Backup Strikers

[Power n Glory]

I think we'll get plenty of creativity from Ramsey and he's starting to show that now. But even if we don't, Man Utd keep winning the league with no playmakers in the centre. Playing the star players out wide doesn't mean they'll be less influential. If we've got an energetic midfield trying to move the ball quickly, Ozil and Cazorla out wide is like the Pires-Ljungberg.

But anyway, I don't think Wenger will (or had to) change things. I have little idea what to expect now so let's see what sort of football we play with our 4-5-1 or 4-2-3-1.

Man Utd play a different brand of football to us. It's more direct and the players are more disciplined with their positions.

Also, Pires and Ljungberg especially were effective because they had Bergkamp and Henry up front. Two very unorthodox forwards. Henry would drift to the left and confuse the left fullback giving space to Cole and Pires. Bergkamp would drop very deep which opened up space for Freddie run in on the space behind. Giroud and Theo are very different players and get goals when the ball Is played into space in front of them. We'd have to wait and see how it would work but I wouldn't compare this team to past Wenger teams and think it could operate in a similar fashion. I'd go as far as saying the reason the Invincible team worked was because it was completely organic. The movement and positioning just formed naturally because it’s how they wanted to play.

We'd have to see how things pan out but I don't think Ramsey has the quality to hold down the middle on his own. He'd be seeing the ball much more often and would be surrounded by more players. The centre is like the hub. He'd have to pick out passes quicker, more accurately and constantly be on the move. A bad touch or dwelling too long on the ball means he'd get clamped down on.

[AKBapologist]

OK.


Some notes:



We will almost certainly be playing 4-2-3-1 / 4-5-1 all season.

Park will never play another game for us again.

Note how AOC has been described as a striker, which may be significant given that he's always been described as a future midfielder. I think he, in a different way to Theo, could potentially thrive as a CF, but would take 5-7 YEARS to get there.

Sanogo, he's going to be given a lot of chances, a lot of sub-ins, especially before the new year, let's see how quickly he learns. He has a really weak shot, rarely hit's the ball cleanly, he needs to fix that part of his game asap.

Theo, as I've mentioned is too important not to be played in the right. I suspect that if he's not playing on the right, he's probably not playing at all, nevertheless, Carzola could take his place, Ozil on the left of the attacking 3, with theo as the lone striker.

Giroud is getting really good at winning and holding the ball up front, the only thing he lacks is the ability to create space and chances for himself around the box, and I haven't been convinced about his shooting from outside of the box either.

Sadly, if RVP had stayed, we'd be looking at a title winning team here as he has most of the things we need in a striker right now. C'est la vie

[Marc Overmars]

Lewandowski in January. Do it.

[Dein-machine]

Lewandowski in January. Do it.

Couldn't agree more - he's perfect fit with rest of the players. Also make Ozil realise we mean buisness.

[Marc Overmars]

Out of contract next summer so I don't see why we shouldn't put our name in the mix. Bayern will be front runners but you can't win the raffle if you don't buy a ticket.

[Tipsychubbs]

Irrelevant. It all depends who you put on the pitch and what works best for them. There's absolutely nothing wrong with 4-4-2 if you have the midfield players that can make it happen.

You can play two strikers but everyone has to put in a massive shift

Yup, it can still work but you'd have to have the right personnel and the work ethic of the team as a whole to get the best of it i.e. Man Utd with Fergie or the Arsenal Invincibles team.

Still I personally prefer a 4-2-3-1 or 4-3-3 as it they seem more flexible overall.

[Kano]

Out of contract next summer so I don't see why we shouldn't put our name in the mix. Bayern will be front runners but you can't win the raffle if you don't buy a ticket.

i dunno, i'd rather we go for realistic targets.

klopp himself said it was pretty much a done deal, so you can imagine the contract is all laid out, just missing his signature.

we'll have suarez by then anyway and can concentrate on bringing bale back home...

[Power n Glory]

I was responding to the idea that 4-4-2 doesn't work because the "game has moved on", rather than suggesting we have the players to use it.

The game has moved on. The Manchester teams can't play 4-4-2 like that against top teams or in Europe.

[Dein-machine]

The game has moved on. The Manchester teams can't play 4-4-2 like that against top teams or in Europe.

4-4-2 is possible for any team if they have strength in midfield - City do with Yaya. 4-5-1 is a great formation to try & dominate a game. The ball is on the middle third of a pitch for 60% of the game ( unless your playing Stoke!!! ). However if you are strong defensively & have the right players ball retention wise along with quick passing it is possible for 4-4-2 to work.
The problem is having the players to do it & keeping to it - you can't chop & change every week.
I don't think we can be successful with it because we are not strong enough defensively & we don't have the physicality in midfield, nor do Man U. We miss a Viera, they miss a Keane.

[Power n Glory]

4-4-2 is possible for any team if they have strength in midfield - City do with Yaya. 4-5-1 is a great formation to try & dominate a game. The ball is on the middle third of a pitch for 60% of the game ( unless your playing Stoke!!! ). However if you are strong defensively & have the right players ball retention wise along with quick passing it is possible for 4-4-2 to work.
The problem is having the players to do it & keeping to it - you can't chop & change every week.
I don't think we can be successful with it because we are not strong enough defensively & we don't have the physicality in midfield, nor do Man U. We miss a Viera, they miss a Keane.

It's not impossible but I don't think many teams have the players to play it. Not only that, I think most teams will find themselves too open and overwhelmed in the middle if going up against a team with 3 central midfielders vs 2. At International level and CL level, there aren't many teams playing 4-4-2. I can't recall any. We'll also see what happens if City try a 4-4-2 in Europe. But under new management, I doubt they'll play it.

I honestly think the game has moved away from 4-4-2. It will come back again but the number 10 Bergkamp role strikers are practically non-existent. The playmakers are playing deeper in the field these days. Would be interesting to see if one of the big teams can make a 3-5-2 formation work or 3-4-3.