The tension that hums around the Emirates has eased temporarily after Arsenal’s claustrophobic 0-0 draw against Chelsea offered the soothing conclusion that Arsene Wenger’s side are, finally, learning the art of pragmatism. The champions were comfortably nullified by an Arsenal team with unusual midfield composure, a compressed overall shape, and a rugged determination to battle their way into the Chelsea penalty area. Neither side looked likely to grab a winner, but after the exhausting 4-0 defeat to Liverpool this was undeniable progress.
Or was it? Granted, Aaron Ramsey and Granit Xhaka both showed significantly more positional discipline than in the game at Anfield, and overall the Gunners played with a certain cautiousness that allowed them to feel the rhythms of the match before galloping towards goal, but something crucial has been overlooked in the pundits’ analysis of their performance.
The real reason for the Frenchman’s success is that his 3-4-2-1 is a mirror image of Conte’s, which helps simplify the roles of his players and turns the match into a series of individual battles. This explains why, despite Wenger’s curiously laissez-faire attitude towards tactical preparation, his team have looked competent and self-assured against an uber-diligent Chelsea three times in succession.
Formation mirroring is frequently deployed by defensive managers to strip away complexity, since team shape is much harder to maintain when pulled apart by stronger and faster opponents. For Arsenal, whose lack of tactical work was further hinted at this week by Jurgen Klopp’s suggestion Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain was “relieved” to escape north London, the amount of work for each individual is narrowed, and thus simplified, by matching Chelsea one-to-one.
The best example of this was Ramsey’s and Xhaka’s shepherding of N’Golo Kante and Cesc Fabregas. Both were followed around the pitch throughout, which meant neither could thread a forward pass into the feet of Pedro and Willian. This led to Chelsea frequently shuffling the ball around in their own half before attempting something more direct; over-reliance on the vertical passing lines from central midfield to the inside forwards is the biggest weakness in Conte’s formation.
Green triangles = tackles
Blue triangles = interceptions
Purple triangles = clearances
Gold triangles = recoveries
This could be seen as clever tactical preparatory work by Wenger, but there was one striking feature of the match that suggests otherwise. Throughout the game, Pedro was freely receiving longer ground passes from the Chelsea centre-backs, and although he didn’t manage to break through the Arsenal lines the Spaniard could easily have caused more trouble. During these moments, Ramsey was bizarrely following Kante, step-for-step, around a similar zone, despite the fact that Kante is nowhere near as threatening – and despite the fact that Xhaka was much lazier in tightly marking the more dangerous Cesc Frabregas. It is rare to see a team constantly man-mark in the middle, and in the case of Ramsey and Xhaka it was oddly lopsided – suggesting they had not been instructed to focus specifically on this idea.
But for the most part, Arsenal’s central midfielders were successful in nullifying the hosts. Keeping it simple and following one specific player; it was a satisfactory tactic for the occasion, but it is not necessarily proof of a more tactically mature Arsenal.
After his side’s 4-0 victory over Everton, Jose Mourinho told Sky Sports: “When you try not to match the tactical system of your opponent, you take some risks.” It is when Arsenal take these risks, by playing with freedom – freedom to attack and freedom from collective responsibility – that things become unstuck. There are tougher tests to come.