a proper tackle.. Owen then gets up and tries to halfway punch/strike Arteta. What does our little future captain do? Gets right in his face and tells him exactly what he needs to hear. This is not the first time but it gets better and better each time.
Now going forward with such a small incident, In the years past we have missed a rough and rugged presence in the midfield (or defense for that matter) who is willing to get stuck in and send a message. When players like Adebayor, RVP, Nasri, Song, who all wear the cannon you can clearly tell there is no love for the colors. Jack brings that presence and PRIDE back to the famous red and white kit. He brings the Tony Adams, the Thierry Henry pride back to the Arsenal. He is willing to leave everything on the line and truly bleeds Arsenal.
For anyone who says it was not necessary for Jack to give it to Owen, has no idea how powerful is it for our continued success that we have a motivated figure like that in our side. Not only will it push the team forward, it gives us the fans hope that people don’t only play for the money, but there is hope we can trust in our English Core to bring the Pride back into the crest. Jack I can not wait till you are the captain, but for the time being I will settle with the performances you give us week in and week out.
With no real structure for this post just wanted to say how proud we should all be to be a Gooner, the trophy’s will come, and Jack will be lifting them for a very long time!
-AFCLIFE14
After the shambolic performance from the boys today, the biggest outcry is now the loudest it has ever been! WENGER OUT!!! is this the change that is really needed? or the current scape goat since Ramsey was not on the field today?
Personally Arsene’s tactics have not been spot on. but lets be honest there is a reason why W has kept away from the 442 that everyone says “bring my arsenal back” Simply we do not have two powerful midfielders that can boss a game in the middle in the prem at the moment. you look at those 442 years and the anchor was Patrick Vieria. you could pair any one alongside him and it would work fine. then you have Pires on the left and Freddie on the right. Now with that being said, could we really go with any of the pairings in a flat 442 in the prem..Jack arteta, jack santi, santi arteta, ramsey jack, ramsey santi..(no im not including Diaby because well frankly, we all know why) So no we can not afford to play that type of system at the moment..
believe me I am a huge enthusiast for a two striker formation. i do not like the current blend of 4231/433 that Arsene uses…
so is the change in the manager for choosing tactics with current players? or is it deeper? is it the board who continually sell our best players for in reality nothing.. if we were able to keep all the best players from recent departures minus Fabregas as he left to “Go Home”.. we would be nearly untouchable..
i believe Arsene is loosing some aspects in his coaching ability.. and that is the way he used to motivate his players week in and week out. Too many times we have been inconsistent this year and last few years. some games we are breath taking, and others things happen like today. no attacking intent, no fluidity, no crunching tackles in the middle of the park to set the tone.
change is needed yes, but where? we all have our own views and opinions mine is the same, the board.. unless they sign a player to impact the current team this January and more in the summer my vote is in, out with the board.
where to begin..
there is plenty of side plots that went on during our match with Fulham. So lets back track and start from the back. The dreaded penalty that Mikel took. He is usually a spot on kicker. You look at his previous years through Everton, he used to be quit the set piece master. It was only until he moved to Arsenal when his duties were relieved because of a certain dutchman. So for him to step up to take the Pen was okay with me.. If he scores we praise him and let him know he needs to be in the Spanish national team etc etc.. but with the miss all of a sudden he is the complete worst and everyone wants to slate him. its a bit unfair as he stepped up took a good pen, Scwarzer unfortunately guessed the right way.. plus we were a bit lucky to get to get into that position in the dieing minutes, because for once a referee gave us a decision to win the game?! I was astonished as it was..
My next review Olivier Giroud. The band wagon has begun.. the first few games of the year no one wanted to believe he could do anything because of his continued flops in front of the goal. But, you look at every one of those games his off the ball movement to get into the positions to miss some of those glorious opportunities were amazing. All he needed was to find his feet, get some confidence and he will score goals, that’s what he does. he is surrounded at what looks to be a complete revolution of Arsenals midfield. Mikel is playing deeper, santi was not around last year, and lets all praise our future again Jack! after he builds his chemistry we will continue to see nights like this where Giroud will finish more and more opportunities.
Now there’s the good.. where is the bad. The bad is we fielded what is probably our strongest 11 outside of Jack not starting. I could remember years ago 2-0 against a fulham mid table side, we would comfortably walk away with a huge 4 nil win. unfortunately times have changed. we must fight till the very end of the 90 mins. we no longer have the luxury to look at a 2 nil lead and kick back the chair and sip a good brew. We are now even more worried now than ever before when we have the lead. why this is happening is beside me, we started the season so great on the defensive end. I look forward to see what Bould will do next to stiffen up our weakened defense.
There is a few other things we could go over, but I feel these are the most important that stood out to me. im sure everyone will have their own views. but these are mine and look forward to hear what you think.
At the end of the day were here together for one common goal to bring the medals and cups back to Arsenal. We will do it, this is just one game in a huge book this season has to offer. next up the dirty spuds, three points is a must.
thanks for your time.
-AFClife14
afclife 