Has Wenger cracked the code?

Man City 0-2 Arsenal 

Defensive stability, discipline and great determination. Not words anyone would have associated with an Arsenal away performance against one of the top Premier League sides in recent years. That is, not until Sunday, when the Gunners and Arsene Wenger turned recent history on its head to record a famous 2-0 win at the home of the current champions, Manchester City.

Going into this game, Arsenal fans could have been forgiven for experiencing feelings of trepidation. There was nothing to suggest that their team wouldn’t just repeat the same old naïve tactics which had seen them demolished away from home time and time again last season. The blue print had been set. Arsenal would most probably try to play their attacking game, pouring players forward and leaving space in behind for City to exploit.

But how wrong we all were. On Sunday, the penny finally dropped. After years of going into games against the top sides with the same tactics and getting nothing from these games, Arsenal finally changed their approach. Suddenly there was a real game plan, as the Gunners sat deep and restricted the space in which David Silva likes to operate. For years there has been a sense that Arsenal simply ignore the opposition and press on with their attacking mind-set regardless of the threat posed by their opponents. This was a completely different tactical approach and it worked magnificently.

Playing a 4-1-4-1 formation with Francis Coquelin as the defensive midfielder, shielding the back four, Arsenal conceded the lion’s share of possession to the hosts, but crucially never looked like they were about to become unstuck, with David Ospina having no saves to make in the first half and only a handful of routine saves in the second. They were disciplined in their approach, at times having all 11 players inside their own half as they sought to frustrate City. Coquelin was excellent, showing a great understanding of his role as he plugged gaps time and time again, making crucial interceptions, keeping City at bay in a manner reminiscent of Gilberto Silva at his best. The Brazilian was nicknamed the invisible wall as he did the work which largely tends to go unnoticed despite it being so crucial.

The work Coquelin put in meant Mertesacker and Koscielny behind him were largely untroubled and on the few occasions they were called into action, the central defenders had the time to make the right decisions and handle the situation accordingly. Just in front of Coquelin, Ramsey and Santi Cazorla put in just as much effort as anyone else, working in tandem with their defensive midfielder to restrict the space in central midfield. Crucially they showed great discipline not to pour forward in attack and leave space in behind, working extremely hard to get back into position once Arsenal had lost the ball.

Cazorla in particular was absolutely outstanding, putting in a complete midfield performance of the highest calibre. The little Spaniard was excellent in all facets of the game. Sliding into tackles, winning the ball back in crucial areas, blocking shots, tracking runners and carrying the ball when Arsenal had won it back, allowing his team time to breathe, he rightly won the man of the match award. On one occasion in the second half, Cazorla showed immense skill and close control as he danced past a series of challenges and then threw himself at the ball when he had lost possession, showing the hunger and desire required to win the big games.

It was as a result of Cazorla’s excellent performance that Arsenal were able to make their game plan work. Conceding possession and staying tight at the back is one thing, but to have any chance of winning the game you have to look after the ball when you win it back. The Gunners did this brilliantly on Sunday, hitting City on the counter attack each and every time they had the opportunity but crucially retaining the right balance between attack and defence so as not to become overexposed at the back. The full backs played a vital role in this context as usually they both serge forward and leave gaping holes in behind which cause Arsenal numerous problems once possession has been lost. On Sunday however both Monreal and Bellerin were excellent as they intelligently read the game. When one attacked, the other stayed back, ensuring the Gunners had sufficient numbers at the back.

Yet their forays forward were crucial to the Arsenal attack and one such occasion led to the visitors taking the lead. Monreal played a neat one-two on the edge of the box and as the Spaniard took the ball past Kompany and into the penalty area, the Belgian defender, blocked his path with his knee. Kompany protested wildly at the award of the penalty but he could have no complaints, he had been undone by the speed of movement and had taken Monreal out. Up stepped Cazorla to despatch the penalty past Joe Hart and into the corner of the net.

Arsenal were in the lead but showed great maturity to keep their heads and see the game out till half time. The Gunners tactics were working so well that City were forced into a change at half time, bringing on Jovetic and for the first 15 minutes of the second period, Arsenal threatened to lose their way as they reverted to type and began to leave space for City to exploit. Fortunately, the home side didn’t manage to fashion a chance of any note and the Gunners were able to settle back into the game and resume the tactics which had served them so well in the first half. As City became more and more desperate for an equaliser the more chances Arsenal had to hit them on the counter and were it not for the fact the ball just would not fall for them, they could have had two or three more goals.

Fortunately, the Gunners did double their lead, through another set piece, as this time Cazorla turned provider. His free kick delivery caught City by surprise, their players having switched off, allowing Giroud a free header, which he directed into the bottom corner to give Arsenal an unassailable lead.

For the rest of the game Ciy huffed and puffed but never really threatened the Arsenal goal. Frank Lampard came on from the bench but couldn’t get into the game at all. In truth the Gunners were rather comfortable and at the final whistle their celebrations showed just how much the result meant to them.

The Arsenal players were all excellent yesterday but Arsene Wenger must take great credit for this victory too. It may have taken a long time for him to realise just how to get a victory away from home against the top sides and admit that his side cannot go toe to toe with these teams, but on Sunday he dispelled the image of a man stuck in the past. Wenger was rejuvenated, having come up with a tactical master plan to nullify the opposition and utilise possession in the most efficient way possible, turning back the years to his early days in the Gunners dug out. Arsenal now have a performance and result to look back on when going away from home to a big team. The blue print has been set and they must now replicate this display on a regular basis. In his post-match interview Cazorla echoed these sentiments, saying the team must now play like that in the next match too. That is now the next challenge.