Tactical ineptitude see’s Arsenal thrashed by Dortmund

For some of us, we knew this was coming.  For others, there was always that bit of hope before kick-off that Arsenal would put on another fantastic display in Germany.  At the end of 90-minutes, one thing was abundantly clear – Arsenal were completely played off the park at the Westfalenstadion.

Truthfully, the only positive that I can possibly take away from today’s horror show is that we did not lose 5-0, because we absolutely should have.  From top to bottom, striker to goalkeeper, we are absolutely woeful.  Once again, all we can do is shake our heads and say “we were not good enough.”  But when you really think about it, so much more has to be done at this point.

Many will call me an Arsene Wenger hater, and while that is a little too harsh, I will admit that I have felt he has needed to go for quite sometime now, and yet another spineless display has done nothing but reinforce my opinion on that front.  For a manager that has been at the helm of professional football clubs since the same year I was born (1984), how is it that so many people, be it pundit, supporter, or opposing manager, can see things that Le Prof is either too stubborn to want to see, or genuinely cannot see?

Before I continue, let’s look at a bit of the Twitter meltdown – after all, it’s usually entertaining, and sometimes rather informative at the same time;

Honestly, I could go on and on with the Tweets as they were utterly endless today.  That being said, what stands out from the fan and pundit reaction during and after the match are two important factors; 1. Wenger, yet again, was tactically outsmarted, and 2. Wenger’s continued insistence on using players in positions to which they are not suited.  Let’s go a little more in-depth on those two topics, shall we?

Wenger’s tactical shortcomings (i’ll be nice and not call it “ineptitude” twice)

You really would think that, given the fact that we have played Dortmund plenty in the last three or four years, that Wenger would have learn lessons and understood how to better deploy tactically against them, right? Well, you’d be wrong I’m afraid.  Despite the far from secretive knowledge that Dortmund love to counter quickly on the break, and usually target central areas in doing so, Wenger failed to address either issue on the tactics board.

It is hard for me to place fault on the shoulders of either Hector Bellerin or Kieran Gibbs tonight.  Gibbs wasn’t poor, and Bellerin played his first high pressure match for the club, in one of the toughest places to get a result in all of Europe.  The fault here, falls on Wenger.  When you know you are playing against a side like Dortmund, how on earth could you instruct your wing-backs to push further up the field thus leaving you completely exposed to the counter attack?

Goalscorers Ciro Immobile and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang ran riot against an ill-suited and ill-prepared Arsenal back-line and tactical scheme (image courtesy of Borussia Dortmund’s official Facebook page)

Yes, Gibbs and Bellerin have all the pace in the world, but what does that matter if they are at least 20-25 yards ahead of Laurent Koscielny and Per Mertesacker when Dortmund get the ball and break neck to get into the final third.  Time and time again, we were outnumbered on the break, and we were very lucky Dortmund failed to convert the majority of the chances we left for them at our front door.

Moreover, if you’re going to risk using such a tactical schematic, why in the name of all that is good and holy would you expect Mikel Arteta to be the answer in the holding midfielder role? Not only has the Spaniard never been a holding midfielder in his career until he came to Arsenal, but ever since he left Everton he has never been the same player physically – asking him to play in a position for which he is so poorly suited just makes the tactical situation at the club that much more unforgivable.

Lastly, given the fact that BFG was axed from the Germany XI this summer by Joachim Low due to his lack of pace which caused them to be blatantly exposed in central defense, why would Wenger continually rely on him to do a job there?  I understand that Calum Chambers could not go 90-minutes, and thus could not replace the towering Teuton, but as that was indeed the case, you surely needed to make your team understand how pertinent it was to be more diligent in providing far more effective cover for him – it did not happen.

Poor deployment of player personnel

Yes, it happened yet again – Mesut Ozil was deployed on the wing.  As stated before, Mikel Arteta was used as a holding midfielder, Aaron Ramsey and Jack Wilshere were tasked with midfield roles that did not include winning back possession, and Danny Welbeck was again isolated up-front in his second appearance for the club.

Naturally, this can all divulge into the notion that Arsenal are truly not suited for the 4-1-4-1, that we should be using the 4-2-3-1, but given the fact that Wenger is now insistent on reshaping us tactically to accommodate the Ramsey/Wilshere midfield pivot, we’re stuck with it until he wakes up.

Well and truly, there is quite a bit of personnel mismanagement going on.  It has long been said that Ramsey and Wilshere are far too similar to be able to effectively play together – both are box to box players, neither of them are ball winners, and both are too forward thinking which only magnifies the shortcomings of Arteta and adds to the lack of cover that our center-backs are receiving.

There is always something to be said about having the heartbeat of your team, knowing how to make changes, and most of all, managing the players at your disposal – once more, Klopp has shown that he is one of many who are more adept at it than Wenger (image courtesy of Borussia Dortmund’s official Facebook page)

Everyone in the world knows Ozil should never be used anywhere other than behind the striker in the middle, and the addition of Danny Welbeck at the deadline has not done anything to cause Wenger to start choosing the right XI’s.  Just because you have players on the books does not mean you force them into positions where you cannot get the best out of them, especially when you have players in the first-team that are fully capable of playing there.

If you insist on using Ozil elsewhere other than through the middle, then you may as well drop him and give Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain or Joel Campbell a shot at left midfield, a position that both players would excel in.  Arteta has never been suited for the holding midfielder, and despite his inexperience, why not give Francis Coquelin a shot there, considering that he is a holding midfielder by trade.

These are all simple solutions that are worth trying, rather than keeping the same XI and formation week in and week out and trying to force it down the players throats – part of being a manager is realizing when something is not working, and either doing what it takes to fix it, or realizing it will never work and scrapping it as quickly as you dreamt it up.

Final reactions

Perhaps the most telling statistic on the night was not our lack of efforts either on or off frame, it was not our possession percentage (which was 56% mind you), but it was the fact that we did not win a single challenge in Dortmund’s half all match long.  That means, that when we either lost possession in the opposition half, or when they started out with possession in their half, we failed to win it back for 90-minutes.  Why is that telling? Because if you consider that fact, you then realize that our lack of efforts at goal are a direct result of our inability to pressure Dortmund into mistakes that would grant us more scoring opportunities.

This is a team of good players, a team that, at least on paper, should never put in such a lackluster performance against tough opposition.  The unfortunate reality of it all, is that it has become our reality in recent seasons, especially over the last two.  We have been so preoccupied with playing eye-pleasing football, that we forgot what hard work, steel, grit and having the drive to win could do for your results.

Many would have Jurgen Klopp as the logical successor to the Arsene Wenger throne, but while there is no telling who will be the next in line, it is becoming ever more clear that his position the club must truly be considered (image courtesy of Borussia Dortmund’s official Facebook page)

We are now in a position where we have a manager that has been deemed infallible by the majority of the fan-base to the point where no one dare question his decisions (and if you do, that somehow makes you a poor supporter of the club), our players think it’s an achievement to finish in the top four (even though we have for 17 straight seasons) and come tomorrow, people will once again feel that there are no serious issues at this club from top to bottom, most importantly on the pitch.

The truth of the matter is, that tonight was not good enough.  Last season, despite our wining the FA cup, was not good enough.  The season before that was not good enough, and the season before that was not good enough – a sentiment which could go on until the last time we won the league.  The current difference between Arsenal Football Club, and clubs like Dortmund, Manchester City, Chelsea, Liverpool, Manchester United and others, is that settling is never deemed a successful season for them, but for us it is.

While tonights performance does by no means spell the end of our European campaign, it does bring to light (for the millionth time) that what we are currently doing is far below what we are capable.  Players do not turn into poor footballers over night, something else surely must be the issue, and that issue is Wenger.

Tonight’s showing was a microcosm of what so many have said for a few years now, that when push comes to shove, we’ll never be able to compete with top clubs until changes are made.  While it may still be too early to say Wenger out, it certainly needs to be considered in the long run.

Andrew Thompson is a contributing writer at We Are Hooligans, Outside Of The Boot and The Modern Gooner – follow him on Twitter @AFCBvB1410