Midfield Generals Must Marshall Wigan’s Quagmire
Add comment March 9th, 2008
Arsene Wenger’s great sides have always had a pivotal midfield partnership at their fulcrum. In the double-winning of side of 97/98, Vieira and Petit combined to form arguably the best partnership of Arsene’s tenure. The Invincibles, meanwhile, had World Cup Winning pair Vieira and Gilberto.
Last season, Gilberto and Cesc Fabregas formed a decent partnership. Although Gilberto got into double figures with his goalscoring contribution, the twosome didn’t seem to dominate the field in the way one would expect. When the Brazilian missed the start of the season by attending the Copa America, Mathieu Flamini came into the side. Arguably Flamini was only there because Diaby was injured and Lassana Diarra’s transfer from Chelsea had not yet gone through – he had spent most of the Summer being linked with a move away as he sunk further down the extensive pecking order. And yet, there he found himself – in the first team.
The rest, as they say, is history. Arsene says:
“They have a good understanding, although they are less physically strong than Patrick Vieira and Emmanuel Petit. They are very mobile going forward and are technically very good. Â Before we had players more with impact, now their strength is more about ability.”
Whilst I obviously agree with Arsene, I think he forgets that physical strength is only part of what allows Cesc and Mathieu to win the midfield battle. It is their mental fortitude – their desire to win at all costs – that makes them such a fearsome pairing.
That aspect of their game may be more important than their supreme technical ability on a horrible pitch at JJB Stadium today. Not only will they have to contend with a difficult surface, but also with certain players who appear to be more interested in taking the man than the ball – mentioning no names.
I think we may see Bendtner and Adebayor play together, with a narrow midfield of Hleb-Flamini-Gilberto-Fabregas. If we can use a direct early pass to our towering strikers well, and get the midfield forward in support, victory seems more than possible today. As Adebayor insists:
“It would be a big mistake to draw or lose at Wigan. We cannot even think about doing that after the win in the San Siro. It will be a tough game but we’re ready for it and we have to think about getting three points in every game from now on.”
ps. Wilson Palacios to score? Don’t bet against it.
