Arsene Wenger’s comments about no longer needing a traditional defensive midfielder at Arsenal have been well publicized. His theory is that the modern game demands balance and for all players to collectively attack and defend, opposed to being “purely specialists”.
This theory has been met with little success in important Cup/CL games, as well as against the top clubs domestically. In the majority of those games that we have lost, we failed to settle in early because of shaky defensive starts, and/or were bossed in the midfield by stronger and more physical presences (Ramires of Chelsea, Schweinsteiger of Bayern and Parker of Tottenham are the most notable). It was clear in those games that a proper, traditional holding player would have helped to counter both the strength of their defensive midfielders, as well as the creative talents on the opposition’s side.
Also, one must consider that our best performances have come in games where we have played rather compartmentalized, with our more attacking-minded players focusing on offense and a demand for all our players to track back, while our defenders be disciplined at our own end, only joining the attack when need be. This pattern was evident during our early season successes, in addition to the recent upward trajectory in our performances since the draw against Liverpool. The correlation is no surprise, since I believe we lack the personnel to properly play the type of football that Wenger envisions for this squad.
There is some truth to AW’s theory that the modern game has and continues to evolve. A midfield “enforcer” will be useless unless the individual is either well disciplined and/or has the technical ability to protect the ball and find his teammates further up the pitch. At Arsenal, we have a very capable player in Arteta based on AW’s defined role for a holding player, in that he is intelligent, anticipatory, disciplined and efficient with his passing. However, what AW fails to realize is how much better we could be if Arteta had pace, strength and the ability to play any variety of pass (short, long, over the top etc.), in addition to the skill set he already has. However, this breed of player is certainly rare, and to ask this from Arteta would be absurd when you factor in his age and natural playing position.
The old-fashioned approach is to employ a classic double defensive midfield spine, such as WBA, Athletico Madrid, Malaga, AC Milan, Bayern Leverkusen etc. with both midfielders generally sitting back to protect the back four and only attacking when necessary; while other clubs have switched to a formation with two attacking midfielders and one designated holding midfielder, such as Swansea City, Ajax, Barca (the Catalans has played this formation for a long time) etc, to take advantage of the creative talents in their central midfielders.
Finally, there are teams like Bayern, Manchester City and Real Madrid who play with two central midfielders, taking turns in attack and sitting back, with one generally being given the responsibility to carry the ball up field to transition the attack, better known as the classic box-to-box midfielder. All of these clubs heavily rely on the players designated as traditional B2B midfielders and all of which are world-class talents (Schweinsteiger, Yaya Toure and Xabi Alonso).
The traditional box-to-box position, or ‘Vieira role’, requires an individual to have outstanding endurance, strength, ball control, pace, creativity and mental strength on both offense and defense. It is by far the most physically demanding and mentally draining position in football, which also requires an elite level of skill to consistently be effective and dominate at both ends of the pitch. Because of how rare it is to find the perfect blend of skill and natural physical gifts, I am led to believe that the traditional B2B midfielder is a dying breed. I believe teams have switched to either a dual DM set-up or a sole DM with two AMs, due to all the aforementioned reasons.
However, as the modern game continues to evolve, so has the box-to-box midfielder position. The modern day B2B midfielder is not expected to carry the ball up field as often, and mainly joins the attack through a flat passing system. This allows the B2B midfielder to evade the direct attention of the opposition and experience less physical strain when running up and down the pitch. Teams like Juventus, Chelsea PSG, Borussia Dortmund, Everton etc. commonly incorporate such a midfielder in their starting formation.
Then there are the clubs such as Arsenal, Tottenham, Liverpool and Manchester United who have seemingly gone back and forth between all the aforementioned strategies this season, adapting based on the personnel available to them and the strength of the opposition. However, I believe this “versatility” has more to do with lacking the right personnel in the squad (whether it be injuries or not having the proper DMs in the squad) to consistently play one way than adjusting based on the opposition.
If we quickly examine the statistics of goals conceded among these five clubs without a true DM or a consistent formation in center of the park, compared to the other domestic top clubs (Chelsea, Manchester City and Everton), there may be some truth in the theory that Arsenal are in need of a proper DM, or a more stable DM set-up:
|
Club |
Games Played |
Goals Conceded |
1 Goal Games Lost |
|
Manchester City |
30 |
26 |
2 |
|
Manchester United |
30 |
31 |
3 |
|
Chelsea |
30 |
32 |
5 |
|
Arsenal |
30 |
33 |
5 |
|
Everton |
30 |
35 |
3 |
|
Tottenham |
31 |
38 |
6 |
|
Liverpool |
31 |
40 |
3 |
One must keep in mind that some clubs approach the game more defensively and that the statistics are not purely based on the effectiveness of Chelsea and Manchester City’s defensive midfielders. City is widely considered to have the best goalkeeper and strongest back four in the EPL, while United have conceded less goals than Chelsea, but the latter are in fourth, despite only conceding one more goal than them.
In the case of Chelsea, Ramires, who is recognized by most as Chelsea’s best DM option, has only started 21 games due to the rotation policy of the FSW. Of Chelsea’s 7 losses this year, he only started 4 of those games, half of which were to the current top 2 clubs. Again, it’s not the most telling sign that a quality, proper DM is at the foundation of a club’s success, but it’s definitely something worth keeping in mind.
Also worth pointing out, is Everton’s record of conceding fewer goals than Tottenham despite working with considerably less. The trio of Fellaini, Gibson and Osman in the heart of Everton’s midfield has worked wonders for them this season. However, it’s worth nothing that the Toffees have always been known for having a stingy defense, which matches the club’s reputation in the transfer market.
What do these statistics mean to Arsenal? Well, if one takes into account our goals scored domestically this season (59), we will all see that goal scoring has not been a huge issue (though consistent goal scoring in clutch situations is a different matter altogether and not what my article focuses on). However, together with Chelsea and Tottenham, Arsenal has a high number of games lost by 1-goal margins. 5 games lost represents anywhere from 5-15 points in the table, and if we look at the current table, Arsenal could be as high as 3rd if we were able to come out with draws in those contests.
It is my opinion that a true beast of a DM would have helped us to gain more points in those 5 games lost by a 1-goal margin. While it is true that there were several parties at fault in those games lost by 1 goal (i.e. lapses by GK or DEF, turnovers etc.), it never hurts to have a proper presence helping to protect the back four. The DM could have aided in stabilizing the back early in games, allowing everyone to settle into the game and the creative players to focus more on offense. Clearly, as the other teams stand now, Arsenal would have a distinct competitive advantage if we were able to acquire a proper, beast of a DM this summer.
So what is the best foundation for Arsenal to build on going forward?
As I stated earlier, I believe Arsenal should abandon asking any central midfielder to play the traditional box-to-box role, simply because we lack a player with the talent to perform at such a level, while maintaining a clean bill of health. In addition, efficient and elite, traditional box-to-box midfielders are increasingly rare to find and we lack the resources/recent success to lure the caliber of player like Schweinsteiger, Yaya Toure or Xabi Alonso.
The dual DM set-up, similar to that employed by Juventus, is an intriguing option since we already have a deep-lying playmaker in Arteta who could eventually mirror his game after Pirlo. However, in Vidal, Juventus have the ideal, modern day DM that Arsenal currently does not. Vidal is not only aggressive, a tough tackler, has the strength to knock a player off the ball and the ability to strip them of it, but also the goal scoring instincts, ball control, passing range, pace and endurance to run up and down the pitch for the duration of an entire match. He’s a versatile midfielder who contributes at both ends of the pitch, without the burden of having to also transition the attack with the ball at his feet (as a traditional B2B midfielder is expected to).
Thus, I would be happy to continue in Arsene’s favoured dual DM pivot set-up, with the caveat that none of our players be expected to play as a traditional box-to-box midfielder. The injuries we’ve accumulated by forcing players into this role are astonishing and it’s clear that the perfect balance between talent, physicality, mental endurance and ability to remain injury-free is non-existent in this squad. The set-up Arsenal was most successful with last season was with Arteta and Song interchanging between attacking and defending, with Song performing more of the modern box-to-box role, only sitting back to defend when Arteta joined the attack.
Based on our pattern of success this season, there is considerable merit in pursuing a compartmentalized strategy for the rest of this season and going into next year. However, I believe if we buy a technical, traditional DM this summer that we can afford to play with two attacking midfielders and only commit one central midfielder to a primarily defensive role. This will effectively eliminate our current, unsuccessful dual DM pivot set-up (ineffective against top clubs for the most part anyway), where one midfielder is forced to play in a traditional B2B role (i.e. Jack and Diaby), in order to compensate for the lack of a true DM.
Let me be clear though that buying a proper DM does not mean that I believe our attacking players should not honour their defensive responsibilities and avoid playing a collective team game.
The purchase of a traditional DM will only serve to better protect our back four, help slow down and outmuscle the opposition in the middle of the pitch, while unleashing the creativity up field.
I’m also a fan of the dual DM set-up at Juventus (aka the set-up we established last season), so long as we can find the ideal beast to play alongside a deep-lying playmaker like Arteta. However, based on the style of football Wenger wishes to achieve at Arsenal, i.e. the flowing and beautiful approach, we may be better off shifting to a 4-1-2-3 formation with two attacking midfielders, much like other clubs that have adopted the same philosophy (ex. Ajax, Swansea City, Barca etc.).
Have your say: What DM set-up do you believe would be the best for Arsenal?
Written By: Highbury Harmony
Bergkampesque 