FanSided Premier League roundtable: North London derby special
This weekend in the Premier League, Arsenal and Tottenham played out an entertaining 1-1 draw at the Emirates. In our weekly roundtable, FanSided’s soccer staff share their reactions to the season’s first North London derby.
Disjointed Arsenal left to rue Koscielny error
Michael Harshbarger, @TimHalpert
Manchester City gave up an unlikely equalizer in stoppage time against Middlesbrough on Saturday, which meant Arsenal would take over top spot in the Premier League table with a win over crosstown rivals Tottenham on Sunday. Instead, they settled for a draw and fell to fourth place, as the league’s most in-form sides, Liverpool and Chelsea, snatched up first and second place, respectively.
And while Tottenham played fine, and these kinds of matches run high on emotions, leading to mistakes (see below), there was no reason Arsenal shouldn’t have found a way to secure three huge points. So what went wrong?
First off, Tottenham straight up out-played the Gunners in the opening thirty minutes. Spurs had the lion’s share of possession in the first half — around 60 percent — and made life difficult for Arsenal’s attackers, pressuring and rushing them once they got into Tottenham’s half of the field.
Arsenal managed to put a few positive attacking movements together; Theo Walcott tried to take things into his own, ahem, feet, smashing a shot off the right post from a difficult angle. Mesut Ozil was there for the rebound, but instead of taking a touch to set himself for an easy finish — there appeared to be time to do just that — he took a haphazard cut at the ball, sending it well over the bar.
Having said that, Ozil, along with Alexis Sanchez, seemed most likely to break the game open for the Gunners: Sanchez utilized his seemingly unlimited fitness reserves to fly around the pitch, popping up for shots and setting his teammates up for scoring opportunities (he can’t be thrilled with Alex Iwobi after this match) while Ozil’s service was dangerous all game. His free-kick led to the lone Arsenal goal in the 42nd minute, as Spurs defender Kevin Wimmer nodded a decent header past his own keeper.
These attacking moves brought to light another negative: Walcott, Sanchez and Ozil repeatedly found themselves in good crossing positions, only to find zero of their teammates available for a pass in the penalty area. The introduction of Olivier Giroud for Alex Iwobi in the 70th minute, however, brought an abrupt end to the problem.
Giroud failed to find the back of the net against Tottenham, but both he and Sanchez had a brace last week against Sunderland. He certainly has some problem areas in his play, but, at the very least, he’s a competent — occasionally potent, even — target man to aim for in the box. Also, he’s almost always in front of goal when he should be. Which begs the question: should Giroud occupy a role that allows more playing time than “super sub”?
Sanchez wreaking havoc from the center-forward position has been a big part of the success Arsenal have enjoyed up to this point. But he’s so talented that he can make a positive impact on a match from pretty much any attacking position. And, of course, his lone weakness is that he’s a short guy — he doesn’t pose a threat in the air around the goal. Giroud does. Is it worth starting Giroud up top here and there to see if chemistry can be established between him and the attacking midfielders? Or is he most effective coming off the bench to dominate in the air after Sanchez has run the opposing center-backs ragged? So far, Arsene Wenger is sticking to the latter.
The absence of Giroud in the starting XI against Tottenham may have also accounted for the lack of quality shots taken by the Gunners. Quantity wasn’t a problem: they got off 15 shots to Tottenham’s 10, but only two were on frame. Many of these were from outside the box with defenders closing down the attacker trying to get off the shot. This resulted in most attempts being blocked, or sailing tamely wide or well over the crossbar. Giroud, parking his big body in front of goal, tends to get shots on goal from headers and balls falling to his feet in the 6 to 18-yard range, allowing a higher percentage to at least be on target.
Finally, in spite of the issues listed above, Arsenal could have managed to hang on for a giant victory had it not been for one glaring mistake. Center-back Laurent Koscielny made a terrible lunge of a challenge on Mousa Dembele just inside the 18-yard box. Dembele is well known for cutting to the left as a defender steps up, pushing the ball away with the outside of his favored left foot and drawing a foul. That is exactly what he did to Koscielny; Arsenal handed Spurs the equalizer on a platter.
As the leader of the team, and the most experienced defender, Koscielny cannot make a decision like that in a game so important. But he did. And Arsenal are in fourth. Gunners’ supporters will hope it’s not a preview of the second-half-of-the-season-collapse they have become all too familiar with.
But it’s still early November. They have plenty of time to figure it out. They have plenty of time to fight their way back to the top. Right?
Wenger vs. Pochettino a study in contrast
James Dudko, @JamesDudko
The North London derby was a study in style that spoke volumes about both managers. Specifically, the contrast between ever-present Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger and hipster favorite Mauricio Pochettino.
Wenger’s 20 years into his job, while Pochettino has only led Spurs since 2014. Ironically though, it’s the entrenched Frenchman at Arsenal who still relies on the more daring and risky philosophy. Meanwhile, Pochettino is trusting caution and pragmatism to build his reputation.
Wenger’s still a zen master of free-form. He’s tactically naive, as his naysayers would argue. But the 67-year-old fanboy of soccer purity still prefers to riff with it, to give talented players the freedom to find collective identities that work.
Wenger’s thinking about team-building is as fluid as the expansive soccer he loves his teams to play. He’s never been one to treat players like push-button robots, instead encouraging them to create their own solutions to problems, usually on the fly.
It’s an admirable philosophy, but one perhaps out of step with today’s game, which is increasingly manipulated and contrived by theory over inspiration.
Today the cool kids on the block in managerial circles are the cold and methodical tacticians, those adroit in several formations. Men like Pochettino.
Make no mistake, his switch to a 3-4-2-1 at the Emirates Stadium was a deliberate ploy. Injuries to Toby Alderweireld and Dele Alli didn’t dictate the switch.
Poch has been gaining control via purposefully plotted tactical structures since he took over at Tottenham. As much a disciple of defensive discipline as Wenger is a zealot to style, Pochettino’s approach is more mechanical.
He’s meticulous about nullifying threats, keeping a cagey pace and not giving games away. The Pochettino system doesn’t have much room for freelancing or going with the flow. The flow is already pre-ordained.
It can be dour stuff, but it can also be highly effective.
Think about how effectively Tottenham closed off Arsenal’s passing lanes. How emphatically they denied the pockets of space Alexis Sanchez, Mesut Ozil and Alex Iwobi so often exploit in the final third.
Spurs were like a well-oiled machine defensively and precise as clockwork on the break. Their counters were exact, measured and perfectly timed.
This much order doesn’t happen by accident. It’s deliberately plotted at every stage by a manager highly structured in his thinking.
Contrast the order of Spurs’ play with Arsenal’s scattershot approach. This draw, and the 0-0 stalemate with Middlesbrough a couple of weeks ago, show the Gunners haven’t found the right balance at home.
The reason is obvious. Arsenal are struggling at the Emirates because they’re playing like the away side in their own house. The Gunners set up to cede possession and strike on the break, usually a smart way to travel, but a less than proactive way to play host.
Of course, using more selective passing on the counter suits the pace of Sanchez and Theo Walcott and the ingenuity of Ozil. Whether Wenger prompted this switch, or saw his players gravitate that way and let them run with it, remains unclear. Although the latter seems more likely.
What is clear is Arsenal are no longer the possession kings of the Premier League after Spurs became the latest to boss the ball against them, owning 53.7 percent of the play.
The Gunners’ shift toward bingeing on the break has led to some notable wins in big games in recent seasons. Think emphatic victories over Bayern Munich, Manchester City, Manchester United and Chelsea to name a few.
But those teams are not afraid to want the ball at the Emirates. Their own quality players can be drawn into playing pass for pass, a dangerous proposition against this Arsenal side.
Yet those teams who sit off, pack the pitch and condense the game force the Gunners to play through them. Sadly, a more intricate mode of playing is beyond Wenger’s current group, particularly without pass-master Santi Cazorla in the fold.
Wenger’s men need to find new ways to win when they’re asked to take the initiative. Just don’t expect the manager to try and accelerate or force the solutions. That kind of hands-on tweaking is left to dugout controllers like Pochettino.
Today’s soccer debate has become a divide between those who celebrate style and those champion the grand design of the deliberate strategists.
Wenger and Pochettino are on different sides of the spectrum, but are still finding success and staying competitive in their own particular ways.
Spurs must learn lessons from encouraging result
Peter Johnstone, @9PniJ2
Tottenham reaffirmed their title credentials by taking a point in a cagey North London derby. Arsenal and Spurs represent two of the best sides in the Premier League but this was a scrappy game where individual errors were more prominent than moments of brilliance. Mauricio Pochettino will certainly be the happier manager with this result. His side were woeful in the Champions League in midweek with some of their key players not performing. While they lacked some final third quality today, Spurs were resolute at the back and their midfield kept Arsenal’s creators quiet.
Here are three things we learned from Tottenham’s performance. First, Harry Kane needs to stay fit if Pochettino’s side are to challenge for anything this year. Kane made his return from an ankle injury against Arsenal and completely changed the performance of his team. The England striker gave Spurs a much needed focal point up front, which Hueng-Min Son and Vincent Janssen have been unable to provide in previous games.
Kane gave Arsenal’s center-backs something to think about which meant that the Tottenham midfielders had much more freedom on the ball. Kane also looked lively in the box and was unfortunate not to score before he eventually put away a penalty. He had a header go narrowly wide of Petr Cech’s post and Nacho Monreal made a fantastic block to deny him what would have been a second goal. Unsurprisingly he didn’t play 90 minutes and at points he lacked match sharpness but with him in the side Tottenham will always carry a greater goal scoring threat.
Second, Pochettino is in desperate need of some players not named Harry Kane to take chances. The Argentine might have looked at his opponents with envy. Had Alexis Sanchez or Mesut Ozil found the space that some Spurs players did, I’m pretty sure the ball would have been in the back of the net. Son was bright at the beginning of the season but ever since the Manchester City match he has faded. He showed glimpses of what he can do but the majority of time his passing and movement lacked quality in the final third.
Janssen, who replaced Kane, looks out of his depth. It’s obviously hard to judge a player when they aren’t getting a lot of game time, especially when playing in a new league. Janssen will probably come good as Pochettino’s recruitment has mostly been successful as the Tottenham boss.
The final thing learned this weekend is that Christian Eriksen is not performing anywhere close to his optimum. In recent games his performances have been lackluster, and it’s shown through in Spurs’ overall performances. Eriksen is the player that can unlock defenses in tight games like Sunday’s, but his creativity has been lacking recently.
When he’s on form Eriksen will punish teams, but lately he’s had a tendency to fall out of games as they progress. Victor Wanyama provides the security for Eriksen to go where he wants and try and change games in the final third, but he’s not taking advantage of it. It could be that he just needs a rest or that he’s lacking a little belief in his ability. Pochettino should consider dropping him as this could inspire him to put in better performances.