The Situation:
A heady occasion with so much at stake, none more so for Arsene Wenger himself, Arsenal found themselves pressing to get themselves level with a Hull City side that had left them shellshocked within the opening 8 minutes. Santi Cazorla’s glorious freekick gave a real glimmer of hope, but with the clock ticking, it looked more and more likely that a change, be it personnel wise, tactically, or both was going to have to be made to get Arsenal back into the game and make sure it was they who walked up the Wembley steps triumphant.
The Decision:
With Arsenal chasing the game and pushing for an equalizer to take it to 2-2, Wenger decided to take a bold step (for him) in taking Lukas Podolski off on the half-hour mark (an ‘early’ sub by Wenger’s standards) and replace him with the unpredictable presence of the raw young Frenchman Yaya Sanogo. Essentially this was pivotal to Arsenal getting the result. The change of formation to a ‘4-4-2’ gave Arsenal a lot more joy against the trio of centrebacks that had given Hull a platform and solid base to frustrate Arsenal.
Hull’s decision to play a ‘back 3’ and use the width of the Wembley pitch, encouraging their wingbacks to raid both flanks as often as possible, gave Arsenal a headache throughout the game. The fact that Hull had a lone frontman in Matty Fryatt and a spare runner just off of him from the midfield meant that there was always a spare man in the middle of the park for the Tigers. This made it difficult for Arsenal to gain a foothold and in the end they were trying to pick a lock as their was seemingly no key.
Whilst 4-4-2 can be a bit linear and considered ‘primitive’ by many of the games modern tacticians, it’s fair to say that there’s certainly a place for the formation. Giroud, who to be brutally honest wasn’t really at the races prior to the introduction of his strike partner and change in formation, suddenly seemed more of a threat. Whilst neither of the Frenchmen (Sanogo or Olivier Giroud) are lightning quick or overly tricky types of forward, having another forward to work with gave Arsenal that edge they’d been lacking throughout the game. Say what you want about Giroud (and plenty do), but he’s an intelligent footballer and his movement playing off of his strike partner not only afforded them chances, but in turn it brought Aaron Ramsey into the game more and of course, that was what essentially sealed a glorious sunny afternoon for Wenger’s men!
The Verdict:
On a hot afternoon, on a big pitch, Hull had applied themselves admirably, but were visibly fatigued the longer the game went on. Arsenal were able to get their foot on the ball and begin to dominate possession and create chances. It surely wasn’t a coincidence that the change on the half-hour mark wasn’t a telling one?
Much like in the semi-final against Wigan, Arsenal benched their more intricate 4-2-3-1/4-3-3 and went to an old fashioned 4-4-2, giving their strikers the license to be exactly that, strikers.
Going forward, the ability to change tactics ‘mid-game’ will give food for thought. Wenger has often been criticized for being stubborn and myopic with regards to his tactical approach, especially in high-profile games. The weekends cup-final was arguably the biggest in the club’s recent history, literally and symbolistically.
Whilst many (most, in-fact) Arsenal fans and pundits alike believe that Arsenal must invest in another forward, ideally with pace and a handsome track record in-front of goal, something as simple as a change in formation can have very positive results. Yesterday (and in the previous semi-final) gave evidence to back up the notion that 4-4-2 isn’t some form of primitive withcraft, more so, it can prove to be a very practical and useful formation, one that Wenger could well look to refer to in the future.
Your Verdict:
@IndianGooner85 – Put benzema upfront with Giroud and then see magic happening #signbenzema
@MarkoSamardzic6 – Nope, I think our actual formation is perfect for Arsenal.
@DharmaModi – yes worked during his success
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