Mikel Arteta,the Media Puntas and the False 9s

A month ago,i came across this brilliant article by Phil Ball,on the power and rise of the media puntas.He explains the reasons behind its importance and states that with an abundance of media puntas,Spain can dominate the world in the years to come.
In that article Ball mentioned that,Arsene Wenger was the only manager in England who tried to introduce the media punta and in Cesc Fabregas and Samir Nasri,Arsenal had two of the best in the business.When they lost them both in the summer,Wenger bought Mikel Arteta from Everton.So can Arteta play between the lines as Fabregas and Nasri before him did?

Arteta about to take a corner for Everton,his former club
against Arsenal,his new club.

A media punta essentially is someone who acts as a link between the midfield and attack,someone who can receive the ball with his back to the defence.This role isn't easy to play and only the players of the highest  technical quality can play this role.Cesc Fabregas was a master,playing behind the strikers,receiving the ball,turning and then providing the killer pass with ease. These players playing in between the lines are the ones who generally create the most chances. So Arsenal had a big gap to fill when they lost both Fabregas and Nasri,they did have Andrei Arshavin who could play that role,but the Russian has been out of form for quite sometime now. So when Arteta arrived at Arsenal,people expected him to fulfill the void left by Fabregas. Arteta is someone who could play between the lines,as he did at Everton

But Arsene Wenger chose to play him in a deeper role,someone who could feed the wingers.For example against Fulham his average position is deeper than Ramsey's and almost at the half way point,clearly showing that he isn't playing the "in between the lines" role anymore.

The below chalkboard shows the difference in roles of Arteta when playing for Everton and for Arsenal.

Chalkboard showing the difference in Arteta's style of play for Arsenal
and for Everton.

So has Arsene Wenger gone back on his philosophy of playing with media puntas,and adopted a more English way of attacking through pacy and skillful wingers?. Maybe,because of the excellent form of Theo Walcott,we may see more of Arsenal's goals created from the right,but Arsenal's main source of goals still comes from a media punta,RVP. 

Robin Van Persie is a different type of media punta,he is a false 9 or a nine and a half. RVP drops back into space to create play,he is one of the few players who can both score and create. This season more and more Premier League teams have started playing a false nine,Rooney,Aguero,Suarez and RVP himself have all both created and scored.

One advantage that the False 9 has over the traditional media punta is that he can either choose to play as a normal stiker and score goals,or if he is not getting enough of the ball,he can then drop between the lines and look to create. Fabregas's move from Arsenal might have made them more solid,as Arteta is a more defensively aware and solid player than Fabregas,Arsenal's midfield has less chance of being overrun. And with RVP(and Ramsey too) playing the creator's role with ease,Fabregas's transfer maybe a blessing in disguise.

All the top Premier League teams have these "between the lines" players. Here Chelsea's case is an interesting one,although Ball points out that Frank Lampard is a media punta,Lampard is more of an attacking midfielder with a good finish.He is someone who does at times play as a media punta,but one can't call him a pure media punta. In Juan Mata they have someone who can play as a media punta,but AVB prefers to start him on the left. Tottenham Hotspur who have a enjoyed a great start to the season,have in Emmanuel Adebayor who has gone from a traditional center forward to someone who drops deep and tries to link up with the midifield

Chalkboard showing the difference in Adebayor's style of play for Tottenham
and for Arsenal .

One can clearly see the change in Adebayor's playing style, here at Tottenham he looks more determined and wants to get involved in the build up play as well. 

Coming back to the situation at Arsenal, Van Persie is someone,as we have seen over the past few seasons who is injury-prone. As Arsenal depend on him a lot to create and score,Wenger needs a back up plan. With Wilshere out with injury,Arsene can either play Arteta or Arshavin in the hole with Chamakh/Park up front.Or Else even a 4-6-0 with Arshavin,Arteta and Ramsey switching the striker's role with each other.

Barcelona have already experimented with the 4-6-0 this season,although it has not been very successful,it does make the game tactically more interesting. The La Liga and the Serie A as always have been more attractive and intriguing for lovers of the tactical side of the beautiful game,i hope the Premier League too comes up with it's share of tactical innovations.

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North London Derby - A Preview.

This Sunday, Spurs host Arsenal in what could be one of the defining games of both clubs’ seasons. Harry’s Hotspurs missed out on Champions League football last season, but are still one of england’s most improved teams over the last few years. One of at least six teams fighting it out for the coveted top four slots of the league. Arsenal on the other hand, are close to the wilderness. Losing big names over the summer such as Fabregas, Nasri and Clichy would hurt any team – the replacements signed by Wenger have a lot to live up to, and in Arteta’s case a hell of a lot. Wilshere’s extended absence has also hit the club hard.

Wenger’s policy of bringing through young players with bags of potential has also taking a pounding recently – epitomised by the young Manchester United team (Jones, 19; Welbeck, 20; Smalling, 21; Cleverley, 22; among others) thrashing their rivals 8-2. Perhaps it’s a better indictment of Arsenal’s predicament that they’re better described as “former-rivals” of Manchester United – it would be a big surprise to see them challenging for the title this year.

Arsenal have been lining up in a Barcelona-esque 4-1-2-2-1 formation this season, and they can be expected to put out a similarly shaped team on Sunday. Injuries, suspensions and woeful performances have meant that Wenger has fiddled with his back four more than is healthy for a defensive unit. Alex Song was played at centre-back against Olympiakos in the Champions League, as the only fit centre-back is the lumbering Per Mertesacker who is still settling into the Premier League. Vermaelen, Koscielny, Djourou and Squillaci are currently keeping each other company in the treatment room. Song had previously been playing in (to continue the Barcelona comparison – ha!) in the Busquets role, screening the back four, but if he’s played at centre-back again, expect the effervescent Frimpong to return, and promptly get himself sent off for snapping Modric’s back in two, or kicking him 20ft into the air.  Wenger has declared that Squillaci should be fit fro the Spurs game, and Djourou and Koscielny are rated as doubts, so it might not come to that. Regardless, Wenger will be forced to name a 7^th different back four in 8 games.

Further up the pitch, the injury woes continue for Arsenal. Abou Diaby is definitely out, Benayoun is a big doubt, but Gervinho and Walcott could make a return. Arsene Wenger will hope to have at least one of those two wingers back, and will soon face a selection decision over whether the emerging talent of Oxlade-Chamberlain should play in front of the strangely detached Arshavin.

Ramsey and Arteta will be doing their best Xavi-Iniesta impersonations – nwever an easy one to pull off, but they’re both good technical players with great passing skills. Surely Wenger would prefer to have either kept Fabregas at the club or to have Wilshere back from injury, but Arteta isn’t a bad signing at all, and Ramsey seems to be relishing the extra responsibility. Any captain of their national side should be able to step up to the mark mentally.

At least up front, Wenger has a player who isn’t susceptible to injury – Robin Van Persie… oh. He’s fit at the moment, keep those fingers crossed Gooners.

Interestingly, both the 8-2 defeat to Manchester United and the 4-3 loss at Blackburn followed Champions League games – suggesting that Wenger’s heavily depleted squad is struggling with the fixture list very early in the season. Tottenham Hotspurs have no such worries before this crunch game – a trip to Shamrock Rovers in the Europa League will simply give Redknapp the chance to rest first team players as he gives some of his squad players such as Danny rose and Giovanni dos Santos a run out.

Not that Tottenham aren’t without their own injury concerns, Dawson, Kranjcar and Defoe are all expected to return from injury, or at least report fit by the 2nd of October, but Gallas and the Hudd are both out.

Redknapp has also been fairly consistent with his formations so far this season. A good old English 4-4-2, varied on occasion to 4-4-1-1 to accommodate Rafael van der Vaart. Redknapp has been using the 4-4-1-1 in games which could be perceived as “bigger” – away to Manchester United, and at home to Manchester City, as well as the potentially tricky trip to Wigan, which has actually been the only time spurs have gained any points in the league with van der Vaart in the team. Redknapp will view this derby game as a big one, therefore, expect van der Vaart to be dipping the metaphorical arrows in poison and placing them in Adebayor’s quiver. Ah yes, Adebayor… a departed forward might normally expect a tough time from former colleagues, but looking at Arsenal’s defence, it’s him that will be dishing out any rough stuff. Redknapp’s renowned personal management techniques seem to be paying off with the roaming hitman.

Redknapp’s team are perhaps one of the most archetypal “traditional English” sides in the Premier League at the moment. Whether 4-4-2 or 4-4-1-1, he generally deploys out and out wingers on either flank (Although sometimes Modric and Krancjar have played on one wing or another) and his first choice central midfield partnership is a creative player in Modric and a destructive harrier in Scott Parker. Lennon hasn't been the most productive of players, and two whizkids on the wing might be considered a bit of a risk for the Arsenal game - Harry might be tempted to go with a more rounded player on one of the flanks.

Kaboul has been an ever-present in the league for Tottenham, and looks set to man the barriacades with the incredible Ledley King, who will be one of those rested ready for this game.

Brad Friedel has been as reliable as anyone between the sticks this season, but in fairness despite some shocking results, Szczesny has generally played well.

Expect a poor tempered game with plenty of cards, a patched-up Arsenal back line, and a Tottenham win.

By @ffootballer