Talking Tactics: Plan B – Gunners show how they can mix it up against Marseille

Arsenal’s attack against Marseille was new. It had a new players in new positions, but perhaps most importantly for the Gunners, it about a new resurgence and effectiveness that they had struggled to produce in their recent Premier League and Champions League fixtures.

As Arsenal’s Performance Score throughout the Champions League shows, the Gunners—despite being extraordinarily good in defeating all three of their group stage opponents up until this week—were dramatically better in this performance against Marseille. They registered their best attacking score, their best possession score and their second best defensive score—leading to a clear rise in their overall Performance Score.

So why were Arsenal that much better against Marseille?

Wilshere the Winger Puts Marseille in Two Minds

Having dominated their opponents with quick and frequent passing this year, Arsenal now carry with them the threat of breaking their opponents open by passing the ball. Much like a team that constantly plays aerial passes can be expected to play aerial passes, Arsenal are now expected by their opponents to be fluent and frequent with their passing.

Which, as their Team Pass Map shows below, they most certainly were in this one.

However, at the same time, there’s also a real sense that Arsenal were able to use Marseille’s preconceptions about the threat the Gunners would provide to their own advantage.

They knew that their opponents were expecting them to break them open with lots of passes—particularly coming in from wide areas—and while they did do that from time to time, they were also able to exploit this. Jack Wilshere proved to be the man to do that most effectively for Arsenal, and it started from the opening whistle when he broke through on goal.

As Wilshere flies down the right wing, Marseille have a decision to make. In particular, centre-back N’Koulou has to decide whether to try and come across and cover Wilshere or to try and pick up the runner in the middle, which in this case is Ozil. N’Koulou—like every other Marseille defender—knows the threat that Arsenal have in passing from wide areas, so his decision to stay centrally and ensure that the cross is covered isn’t that bad of a decision.

However, the problem for Marseille is that the cross never comes.

Wilshere runs into the box, looks for an outlet, stops and then turns on to his left foot. He’s able to get a half-step in front of his man, and while that usually wouldn’t be an issue for defenders inside the 18-yard-box (as they would normally be covering), in this instance it was. N’Koulou committed to covering Ozil in the middle of the field with three other defenders, and this left Wilshere isolated one-on-one with a defender coming in from the wide flank.

Marseille were expecting the cross but it never came. Instead, they over-committed to stopping the threat that they thought was coming rather than stopping the threat that was in front of them.

Just moments later, the French club would be faced with a similar threat. Ozil was able to get out wide and then play through Wilshere, who found himself in a very similar situation to what he was before. The covering defender runs the correct line to come across and cover Wilshere—desperate to ensure that the same thing doesn’t happen like earlier in the match—but this in turn then opens up the very threat that Marseille had sought to stop originally.

Wilshere is able to play the square ball to Ramsey who is able to get the shot on goal. In most games—close to 99 out of 100—such a chance would have produced a goal.

Marseille were caught in two minds after the first goal, and Arsenal were able to use their most effective passing and attacking movement to break open their opponents. It wasn’t as if Marseille didn’t know that it was coming, but after the diversity and difference that Wilshere the winger showed them on the opening goal, they simply weren’t quite as sure the second time around, which could very well have ended in another goal.

Incisive Passing Trumps Extensive Passing

While Arsenal were clearly the dominant of the two teams on the night, what was also clear was that they were never going to be “safe” with just a one goal lead. Too many times the Gunners and Arsene Wenger have seen one goal leads disappear right before their eyes and they would drop points they should have locked up; thus they weren’t prepared for it to happen again—especially in a match with the magnitude that this fixture did.

What was most interesting to note was that out of all their passing, out of all their movement and out of all their quick triangles, it was a direct pass that broke Marseille. Giroud and Ozil had both found themselves in great goal-scoring positions in the minutes leading up to this chance, but they just didn’t quite have the full chance required. For that to happen, it was clear that Arsenal needed to play more directly in order to break open their opponents.

That’s not to say that Arsenal shouldn’t be looking to break open their opponents with their possession and triangles, and it probably stands to reason that the North London club were so effective with this entry pass because of their triangles. Yet while that’s a fair point to make, it also highlights that at times, they must be more ruthless and direct than what they might want to be—especially as their passing game becomes more and more effective.

Arsenal aren’t going to score a goal like they did against Norwich City every week. Sometimes, their quick passing and moving isn’t going to work as well as they would have liked, and it’s important that the Gunners are able to play this direct, straight-forward, attack when required.

Even when the fans (and their instincts) might want otherwise.