Last Night, the third rounds of the UEFA Champions league kicked off after the long international football hiatus (European calendar) and one particular game on everyone's mind was the clash between England's Arsenal and Germany's almighty Bayern Munich.
The fixture was interestingly jaw-jawing the length and breath of football's global interlocutors because despite Arsenal's resurgence in the England local league, they were yet to register a win in Europe's most prestigious competition after 2 games, and against teams one could blindly and now wrongly call minions.
On the other hand, Bayern hadn't lost a game since this season began. They had gone on to record a 12 match winning streak in all competitions hence the focus. Hitherto, Arsenal's manager didn't shirk or mince words in the pre-match interview as he talked bullish about the absolute need to record a win against the 5 times Champions League holders.
Wenger knew the challenges ahead but his tactics on the night was spot on and he recorded a convincing 2-0 victory over the second best team in the world, according to UEFA coefficient rankings. According to Greg Stobart, "Wenger has made the mistake of trying to outplay the likes of Bayern and Barcelona in the Champions League with inevitable results. This time, he set his side up to defend deep, to stay organized and committed and to attack at the pace on the counter-attack using the vision of Mesut Ozil, and the pace of Theo and Alexis"
This could be the beginning of a new drive in dressing room, with victories over the likes of Manchester United and Bayern, the need to treat individual games with its peculiar tactical nuances remains inevitable. The coach may have to realize that as much as Arsenal wants to be known for a style, it is imperative also that for victories to be recorded, understanding opponents and blending games to their style to achieve that aim may just be more important than how the game is played.
This doesn't take away how Arsenal loves to play. Infact, last night, Arsenal played like a beast. They wanted it more; they won every tackle, fought for every space, had better shot at goal than Bayern ( 8 - 6 ) and didn't necessarily control the game but didn't lose shape or looked like they were being battered either. Infact, the only team that looked bludgeoned on the night was Bayern Munich with two goals at the back of the net.
The day is young to predict but this is looking more than just a resurgence after a bad streak, it is more like a mentality being built at the colney center and the earlier teams begin to take note, the better they can nip this Arsenal in the bud. On the night, Arsenal was simply the best asides the results it self.
No comments:
Post a Comment