The chalk and cheese nature of Arsenal’s tactical identity serves as a clinical football prescription, allowing them to alternate between defensive suffocation and offensive fluidity as they head into the business end of the season.
In the span of four days, Mikel Arteta’s team played two distinct styles of football against Everton and Bayer Leverkusen, to keep their hopes of a climax finish to the season alive, and while critics may choose boring for the former, they can’t deny it’s the opposite for the latter.
This is down to lessons learnt from past seasons and how different teams set up in different competitions. Chalk and cheese, Mikel Arteta and his teams have the right prescription for different competitions, and that has helped them stay on course, especially in domestic games.
Arsenal may not come out as the sleek version it used to be, because that was the Arsenal whose style everyone loved on their day, but no one wants to be. This Arsenal is the one that makes rivals jealous, because it is one they too wish to be, despite the boring criticisms.
Although they are not vindicated, the Arsenal have been good value for their ‘boredom’ and with the conviction with which they execute it, makes everyone want to be boring in such a context, even though rivalry always conveys jealousy in the form of criticism.
Chalk and cheese Arsenal is good value for boredom
The joy of the game is seeing it flow, that entertaining chaos where victory is open to anyone, even with a clear favorite, the magic lies in the uncertainty. But Arsenal wants to eliminate the possibility of losing, and while that’s effective, it’s a perfect recipe for being boring.
But watch them outside domestic competitions, Arsenal are one of the few teams that fall into the elite category. Statistically, they are the best in the Champions League, even beating some of the European heavyweights like Bayern Munich and Inter.
Their last two games are testaments to their predicament. They were afforded loads of possession against Everton on Saturday as David Moyes’ team sat back for most of the game, while Bayer Leverkusen came out to compete for possession on Tuesday.
Last season, Arsenal struggled against low blocks, a plague that resulted in 14 draws and allowed Arne Slot to claim the title in his debut season.
However, this term, they have found a way to open up teams thanks to their set-piece routines. While rival teams continuously criticize this, it takes nothing away from the fact that they have found a way to win.
The addition of Gabriel Heinze has also contributed to their defensive solidity. After recording 13 league clean sheets last season, the Gunners already have two more this season, with seven games left, while they also share the best clean sheet return with Spurs in the Champions League.
At some stage this season, opposition teams couldn’t even get a shot on target in games against Mikel Arteta’s team, while they now have 25 clean sheets in 49 games across all competitions so far, with the Champions League quarter-finals date set with Sporting CP.
While the football world pictured them as the overwhelming favourite against Bayer Leverkusen, they just put three past a team that had not conceded in over six hours of Champions League football before Kai Havertz’s late penalty in the first leg.
The result also saw them seal progress into the Champions League quarter-finals for the third consecutive season, for only the second time in their history. In their own world, this Arsenal team may be just two major titles, Premier League included, away from being the club’s best team ever.
And why not? They have already won 37 games across all competitions so far, as many as Arsène Wenger’s team in the invincibles campaign, while getting the better of Sporting CP will see them surpass the quarter-final achievement of the invincible season.
If this is how boring teams fare, then isn’t boring what every team wants to become?
Nevertheless, as they continue to take it a game at a time, it is imperative not to get carried away, and to give priority to the next game, especially the very next one, which is a Carabao Cup final match with Manchester City at Wembley on Sunday.
Arsenal have the chance to end their title drought and dismantle City’s dominance in one go. But if they falter, they risk sharpening the teeth of a rival that now has one fewer competition for distraction following their Champions League exit.
Recently, the Carabao Cup has earned a reputation for ending trophy droughts, with Manchester United and Newcastle United claiming the previous two editions to end their long waits. Now, it may finally be Arsenal’s turn to benefit.
Mikel Arteta has an impressive record in Wembley, but Arsenal have not won the Carabao Cup since 1987, losing four finals since that time, including their last one against Sunday’s opponent in 2017-18.
They have found a way to get the better of the Cityzens in their recent meetings, after a decade-long dominance, but the next two meetings will be the biggest for Arsenal, since that loss in the Carabao Cup final in 2018.
While Martin Ødegaard continues to struggle with injuries, Mikel Arteta will be delighted with Eberechi Eze’s improvement in recent weeks and will hope the summer signing can deliver the Wembley magic that saw him win Palace the Emirates FA Cup last season against the same opponent.
Ben White made his injury return to take the place of Jurrien Timber in the win over Bayer Leverkusen, although Mikel Arteta confirmed that the Dutch defender will be assessed before Sunday to see if he can make his return.
Mikel Merino remains on the sideline, with no assurance of further involvement this season following the shoulder injury suffered in January, but the Gunners will hope to have enough fit players to achieve their objectives this season.
Meanwhile, Pep Guardiola heads into the match on the back of Champions League elimination at the hands of Real Madrid, which extended their poor run in March, boasting just one win out of five and falling nine points behind Arsenal in the title race.
It was a decisive month for the Mancunians but they failed to keep their heads above water. Their poor luck has also landed them a date with Liverpool in the Emirates FA Cup quarter-finals.
The meeting with Arsenal presents a chance to depart the month with something great but they face a difficult task, especially with Marc Guehi ineligible cup-tied due to his involvement with Palace back in the winter, before his move.
It may be just a Carabao Cup final but there is a lot at stake for both teams involved, but more for Arsenal, who will be out to prove wrong the critics that they can not turn up at the decisive moments due to their recent history in title races.
Kehinde-Hassan Afolabi
