Arsenal and Arsene Wenger made history last night by becoming the first English club to beat Borussia Dortmund in an away Champions League fixture. This is not the first time these types of achievements have happened with victories at the Bernabeu, San Siro and most recently, the Allianz Arena.
Prior to the game there was a lot of talk about each sides differing styles of play. Klopp likes his players to pursue a ferocious and tireless pressing game whereas Wenger encourages a patient and possession based strategy.
Thanks to the wonderfully rejuvenated Aaron Ramsey, Arsenal left Germany as unlikely victors. Arsenal has always been praised for their beautiful, attacking football, but has had many critics for their defensive frailties. However, last night was a turning point.
The New ‘Famous Back Four.’
Former Arsenal manager, George Graham was a very successful manager for the Gunners and he built his success on four incredibly gifted defenders. Tony ‘Mr. Arsenal’ Adams, Nigel Winterburn, Lee Dixon and Arsene Wenger’s current right-hand man, Steve Bould were considered the ‘Famous Back Four.’
Graham managed to drill the four as a one single entity. They moved and thought as one and the ‘put your hand in the air’ move became their signature. The results were effective and Graham won several trophies, including the famous title win on the very last day of the season at Anfield in 1989.
When Wenger took over as manager, he installed a new way of thinking. His approach revolutionised the Barclay’s Premier League and he brought nearly instant success. The staple ‘1-0 to the Arsenal’ quickly became ‘3-0 to the Arsenal’ as Wenger continued to use the flawless back four. Arsenal made history in the 1998/99 season as they only conceded an astonishing 17 goals.
Unfortunately, Arsenal were unable to defend the league title or the FA Cup, one reason being a lack of goals and another being they faced arguably the greatest Manchester United team of all time.
Last night against Dortmund, Arsenal demonstrated the same tenacity and doggedness associated with Adams, Bould, Dixon and Winterburn and it was a joy to watch.
Arsenal did what every successful team should be capable of and that is winning ugly. They showed maturity, intelligence and tactical versatility that were accustomed to the Graham era. It was a massive win against a good Dortmund side. Attackers win games, but defenders win trophies.
Can Arsenal win the Champions League?
The defenders on show last night, the same back four that Wenger has started with for the majority of 2013, may not be the best individually, but as a collective they are one of the best defence’s in the world. And who could deny it?
Sagna, Mertesacker, Koscielny and Gibbs – the ‘Famous Back Four’ have been replaced. The two centre halves were inspirational once more as Mertesacker provided a goal-saving tackle to prevent Reus putting the Champions League runners-up into the lead in the first half and Koscielny kept Lewandowski relatively quiet.
Arsenal have at times lacked leadership and cohesion on the pitch, however Mertesacker and Koscielny have the qualities to lead the Gunners to glory. Arsenal scraped a fantastic 1-0 win, something reminiscent of the Famous Back Four.
But can Arsenal win the Champions League? Klopp seems to think so. And finally Arsenal got the backing of a football pundit when Gary Neville was quoted saying Arsenal are “the real thing” and that “all questions have been answered.”
I certainly think Arsenal have their best chance in a long time to a win trophy this season. There is still work to do in the Champions League with a tough trip to Naples, and Marseilles are no pushovers. But the Champions League is the most difficult competition in the world and it takes a truly special team to win it. We can only hope, but lets not get too carried away just yet.
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