Arsenal's 2011/12 season at The Emirates Stadium came to an ignominious end, as Norwich came away from N5 with a 3-3 draw, potentially ruining Arsenal's hopes of finishing the Premier League campaign in the top 3, and qualifying for next season's Champions League.
Defending The Barcelona Way
Arsenal had an ideal start, when Yossi Benayoun gave Arsenal the lead in the opening exchanges - I hadn't even sat down in my seat as the Israeli's shot found the far corner. However, Norwich are one of the Premier League's most accomplished teams. I used the word "team" deliberately, as they lack any outstanding individuals, but are greater than the sum of their parts. Having the shrewd Paul Lambert as their manager does them no harm either. Despite lining up with a back four, there was a fluidity to their starting XI, even in defence.
It was not that dissimilar from how Barcelona's defence operates. Simon Lappin replicated Eric Abidal by tucking in, at times giving Norwich three central defenders, while Kyle Naughton played the Dani Alves role, positioned in a much higher position, playing more as a wing-back.
This was crucial in Norwich's equaliser. Elliott Bennett had the ball on the right-hand side, Naughton made an overlapping run, and Benayoun failed to track him back, leaving Kieran Gibbs outnumbered. Naughton's resultant cross was turned in by Wesley Hoolahan. Wojcech Szczesny should have kept Hoolahan's effort out, but had Arsenal defended responsibly, the situation would never have arised. This domino effect came into play later in the match.
Defending With The Handbrake Off
Arsene Wenger often talks about wanting his team to play with the handbrake off. And no Gunner embodies this more than Thomas Vermaelen. His propensity to charge forward, giving Arsenal an extra attacker, is part of why so many fans adore the Belgian, and has proved crucial on occasion - no more so than in the win over Newcastle.
However, risk has to be balanced with reward. And Vermaelen making a forward run only 27 minutes into the match, was a dangerous gamble. Despite being pegged back to 1-1, it left Arsenal more exposed than they needed to be this early in the contest. Gibbs dropped in to cover for Vermaelen, but the young England tyro is vulnerable defending in 1 vs 1 situations. Norwich won the ball, and found Grant Holt on the counter. Gibbs failed to get tight on Holt, giving the striker enough room to threaten Szczesny's goal. While Arsenal can count themselves unlucky for Holt's shot to take a deflection and loop into the net, this was an example of Arsenal taking the handbrake off, failing to control the vehicle, and crashing into a wall.
This was no less than Norwich deserved as they used the ball intelligently in midfield, and took care to construct an 8 man defensive wall whenever Arsenal attacked. They stayed compact, which allowed space in the wide areas, but during the first half, Arsenal's use of the width was poor, making defending relatively routine for Norwich.
On The Retreat
Norwich started the second half the way they performed throughout the opening 45 minutes, and had good chances to stretch their lead. But both Hoolahan and Simeon Jackson were profligate in front of goal, and Arsenal made changes to their personnel. Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain came on for Aaron Ramsey - who could have been sent-off for a foul while on a yellow card, and Marouane Chamakh replaced Benayoun. Arsenal switched to a 4-4-2, and looked more threatening as a result. Robin Van Persie - who had been poor up to this point - found more space, as Norwich also had to keep an eye on Chamakh. Now under heavy pressure, Norwich retreated even deeper. The 8 men defensive wall often became 9, and Van Persie scored twice late on, seeming to secure a precious 3 points.
The Domino Effect
Needing to hold on for the remaining 14 minutes (including stoppage time), Arsenal needed a steady hand at the wheel. But ever since Mikel Arteta's injury against Wigan, they've looked short of a reliable presence to guide them through games with the minimum of fuss. It's seems to be no coincidence that from the second he went down - from which Wigan outnumbered Arsenal on a counter-attack and scored - Arsenal have taken 3 points out of the last 12. There is an Arteta shaped hole in the midfield, and I doubt whether Norwich's equaliser would have come had the Spaniard been fit.
After a spell of struggling to keep possession, Alex Song carelessly gave the ball away. Looking to give Song an option, Gibbs had pushed up and was now out of position. Jonny Howson played a neat pass over Vermaelen, and with Laurent Koscielny not quick enough on the cover, Steve Morison fired the ball past Szczesny to sink Arsenal's hopes of a first win in 4 games.
But not only did Norwich's third goal come from a chain reaction of Arsenal errors, it was also a result of Arsenal panicking once presented with the lead at 3-2. There had been a litany of decision making and passing mistakes before Morison's goal, and the environs of The Emirates felt febrile and anxious.
This seemed to transmit itself to the players, and while they created & missed further chances to find a winner (not to mention having a strong penalty appeal turned down), this scenario was ideal for Norwich. In a match such as this, the weaker team want a paradigm where the game is played with high stress and a frenetic atmosphere, which is more likely to cause errors and negate pre-arranged stratagems. In a normal match situation, when both teams execute their game plans, the quality of the stronger team will win the day.
However, a combination of a well-organised and enterprising Norwich, and a nervy Arsenal means that the destiny of the Gunners is now dependent on the results from other sides. By next week's final fixture against West Bromwich Albion, they're likely to be out of the top 3, making the absence of Champions League football for only the second time under Arsene Wenger's tenure a real possibility.
Latest:
