Working as a team
It has been a largely positive week for Arsenal with wins in three competitions but it is a feature of the Premier League victory over Everton that caught my attention. It has been a case of finding the time to do some research and write something here.
Much has been said about Nacho Monreal, by Arsenal fans and independent writers and I would say virtually all of it has been positive. His form for The Gunners has won him his place in the Spanish squad back, no mean feat, and last I looked he has the highest passing completion of any defender in the league. In fact I think he has completed more passes than any defender in the Premier League. The fact that he is one of the first names on all our team sheet, in a position in which he had barely played before April, is testament to the man and his willingness to do what it takes for Arsenal and his manager. This is astonishing when many Arsenal supporters probably assumed he would be replacing Kieran Gibbs as left back/wingback understudy, with the summer arrival of Sead Kolasinac.
However both players are in the Arsenal Premier League side and are unlikely to be dislodged any time soon and whilst I am still to salivate or have had cause to, at the evolving relationship between Kolasinac and Alexis on the left, the interaction between the Bosnian and Monreal has changed in recent weeks. I thought I noticed it against Brighton and against Everton it was glaringly obvious. Whether by instruction from the coaching staff or by dint of a naturally developing on field understanding the Spaniard is foraying forward far more and every time he does Kolasinac is automatically slotting back in to cover his team mate.
Joining attack at Goodison
Monreal, as Koscielny has often done, is striding out of defence with the ball when he has space to move into and indeed then even playing give and goes with midfielders and then joining the attack. When doing so his Bosnian colleague is dropping into the left central berth and covering. With both players adept in attack and capable in defence this unexpected interchange may well surprise opponents and add variation to our attacking play without necessarily weakenning us in defence. This is significant in a team renown for both fullbacks in the old formation bombing on simultaneously and leaving the two central defenders and holding midfielder stretched.
Just to back up the evidence of my eyes and of course Nacho’s superbly struck goal I thought I would look at Squawka.com which gives players individual game by game performances scores for defensive and offensive play. Interestingly Monreal’s attacking points score was between minus 2 and plus 2 for every Premier League but bolstered by 2 goals and increased attacking involvement in the final third his scores versus Brighton and Everton were 42 and 36 respectively.
Attacking wingback
I am not suggesting in any way that Arsenal should look to curtail Kolasinac’s attacking instincts which brought him eight assists and three goals for club and country last season. Particularly when goals and assists have certainly never been a feature of Monreal’s career at Arsenal. The Bosnian is the wingback and we all hope that his career will blossom at The Emirates for as long as we play 3421 but it is reassuring to know that when his more experienced Spanish colleague feels the time is right for him to initiate and stay involved in attacking play he knows to drop back in and cover.
Both players have played well for Arsenal at left centre back and left wingback in the past few months. Monreal is the superior defender and therefore they are in the correct roles but this subtle variation in our play, given their growing understanding is a feature that I hope will develop in the comings.
That said it could just be all in my imagination!
Passionate fifty-something Arsenal supporter who has been making the journey to N5 regularly since the early 1980s – although his first game was in 1976. Always passionate when talking about The Arsenal, Dave decided to send a guest blog to Gunnersphere in the summer of 2011 and has not stopped writing about the Gunners since.
He set up his own site – 1 Nil Down 2 One Up – in February 2012, which he moved on in 2016 to concentrate on freelance writing and building Gunners Town, which he launched with Paul in 2014.
The objective of GT was to be new and fresh and to give a platform for likeminded passionate Arsenal fans wishing to write about their team. Dave still of course, writes for the site himself and advises the ever-changing writing crew.
Right on the nail Dave. The thing about your analysis is that the way Kolasinac and Monreal dove tail is such an obvious part of a defender`s role that we wonder why other players have not been doing it? The fact that we haven`t had that level of understanding between them for at least a decade, shows that the way that these two do it is a matter of natural instinct. If it was down to coaching, our previous defenders would all have been doing it.
Our defence has cost us titles during these 13 barren years without doubt and we have been embarrassed by huge defeats by our nearest rivals. You have described succinctly what works between these two. It is an understanding of their own and their partner`s game – when one moves up-field, the other tucks in and when they are both in defence mode, they are never far apart. That is why most threats now appear on the other side of the pitch.
The position of wing-back on the right side is still not settled. We seem to have changes in partners for Xhaka. Elneny, Ramsey, Coquelin and even Iwobi have been tried and unfortunately, Bellerin has been the constant at right back. He charges up-field and none of the above players have the instinct to tuck in and fill the gaps he leaves. Wenger`s priority seems to be to allow Xhaka licence to roam and pick out long passes to engineer attacks. His choice of wing back is someone who will help to provide him with ammunition to carry out his intentions rather than someone who has the defensive capabilities of Kolasinac with his tactical nous to fill the gaps left by Bellerin.
The mystery is that we still cannot find such a player. I feel that the answer is to coach, and coach and coach that ability into our present right wing back ( whoever that may be ) until it becomes second nature and the coach will have to be relentless in doing so. If Bellerin is to remain our first choice right back, we have to start with filing the gaps he leaves on our right side.
Lacazzette has certainly been a stellar signing, but, given that he cost us nothing, Kolasinac looks like being the signng of the season, not just because of his own game but also the way that he has added so much to Monreal`s and to the effect he has had on tightening the left side of our defence.