Has the penny finally dropped for Arsene Wenger? It seems
so after he masterminded Arsenal's deserved 2-0 victory at
reigning champions Manchester City, the perfect away
performance.
Arsenal were hammered 6-3 by City last season and it had
been over four years since the Gunners won an away game
against teams that went on to finish in the top four. That ;ast
triumph was against Sunday's opponents, too, following the
dismissal of Dedryck Boyata after five minutes.
There was no chance of reliving last season's humiliating
away defeats at City, Chelsea and Liverpool, as Wenger
instead organised his team like those who have successfully
played against Arsenal for so long.
Wenger has never seen eye-to-eye with arch-rival Jose
Mourinho on their approach to the game, but this
performance was almost the carbon copy of Chelsea's 1-0
win at the Etihad last February.
It is remarkable that it has taken Arsenal so long to adopt this
style of play against the bigger Premier League sides, but it
could prove a turning point for Wenger.
Arsenal's away results against their main rivals last season
cost them the chance of having a major say in the outcome of
the title race, but it looks like Wenger has, belatedly, learnt the
lessons from those defeats.
Wenger went with a more compact formation and all his
players were well-drilled and played their part in the kind of
away performance not seen by Arsenal in many years.
They got a break with the opening goal with a soft penalty for
Vincent Kompany's clumsy tackle on Nacho Monreal, which
man of the match Santi Cazorla converted, but they probably
deserved the break for their hard work and endeavour. Once
Olivier Giroud headed in the second goal midway through the
second half the result never looked in doubt in what is surely
one of Wenger's most satifying wins in recent years.
They had their lowest possession percentage in 11 years with
just 35% at the Etihad, but it was what they did without the
ball that formed the cornerstone of an impressive victory. This
was very un-Arsenal.
Wenger has come in for criticism for his big-game tactics in
the last four years and, although some may regard him a
tactical genius after this victory, one big question remains:
Why now? Why didn't he set up his team like this before?
At the start of December Wenger was jeered by some of his
own fans when boarding his train back to London after the
3-2 defeat to Stoke, but they will singing the Frenchman's
name from the rooftops on their way back to the capital
tonight.
On the other side it was a case of 'unlucky 13' for City as they
saw their 12-game unbeaten run come to an abrupt end at
just at the wrong time to give Chelsea a five-point lead in the
title race.
City went into the game knowing there was no room for error
after Chelsea's 5-0 thumping win at Swansea, but they
struggled to work out how to get the better of Arsenal's
unexpected set-up.
It should be noted that City have failed to win any of the four
Premier League games that Yaya Toure has missed this
season (drawn three, lost one) and how the big Ivorian's
absence was keenly felt as City struggled to have any impact
in midfield against Arsenal's well-organised rearguard.
Manuel Pellegrini made a mistake in playing with two
defensive midfielders, Fernando and Fernandinho, as neither
could offer what Toure does when he leads by example with
match-winning cameos.
Vincent Kompany looked rusty on his return from injury and
was foolish in conceding the penalty which gave Arsenal
something to hold on to.
Worringly for City and Pellegrini they have conceded two
goals in three consecutive home league games for first time
since 2002 and their defensive fraility has cost them crucial
points in the title race.
After narrowing the gap between themselves and Chelsea on
New Year's Day from eight points to none, they could now see
that lead return when the top two go head-to-head at
Stamford Bridge in a fortnight.
If City lose that game to fall eight points behind Chelsea again
that could be the end of their title chances with just 15 games
left. Mourinho is unlikely to let an eight-point lead slip from
his grasp for a second time.
Given they had taken just six points from a possible 45
against City, Manchester United and Chelsea in recent years,
few would have seen this Arsenal performance coming. The
great irony is that Wenger's 'eureka' moment has gifted old
rivals Chelsea and Mourinho an unexpected and welcome
boost.
But the Arsenal boss is unlikely to care too much after
proving his doubters wrong after all this time. For now, the
question marks are surrounding City, and they will have to
come up with the right answers at Stamford Bridge on
January 31.
Source http:// www.goal.com/en-ng/news/4082/editorial/2015/01/18/8085582/chelsea-the-winners-as-nod-to-mourinho-helps-arsenal-shock