The Technical Area – Gunners Under Analysis

Four games into the season and Arsenal are showing little sign of missing Robin Van Persie. While the defence has been widely lauded for a series of resolute displays, Arsene Wenger has continually tinkered with his options up front as he looks to strike a balance and accommodate his host of new signings. So far, the Gunners have played with a different lone striker on three occasions – Lukas Podolski led the line against Sunderland in Gameweek 1, Olivier Giroud was handed the role in Gameweeks 2-3, while Gervinho was given his chance to impress in last weekend’s Gameweek 4 demolition of Southampton:

Already, Santi Cazorla has slotted into the role in “the hole” seamlessly and has wasted no time as the central figure in his side’s attacking endeavours. The summer signing from Malaga is leading the way for a number of significant statistics across the board – Cazorla has made more successful passes in the final third (117) than any player in the Premier League, created the highest number of goalscoring opportunities (18) and has fired more shots (15) than any midfielder thus far.

Wenger also now seems settled with Podolski out on the left. After trialling the former Cologne man through the middle against Sunderland in the season opener, the Gunners boss admitted after the Southampton game that Podolski will continue on the flank as his presence out wide offers the team “balance”.

Looking at the average position maps for Arsenal’s two home matches so far, there’s a definite difference in team shape up top. Gervinho (27) was fielded as the left winger against Sunderland (above left) and while his forward forays allowed him to have more touches in the penalty box than any home player (16 in total), Wenger’s talk of a lack of shape becomes clearer. As the lone forward, Podolski (9) dropped deeper to accommodate the Ivorian’s attacking runs and managed just three touches in the opposition box, while Kieran Gibbs (28) was fare more involved in the side’s play. The left-back received 69 passes against Sunderland, with 17 coming in the final third, whereas on Saturday, his overall involvement was significantly reduced – he received just 33 passes, though 14 came in the final third, an indication that his attacking intent remained almost the same.

The Gunners boss faces a dilemma when assessing the central striking role, however. Having failed to score in his first three Gameweeks, Giroud was dropped to the bench for the Saints showdown – Gervinho scored twice against the Saints and his manager hinted the Ivorian’s more dynamic style of play was a significant factor in his side’s win:

“We played at a high pace with our passing and with a high pace with our movement. They (Southampton) had problems to cope with the overall speed that we showed. The team grows on the continuity of the Liverpool game and we could repeat the same quality of the performance. I don’t know [if it is more fluid up front], we have to wait a little bit because we have only played four games now. What we see is interesting because there is a positive energy in the team and you feel there is potential in there. We now have big games coming up and they will tell us more about our team. But there is something in there that is interesting to develop.”

A look at the average positions of both Giroud (below left) and Cazorla (below right) over the first four Gameweeks highlights Wenger’s quandary. Although some of his players are beginning to gel, it’s noticeable that the former Montpellier man is occupying the same space as Cazorla when in possession – rather than playing on the shoulder of the final defender and offering the playmaker the chance to pass into space behind the defence, Giroud is dropping far too deep to receive the ball. As a result, Giroud is struggling to get into goalscoring areas and Arsenal’s overall shape is suffering when he is on the pitch – as Wenger begins to learn about his new-look team, it may well be that Giroud could suffer for game time, with a more direct player up top required to complement Cazorla and Podolski.

Analysing Gervinho’s stats over his 73 minutes in the lone forward role against Giroud’s across Gameweek 2-3 in the same position, each player’s approach to the role is clearly different. In terms of overall touches, it’s virtually identical – Gervinho managed 53 against the Saints, while Giroud averaged 53.5 in his games with Stoke and Liverpool. The Ivorian had far more touches in the final third (35 to 26) and his overall involvement was also superior, with 1.4 minutes per touch to Giroud’s 1.8.

Gervinho also received more passes in the final third (19 to 14), while his distribution was significantly better – he produced 17 successful passes in this crucial area in comparison to Giroud’s paltry average of six. When in possession, Gervinho is far more likely to attempt a dribble (five to two) – Giroud, on the other hand, is more content playing in others, with 1.5 chances created per game; Gervinho failed to make a single “key pass”, a sign his game is far more direct as the lone forward. Indeed, Gervinho managed 13 touches in the penalty box and fired four goal attempts on Saturday – Giroud managed 11 penalty box touches over his two appearances, with an average 2.5 goal attempts per game.

Certainly, from a Fantasy perspective, the idea of Gervinho as the lone frontman would have huge appeal. Classified as a midfielder across the Fantasy games, his mid-price valuation would have many clambering aboard the bandwagon if Wenger decides a little more pace is required through the middle as he tinkers with his system. The Gunners boss also revealed he may even consider Theo Walcott for the role – perhaps an indication that his first-team thoughts are starting to evolve as he analyses ways of maximising the offensive potential of his new-look team.

Arsenal may currently still be a work in progress, then, but going by their manager’s comments after the 6-1 mauling of Southampton, a certain Dutchman’s departure may not have quite the detrimental effect many of us had imagined:

Sometimes an individual grows up and becomes the main charisma and carrier of the team and then people notice only him, but we’ve always built around the team player. Van Persie scored 30 goals and when you score 30 goals everyone gives you the ball. Our game at the moment is a little bit more diversified but let’s see how we deal with that in the big games. We have to go from game to game. The last two games were interesting.