No Premier League team can match the array of permutations available to Arsenal in positions that might as well be lumped together as “attack”. Arsene Wenger, their manager, says he has “never” had so many creative options at this stage of a campaign.
We are not just talking “strikers” here. The roles could be set out on a planning table as centre-forward, inside-right, inside-left, No 10, wide right, wide left and roving deep midfield. When results are bad, this kaleidoscope is held against Arsene Wenger as poof of dangerous romanticism: as if the club have bought more paintings than any gallery could accommodate. When it all goes right, there are endless possibilities for a generation of players who retained Wenger’s faith when less patient managers would have run them out of town.
As Brighton showed by scoring twice in the second-half, the rear of this Arsenal team is sometimes no match for the front. Yet help is on the way. Gabriel Paulista, the Villarreal centre-back, is almost through the door. "It's very, very, very close," Wenger said. "It should be done, I think, tomorrow."
But all the chatter is about the squadron of creative forces can Wenger put together in groups between now and May. Take Tomas Rosicky, that 34-year-old firefly, who has seen both ends of the Arsenal spectrum. "Wonderful, a player we all love. If you love football, you love Rosicky," Wenger said after his Czech midfielder had ballroom-danced his way through Brighton’s midfield. “On top of that, he’s a fantastic character. And he scored. I’m pleased for him.”
Rosicky might be seen these days as a bit-player, but at the end of a memorable weekend for football’s so-called Zombie competition he was the leading man in an Arsenal side that can also now call on Mesut Ozil and Theo Walcott.
This 3-2 FA Cup fourth-round victory over Brighton and Hove Albion began as a mismatch and ended as a classic knock-out tie, with a home side who are improving rapidly in the Championship fighting back against Premier League opponents who crossed the Rubicon at Manchester City seven days earlier.
That big road-win against the defending Premier League champions opened Arsenal’s eyes to the merits of grittiness and unity. It was an un-Arsenal type of victory, built on defensive tenacity, and topped off with just the right amount of ambition.
Arsenal carried that joy into the first half here, cuffing Brighton within two minutes, with Walcott’s driven finish. Chris Hughton’s men were on the carousel with their guests, admiring their passing, until realising that they, too, were protagonists in a game watched by a record Amex Stadium crowd of 30,278. The gap in class, though, was as wide as the local prom. In one first-half counter-attack, six Arsenal players galloped from their own half as if in a private sprint trial. They poured all over Brighton’s retreating defence.
Arsenal were able to start with their two best players on current form on the bench: Alexis Sanchez and Santi Cazorla. Francis Coquelin, a revelation at Manchester City, was also held back. Of the three, only Cazorla had the full day off. Absent altogether were Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Jack Wilshere, Danny Welbeck and Mikel Arteta.
So has Wenger ever juggled so many possible combinations? “At this stage of the season – no, never,” he said.
The boom-bust cycle of expectation that has bedevilled Arsenal since 2005 has not passed yet. Hearing the current optimistic noises, many will shout – Thierry Henry, Robert Pires, Freddie Ljungberg – to recall a time when Wenger could field a world-class forward line who also collected trophies. The point now, though, is that Arsenal can summon an impressive array of talents who can all play in more than one position and bring a different chemistry to each mix.
As Hughton said: “A difference with Arsenal now to a couple of years ago was that when they made changes they might bring in youngsters, but now they’re bringing experienced players in and they have greater depth to their squad.”
Naturally Wenger watched the Bantams beat the Heavyweights at Stamford Bridge and City lose to Middlesbrough with a sense of danger about the trip to Sussex. “After yesterday’s result we were a bit cautious,” he said. “It wakes you up, even if you are facing a Championship side.”
This is one of those points on the chart where an Arsenal surge seems feasible. The returning Walcott was super-quick and eager. Rosicky was like an old showman reminding the youngsters that he still has it. Ozil is back, looking stronger from his gym work. Cazorla and Coquelin, meanwhile, looked a fine midfield combo up at City.
“We have good momentum but let’s keep the urgency very high,” Wenger said. “We know how quickly in football momentum can die when you drop a little bit in quality. We have come from far [back] this season and we have a good opportunity to finish well. We have to show that we can compete in every single game now.”
If Wenger burns midnight oil picking teams, he never shows it. But his pen will hover longer between now and May.
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