http://www.goal.com/en/news/9/england/2009/09/29/1531274/tim-collings-arsenal-analysis-fabregas-on-fire-but-gunners-still-
this article left me shaking my head.
his 2 main points are:
1) fabregas should play deeper
2) fabregas is on form
well the second point is quite unclear. as in, you get that from the title, but in the article itself, it is not really dealt with.
anyway, in case people share his opinion, that fabregas is on form, i beg to differ. fabregas isn't firing on all cylinders. in fact, he isn't playing particularly well. lots of stray passes uncharacteristic of him. the fact that he still notches up assists is simply down to the fact that he is a class player. class players can be off for 89 minutes and produce a moment of magic that decides the game. fabregas is a player who can still come up with assists or goals even when he is not playing well.
so on to the main point of contention, that fabregas should play deeper.
i said in 2006 or 2007 that fabregas should play in an advanced position, because that is the position that best utilises his abilities.
tim collings argue that fabregas should play deeper because
1) he is a good tackler
2) he is not a goal-scorer in the mould of lampard or gerrard
3) playing deeper means he can dictate the game better
if you are a good tackler, does that mean you should play as a defender?
i think arsene wenger would want his team to press as high up as possible. in modern football, everyone has to defend. the ball has to be won as early and as far from your goal as possible. if i have an attacker who can tackle, i should be very happy and leave him to play forward. it is a bonus.
on the second reason, everyone has to score. and playing in an advanced position doesn't mean you alone are responsible for scoring goals.
the third reason is just a narrow way of looking at things.
actually, the 2nd and third reasons just show that the writer doesn't really understand how arsenal plays.
so i will tell you how arsenal plays.
most teams set out to defend against arsenal. this plus the fact that arsenal can keep the ball very well, means arsenal will almost always have the lion's share of possession.
when you are playing against 11 men behind the ball, if the opportunity arises, you have to get forward. that is why arsenal is perhaps the only team where even the centre-backs look to get forward as much as possible. fabregas is not the only player responsible for getting into the box.
it is just that the midfielders are in the best position to do so. and they should get into the box. they should make the late runs into the box, because this creates flux. flux, as i said in 2006 or 2007 is very important in creating goals, because flux changes the temporary situation, resulting in the opposition having to react accordingly. if they can't, well, they are in trouble.
that is why movement off the ball is one of the most important aspects of attacking.
it is all about flux. van persie, eduardo, arshavin moving outwards to create space for the midfielders, including fabregas to move in. goal-scoring is the responsibility of everyone. goals ahve to come from every source.
the idea of fabregas playing deeper is probably inspired by pirlo at ac milan. it is not necessary for fabregas to play deep, because teams will concede space and possession to keep their shape behind. so in the middle of the pitch, what arsenal needs to do is to keep the ball moving. simple passes.
what about long penetrative balls from deep, you ask.
the opportunity of playing early, quick penetrating long through balls is limited because of the defensive nature of teams playing against arsenal.
and clichy and vermaelen have proven that they are capable of playing such balls.
in any case, a very big flaw in the writer's argument is that he equates playing in an advanced position as playing in an advanced position literally. i think arsene wenger's idea is that fabregas basically has a free role. he will move to where he is needed. so he would still be there to play those early balls.
which is precisely why i think fabregas should play in an "advanced" position, so that he has freedom to play. you need a basic defensive shape comprising of the 4 defenders and the defensive midfielder(alex song). if fabregas were to play deep, then you are forcing him into this defensive shape. as i say, he may be a good tackler(i am not entirely convinced), but his real business is attacking. so let him do what he does best.
because teams will sit back, the real attack happens just outside the penalty area. that is where the attack is being dictated. so that is where you put fabregas- in that advanced position. any deeper is not where the playmaking takes place, but just simple passing, keeping the ball moving. which the defence and alex song can do. if denilson is there, all the more the better. that is his specialty. so why restrict fabregas?
in any case, we tried playing fabregas in a deep position, partnering either song or denilson. it wasn't effective, because fabregas was being stifled. as part of a midfield trio, he is really being unleashed. though the downside would be that if all our attackers are fit, many have to sit on the bench, because there are only 3 places. unless rosicky and nasri can slot into that midfield trio.
so i hope you will see my point that that guy who wrote this article didn't really know what he was talking about.
this article left me shaking my head.
his 2 main points are:
1) fabregas should play deeper
2) fabregas is on form
well the second point is quite unclear. as in, you get that from the title, but in the article itself, it is not really dealt with.
anyway, in case people share his opinion, that fabregas is on form, i beg to differ. fabregas isn't firing on all cylinders. in fact, he isn't playing particularly well. lots of stray passes uncharacteristic of him. the fact that he still notches up assists is simply down to the fact that he is a class player. class players can be off for 89 minutes and produce a moment of magic that decides the game. fabregas is a player who can still come up with assists or goals even when he is not playing well.
so on to the main point of contention, that fabregas should play deeper.
i said in 2006 or 2007 that fabregas should play in an advanced position, because that is the position that best utilises his abilities.
tim collings argue that fabregas should play deeper because
1) he is a good tackler
2) he is not a goal-scorer in the mould of lampard or gerrard
3) playing deeper means he can dictate the game better
if you are a good tackler, does that mean you should play as a defender?
i think arsene wenger would want his team to press as high up as possible. in modern football, everyone has to defend. the ball has to be won as early and as far from your goal as possible. if i have an attacker who can tackle, i should be very happy and leave him to play forward. it is a bonus.
on the second reason, everyone has to score. and playing in an advanced position doesn't mean you alone are responsible for scoring goals.
the third reason is just a narrow way of looking at things.
actually, the 2nd and third reasons just show that the writer doesn't really understand how arsenal plays.
so i will tell you how arsenal plays.
most teams set out to defend against arsenal. this plus the fact that arsenal can keep the ball very well, means arsenal will almost always have the lion's share of possession.
when you are playing against 11 men behind the ball, if the opportunity arises, you have to get forward. that is why arsenal is perhaps the only team where even the centre-backs look to get forward as much as possible. fabregas is not the only player responsible for getting into the box.
it is just that the midfielders are in the best position to do so. and they should get into the box. they should make the late runs into the box, because this creates flux. flux, as i said in 2006 or 2007 is very important in creating goals, because flux changes the temporary situation, resulting in the opposition having to react accordingly. if they can't, well, they are in trouble.
that is why movement off the ball is one of the most important aspects of attacking.
it is all about flux. van persie, eduardo, arshavin moving outwards to create space for the midfielders, including fabregas to move in. goal-scoring is the responsibility of everyone. goals ahve to come from every source.
the idea of fabregas playing deeper is probably inspired by pirlo at ac milan. it is not necessary for fabregas to play deep, because teams will concede space and possession to keep their shape behind. so in the middle of the pitch, what arsenal needs to do is to keep the ball moving. simple passes.
what about long penetrative balls from deep, you ask.
the opportunity of playing early, quick penetrating long through balls is limited because of the defensive nature of teams playing against arsenal.
and clichy and vermaelen have proven that they are capable of playing such balls.
in any case, a very big flaw in the writer's argument is that he equates playing in an advanced position as playing in an advanced position literally. i think arsene wenger's idea is that fabregas basically has a free role. he will move to where he is needed. so he would still be there to play those early balls.
which is precisely why i think fabregas should play in an "advanced" position, so that he has freedom to play. you need a basic defensive shape comprising of the 4 defenders and the defensive midfielder(alex song). if fabregas were to play deep, then you are forcing him into this defensive shape. as i say, he may be a good tackler(i am not entirely convinced), but his real business is attacking. so let him do what he does best.
because teams will sit back, the real attack happens just outside the penalty area. that is where the attack is being dictated. so that is where you put fabregas- in that advanced position. any deeper is not where the playmaking takes place, but just simple passing, keeping the ball moving. which the defence and alex song can do. if denilson is there, all the more the better. that is his specialty. so why restrict fabregas?
in any case, we tried playing fabregas in a deep position, partnering either song or denilson. it wasn't effective, because fabregas was being stifled. as part of a midfield trio, he is really being unleashed. though the downside would be that if all our attackers are fit, many have to sit on the bench, because there are only 3 places. unless rosicky and nasri can slot into that midfield trio.
so i hope you will see my point that that guy who wrote this article didn't really know what he was talking about.
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