Arsenal 2 Leicester City 1: Three Things We Learned

For those justly annoyed over football's accelerating mutation into a mode of corporate consumption. For those unjustly condemnatory of a longtime, brilliant steward of Arsenal Football Club. For those weary of winter midnights and pre-dawns across the globe to witness our dreams for 20- to 35-year-old men meet the harsh realities of elite competition.

I give you Danny Welbeck in the 95th minute against Leicester City.

When the English forward returned from his 10-month injury absence and headed home to give Arsenal a critical 2-1 win over league leaders Leicester City, he joined us all in the euphoria. The joy we shared is the fundamental reason we follow sport.

Let's all pause and recognize that this Arsenal team has provided us with four such occasions already this season, in four different fashions, really: The first-half swamping of Manchester United, the brilliant rearguard action against world powers Bayern Munich, the makeshift inspiration against Manchester City, and now this, a dramatic infusion of faith.

Gratitude for those moments should be the primary thing we learned from this match. From an analytical perspective, here are three others.

Arsène Wenger's gambling instincts can still come up aces

The Arsenal manager showed he hasn't lost his taste for a bet. Instead of establishing a game plan to negate Leicester City's counterattacking strengths, Wenger sent his team out to do what they do best. The Gunners moved the ball quickly, attacked the Leicester defenders at speed, and kept plugging even when the breaks went against them.

This approach brought the rewards.

Arsenal had the better of the play in the first half, particularly in the opening 20 minutes, when the objective was obviously to score and force Leicester to spend the bulk of the match outside its defensive comfort zone. The goal didn't come, as often it doesn't, and Leicester got the break it needed when Jamie Vardy conned referee Martin Atkinson into awarding a penalty, which he dispatched.

Rather than sulk over this injustice, Arsenal started the second half assertively. The key, it turned out, was Alexis taking on Leicester right back Danny Simpson. Simpson's regular fouling of the Arsenal dynamo eventually led to a yellow card for a body block and a second yellow and expulsion for tugging back Olivier Giroud.

This handed the initiative squarely to the Gunners. Wenger took it and placed an even more substantial wager on his attackers. He replaced deep-lying midfielder Francis Coquelin with the dangerous but lately powerless Theo Walcott, who provided the cool finish that leveled the score on 70 minutes.

Then, knowing his team needed to win to legitimate their case as contenders for the league title, he sent on yet another forward, Welbeck, a player whose only action since last April consisted of 45 minutes with the Arsenal youth team.

As a result, Arsenal were fielding a goalkeeper, four defenders, one central midfielder with attacking instincts (Aaron Ramsey), playmaker Mesut Özil, and four forwards. Against a team deadly on the counterattack, even with 10 men.

Jackpot.

Arsenal can achieve top intensity

Leicester reached the Premier League summit with a combination of persistent intensity and clinical finishing. Arsenal rose to the challenge, matching the league leaders' energy and desire.

These are impossible qualities to quantify and therefore overused by those who review matches. Mentions of "desire" and "mental strength"--or the lack thereof--usually signal laziness, ignorance, or at least the absence of analysis.

In this case, though, the manager had a supportable point when he said:

We put the intensity in from the first to the last minute. It was as well a mental test for us, because to find yourself down 1-0 at half-time to a team who defends so well, you need to keep going in your head. And we came back in the second half with relentless energy. And we took as well all the risks to win it. We knew a draw was not good enough. In the end it paid off, down to the mental desire of the team to give absolutely everything to win it.

The Gunners did not let up, producing nine of their 24 shots in the last 10 minutes of the match. The last one was the best.

Olivier Giroud's fortitude founded this performance

Arsenal's overall persistence and desire took form in center forward Olivier Giroud. The Frenchman, sometimes too demonstrative in his expressions of discomfort, more than held his own in the physical battle against Leicester's hulking center halves Robert Huth and Wes Morgan.

Giroud won 13 of 20 aerial duels, according to FourFourTwo's StatsZone app, and created four chances for teammates. One of those was the strong but cultured knockdown that invited Walcott to slot home the equalizing goal.

Giroud also made two tackles, including an eye-catching one as Arsenal increased the pressure after Walcott's goal. He chased down Leicester's tireless midfielder N'Golo Kanté well into the Arsenal half and nipped the ball to Alexis.

This was one example of Giroud's willingness to leave his predictable post; at other times, he ran left and unsettled Leicester's defense. Indeed, that was where Giroud spun Simpson and drew the decisive second yellow on Leicester's right back.

Extra time

A word here for Nacho Monreal. Arsenal's outstanding left back fell victim to Vardy's machinations for the penalty. Based on his overall performance, though, he deserved to be on the winning side.

The Spaniard shut down Leicester's dangerous Riyad Mahrez for the second game, this time without the concerted assistance of midfielder Santi Cazorla. He succeeded on five of seven tackles, made nine ball recoveries, and won all three of his headers.

Monreal was also Arsenal's second most prolific passer on the day, completing 72 of 80 (90 percent). His combination with Alexis, the second most frequent for the team, and his interplay with Ramsey, tied for the third most frequent combination, suggest the team may have found a new route from defense to attack.

Arsenal 2 Bayern Munich 0: Three Things We Learned

On an incredible night at Emirates Stadium, Arsenal overcame Bayern Munich 2-0, recharging the Gunners’ UEFA Champions League campaign with a victory over the team anointed best in the world.

A scrappy set-piece goal by substitute Olivier Giroud and a stoppage-time clincher by Mesut Özil, assisted by the irrepressible Hector Bellerin, undid Bayern and made imaginable another qualification for the competition’s knockout phase. That prospect seemed remote prior to Tuesday.

Calming down enough to analyze a such an emotional match takes effort, but here are three things we think we learned from the encounter.

This Arsenal team can produce the memories

Supporters follow sport for scenarios like this: Arsenal faced a mighty opponent in a headline affair, performed solidly but without much of its trademark creativity for much of the match, then struck when the opportunities arose.

This is what so many of us look for on European nights, recognizing that the Gunners may not win the competition in the end but hoping for transcendent performances to remember. The turnaround of fortunes—the likes of which Arsenal have certainly experienced from the other side—made the magic all the more memorable.

If you can’t take a few days to enjoy that, well, you need a different pastime.

It was a different plotline from the other indelible memory of the season so far, the 3-0 dismantling of Manchester United. Unlike in that contest, Arsenal did not carry the play against Bayern. The quality of the passing, the quickness of thought and movement, the incomparable skill were not what won the day.

Instead, the Gunners were unified, determined, organized but flexible, and opportunistic. They seized the game's three decisive moments—Petr Cech’s save on the heretofore unstoppable Robert Lewandowski, Giroud’s headlong commitment in case Bayern suffered a defensive lapse, and Bellerin’s late steal, surge, and perfect pass to Özil. In the process, they generated happiness among supporters, confidence for themselves, and respect from opponents and neutrals.

No matter what happens in Munich or Athens, where qualification will likely be decided, we’ll always have the Emirates on 20 October.

This Arsenal defense is a match-winner

Tuesday's success required a comprehensive defensive performance. And that's what Arsenal delivered.

The Gunners controlled the dangerous spaces throughout the match and rendered sterile Bayern's advantage in possession. As a result, Arsenal's defensive statistics were not particularly impressive: 24 tackles, 19 interceptions, 18 clearances. (Numbers from Opta via FourFourTwo's StatsZone app)

But eight blocked shots were evidence of Arsenal's commitment and contributed to Bayern's laboring to get a clear sight of goal. The Bavarian side enjoyed just two "Big Chances," in the parlance of the StatsZone app, Lewandowski's effort midway through the second half and Thiago's pointblank shot early on. Cech was equal to the task both times.

Meanwhile, despite making just one pass for every three made by Bayern, Arsenal created four big chances and scored two of them.

Bayern looked dangerous many times, particularly left winger Douglas Costa in the first half. But when Costa escaped Bellerin, an Arsenal player was there to intercept the pass or snuff out the dribble.

On Arsenal's left, Bayern tried various approaches and personnel against Nacho Monreal. None succeeded. Thomas Müller, the lethal forward, got so little out of his battle with Monreal that he surrendered his spot on the right to Arturo Vidal, whom Monreal controlled as well. Efforts to outnumber the Gunners on that flank similarly came to nothing.

In the center, Per Mertesacker controlled the airways and Laurent Koscielny made several critical interventions as Lewandowski threatened. Just ahead of them, Francis Coquelin and Santi Cazorla attended to the dangers in Bayern's buildup play.

Those attentions did not always prove adequate, but Cech was an impregnable last line of defense, stopping all six shots Bayern put on goal.

Arsène Wenger pulled all the right levers

The Arsenal manager sent out his charges with clear directions: Control the space, not the ball. Try to frustrate Bayern. Then hit on the counterattack.

When the initial formation, with Alexis on the left and Özil farther forward, showed some vulnerabilities, the setup shifted. Alexis moved upfield closer to Theo Walcott, Özil retreated to work with Monreal on the left, and Arsenal took on a deep-lying 4-4-2 shape.

As Wenger explained, "When we were playing halfway, they opened us up too much, so I decided to drop Ozil a bit deeper and to make it tight around the box and catch them on the break because we have the pace to do it and to find some space with the game going on."

This freed Alexis, Arsenal's danger man, from the challenging defensive situation on Arsenal's left, where Müller, Thiago, and right back Philipp Lahm tried without success to overwhelm Monreal, and allowed the Chilean to pose an additional threat to Bayern's high defensive line.

Worn down by Arsenal's speed, perhaps, Bayern's central defenders had difficulty coping with the physical presence of Giroud when he replaced Walcott in the 74th minute. Three minutes later, Giroud drew a foul, fought his way through the defensive line, and capitalized when goalkeeper Manuel Neuer failed to claim Cazorla's free kick.

Extra time

Giroud is a game-changer. He delivered his fourth goal in his last six substitute appearances. He could have had another later but wasn't able to generate the necessary power to his free header. The Frenchman was also an outlet for Arsenal's back line for the 17 minutes in the lead and shored up Arsenal's set-piece defending during the final stretch of this famous victory.

Newcastle 0 Arsenal 1: Three Things We Learned

Arsenal dominated 10-man Newcastle on Saturday but needed a Fabricio Coloccini own goal to secure a 1-0 victory at St. James’ Park.

A speedy attacking lineup, featuring Theo Walcott and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, struggled to provide much more excitement than the more conventional group that had started the scoreless draw with Liverpool. The lack of stimulation largely resulted from Newcastle’s defensive stance after the 15^th-minute red card to striker Aleksandar Mitrovic.

His expulsion and Arsenal’s long numerical advantage make it hard to draw any broad conclusions from the match. Still, we learned a few things about Arsenal; here are three.

Arsenal cede possession only in extraordinary circumstances

In the first 15 minutes of the match, Arsenal posed a real threat, primarily because Newcastle were aggressive offensively. When they weren’t committing fouls in an effort to win back the ball quickly, the home side sent players forward and presented Arsenal with the space to pass and move.

This dynamic changed with the Mitrovic red card. Newcastle then retreated, allowing Arsenal freedom over three quarters of the pitch and clogging the final quarter with ten defenders. Arsenal had two basic choices in this situation:

1. Control possession and try to pick apart the Newcastle defense
2. Cede a bit of the possession and exploit the space Newcastle had left open

It’s not a surprise that Arsenal chose option #1. It capitalizes on the Gunners’ quickness of passing and thought and is the less risky choice.

The problem is that it requires extreme precision because the opposition can foil the attack with proper determination and positioning. Those qualities have proven Newcastle’s strengths early in the season, for example in the excellent rear-guard action against Manchester United at Old Trafford the previous week.

Option #2 would have been a riskier proposition. Imagine the outcry—“We were up a man! Why did we let them have so much of the ball?!?”—especially if Newcastle had used the possession allowed them to threaten the Arsenal goal. For that reason, we witnessed the familiar sight of Arsenal making short passes from side to side around the Newcastle penalty area.

And the exceptions to that rule, such as those we saw at Manchester City and West Ham in the 2014-15 season, will continue to stand out.

Theo Walcott’s days on the right are over

Walcott got the nod over Olivier Giroud as Arsenal’s starting center forward, which manager Arsène Wenger explained had anticipated a different approach from Newcastle:

I expected more space for Theo Walcott. At the start, it looked quite promising, but after 15 minutes, it was a different problem for us. There was no space behind their defenders, the service through their lines was very difficult, and they defended well.

Walcott had two good looks at goal, failed to convert either of them, and did not get involved much otherwise.

But this isn’t about Walcott as a center forward. If he was struggling there, Oxlade-Chamberlain was just as ineffective on the right side of Arsenal’s attack. His touch seemed off, his passes went awry, and his efforts to win back the ball were halfhearted. Oxlade-Chamberlain failed both his take-on attempts, completed only 89 percent of his passes compared with the team’s 92 percent rate, and made only one tackle and one interception.

Under those circumstances, a plausible move would have been to introduce Giroud and move Walcott right. Walcott’s minimal defensive contribution wouldn’t have caused major issues because Newcastle wasn’t attacking much and Hector Bellerin was putting in a solid performance at right back. His quickness and knack for a cross could have opened the Newcastle defense in a different way from the right.

Wenger’s decision, though, was to substitute Giroud for Walcott after 70 minutes. That’s a hint that Walcott’s three-year campaign to play center forward has been successful, but at the price of any involvement on the right side.

No one is making a strong case to lead the Arsenal line

This might be an obvious point about an attacking contingent that’s scored just once in four matches. It’s worth emphasizing, because despite Arsenal’s improved shooting accuracy against Newcastle, it was still found wanting.

After three matches in which only 30 percent of Arsenal’s shots were on goal, the team got nine of 22 on frame in Newcastle. That’s a 40 percent rate of accuracy. Many lacked conviction, though, with Walcott’s two first-half attempts and Giroud’s late lob job standing out as especially weak.

Walcott and Giroud were the top candidates for the striker role entering the season, and neither has made the position his own. Will Wenger keep faith in the pair, give Danny Welbeck a shot when he returns from injury, or move Alexis to the tip of the attack? All seem reasonable options given the trends.

Unless, of course, all evidence to the contrary, Mr. World-Class Striker appears at Arsenal’s London Colney training ground by 1800h GMT on Tuesday, the close of the transfer window.

Extra Time: This is what happens when referees respond properly to bullying tactics

There’s no more irritating sight in sport than a manager fulminating against referees when his own team’s illegal acts are called out. Newcastle’s Steve McLaren is the latest culprit. He gesticulated, grew more red-faced than normal, and later complained to the media about the red card and the six other cautions issued his team by referee Andre Marriner. But any observer not bloodthirsty saw that the deliberate aggression was rightly punished.

Community Shield Match Preview, Chelsea v. Arsenal: Full of Sound and Fury

Arsenal's Community Shield meeting with Chelsea on Sunday carries interest but no meaning.

The English media's reliance on the lazy and hackneyed narrative -- Wenger and Mourinho square off! -- just shows the insignificance of the Wembley affair. It's a glorified friendly, the last live-action preparation for the start of the Premier League campaign the following weekend.

Although Arsenal supporters would like to see the Gunners continue their impressive pre-season form, close out their spotless record, and lay down a marker with the league champions, none of those accomplishments will have any bearing on the season to come.

Let's not forget that Arsenal blitzed Manchester City 3-0 in last year's installment, then won just two of its first eight league matches. By January 1, 2015, it had compiled the fewest points (33) from its first 20 matches in the 19 years of Wenger's tenure. The year before, Manchester United won the event and went on to a seventh-place league finish.

So we should draw no conclusions about Arsenal's prospects from Sunday's outcome.

That's not to say we shouldn't be interested in what transpires, as long as we keep it in the proper perspective. Any time Arsenal is in action, we can deepen our understanding of the team and how it plays. Here are some questions to keep in mind during Sunday's encounter:

1.  Will this be a real workout?

It'll be interesting to see whether Mourinho constructs and instructs his side to thwart Arsenal's offense. That would be true to form but counterproductive in this preparatory exhibition match. A cagey affair, in which neither side gets the chance to stretch its legs, wouldn't serve the objective of improving physical readiness for the season ahead.

A free-flowing encounter would contribute to better fitness; it would also favor Arsenal, provided the Arsenal defense maintains its discipline. The Gunners' speed of thought, movement, and passing generally exceeds Chelsea's, so the more open the play, the more likely Arsenal's advantage.

2.  What influence will Petr Cech have?

Arsenal's headline summer acquisition will face his longtime bosses and teammates straightaway. Any specific insights he might share about Chelsea's approach may not determine the outcome of this match; after all, the managers and the players know each other fairly well.

What will be interesting to watch is Cech's interactions with Arsenal's defense. If he provides calm leadership and deals with the threats to his goal in this high-profile but low-pressure encounter, then he could bring stability throughout the league campaign. That will make the difference that Arsenal sought when it acquired him.

3.  What clues will we have about the manager's preferred starting XI?

In the pre-season matches so far, Wenger has varied his selections, working on the fitness of all the players and experimenting with combinations. These mixes of players have been intriguing and successful in the context of the pre-season. The four  matches have also emphasized the substantial depth Arsenal enjoy at just about every position, even with leading scorer Alexis Sanchez yet to return from holiday and Danny Welbeck sidelined with injury.

But we still don't have much of an idea of Wenger's thinking on several personnel decisions. In particular, how does he balance the contributions of both Santi Cazorla and Aaron Ramsey, who bring different strengths to the central midfield role? There have been occasions when they functioned as a midfield pair, but that required the removal of Francis Coquelin and his defensive energy and skill. Not the best setup against high-quality opposition.

Jack Wilshere also has to fit into the puzzle somehow. He's taken up a more advanced position frequently this pre-season, following a brief stint on the flanks as last season ended. Wenger may reveal more of his intentions for Wilshere, and for the first XI overall, on Sunday. He did send out the same starting lineup in last year's Community Shield and in the league opener against Crystal Palace six days later. Then again, several key players -- Olivier Giroud, Per Mertesacker, and Mesut Özil -- weren't ready.

4.  What will happen at center forward?

The different strengths of Giroud and Theo Walcott allow Wenger some flexibility in his choice of center forward. Walcott is less tested in that role against top-level defenders, but his speed could trouble Chelsea as it has in the past.

Another benefit of a Walcott center forward run-out would be to shield Giroud from the battering he'd take from Chelsea's galoots in central defense. The Frenchman will endure beatings from defenses for 10 months, including physical tests in the first two weeks of the league season, so limiting his exposure in this exhibition match makes some sense.

On the other hand, Wenger may want to prime the chemistry and relationships in attack for the league campaign, which would point to a Giroud start. A peach of a goal like the one he scored in the 2014 affair might send him off to a strong scoring start.

"Might" is the operative word in all these observations, because the connections between Sunday and the league campaign are iffy at best. The day could be mildly informative and enjoyable should Arsenal notch a win over Chelsea, but it signifies nothing about the team's prospects.

A Season of Arsenal Ribbons

Seeking the superlatives of Arsenal's 2014-15 season, we could find a bounty in the 4-0 FA Cup Final victory over Aston Villa. It featured contenders for goal of the season in Alexis Sanchez's magnificent second-half strike, for the year's best midfield performance from Santi Cazorla and Mesut Özil, for its most canny and organized defensive display, and for its most confident goalkeeping work.

To call off the search with Saturday's match, though, would be to neglect many captivating events, performances, and developments since August 2014. You'll no doubt read and hear many opinions on the standard categories, such as goal of the season and player of the season, in upcoming days.

I've chosen a different framework to describe what this Arsenal season offered: Nine perhaps offbeat categories to capture the entertainment, engagement, and (rarely) enragement sparked by the 2014-15 Arsenal team. Within each category, I identified three standouts and bestowed them with ribbons. This seems an apt award system after Saturday's Cup Final success: Yellow goes to the top choice in each category; the second choice gets a red ribbon; third earns a white one.

Moment of the season

Yellow: Danny Welbeck's goal against Manchester United (a), FA Cup (appears at 3:20 mark of this video)
Red: Olivier Giroud's goal against Manchester City (a), Premier League (1:35 mark of this video)
White: The reaction to Aaron Ramsey's goal against Galatasaray (a), Champions League (especially by Yaya Sanogo and Wojciech Szczesny)

A successful season features many memorable moments, and Arsenal's did not disappoint. For me, Danny Welbeck's winner at Old Trafford takes top prize, because it reversed years of frustration there, overcame the biggest challenge to defending the FA Cup, and highlighted Welbeck's quality to his boyhood club. The goal also resulted from the new, energetic pressing style that Arsenal employed to great effect in several matches.

Second goes to Olivier Giroud's headed goal to make it 2-0 at City, sealing a win that showed the team's ability to rise to big occasions. I also liked the reactions to Ramsey's cracking Champions League goal because they hinted in a humorous fashion at the team's growing unity.

Skill of the season

Yellow: Mesut Özil's flicks, such as the one to Alexis against Hull (a) (video)
Red: Özil's shimmies, such as the one against Liverpool (h) (4:50 of this video)
White: Santi Cazorla's dribbles, especially against Manchester City (a) (2:55 of this video)

When Arsenal's midfield returned to health in February, the team jelled and compiled a string of victories unmatched in the Premier League this season. The driving forces were Cazorla, deployed in a deeper role near Francis Coquelin, and Özil, given license as the primary playmaker. The pair's intelligence, vision, and skill create space and time for themselves and their teammates and make them two athletic marvels.

Unsung hero of the season

Yellow: Nacho Monreal
Red: Mikel Arteta
White: Danny Welbeck

Monreal made 32 appearances this season, including seven out of position in the center of the Arsenal defense. In his efforts there, he always did what was asked, then used the experience to excel upon his return to left back. His opening goal in the FA Cup against Manchester City was crucial, and his performance in the Cup Final outstanding.

Arteta spent all but 10 matches sidelined with injury; still, his calmness and professionalism as captain set the tone for the team. He also relished the success of his eventual replacement Francis Coquelin. Third spot goes to Welbeck for his three critical match-winning goals on the road--against West Brom and West Ham in the League, as well as against United in the Cup--and his tireless contributions to the team's emerging style.

Sub of the season

Yellow: Theo Walcott and Jack Wilshere against Manchester United (a)
Red: Giroud against Everton (a)
White: Tomas Rosicky against Everton (h)

The choices here all made telling contributions off the bench. Walcott and Wilshere supplied the energy and drive needed to overcome United's dominant midfield performance. When Walcott's effort deflected into United's goal, it rewarded the pair's efforts and all but clinched Arsenal's third-place league finish.

Giroud's introduction against Everton changed the dynamic of that match; his late equalizer was early evidence of this team's grit. Rosicky makes the list because his goal secured the home win against Everton and because of his overall awesomeness.

Cynical foul of the season

Yellow: Ramsey against Manchester United (a), FA Cup
Red: Cazorla against Chelsea (h)
White: Gabriel Paulista against Reading (n), FA Cup

You won't find these contributions in many highlight reels, but they're notable signs of this team's maturity. At important points in important matches, Ramsey, Cazorla, and Gabriel took yellow cards to snuff out opposition threats. Cazorla's foul was one of three delivered late against Chelsea to stop counterattacks, while Gabriel displayed his willingness to flatten an opponent before danger could materialize.

Set piece of the season

Yellow: Özil free kick against Liverpool (h) (6:12 of this video)
Red: Alexis corner to Giroud against Middlesbrough (h), FA Cup (1:25 of this video)
White: Cazorla free kick to Giroud against Manchester City (a) (1:35 of this video)

According to OptaSports data on Squawka.com, Arsenal ranked third in the Premier League with 22 goals from set pieces. For their combination of timeliness, quality, and importance, I chose Özil's free kick against Liverpool, which capitalized on Liverpool goalkeeper Simon Mignolet's positioning to solidify Arsenal's advantage in that match, and Cazorla's delivery to Giroud for the definitive goal against Manchester City.

Also noteworthy was Alexis's corner preceding Giroud's second goal against Middlesbrough, when the pair's quick combined thinking paved the way for Giroud's execution of a difficult skill.

Personnel puzzler of the season

Yellow: Leaving Alexis on the bench for Tottenham (h)
Red: The great midfield shoehorn of 2014, featuring Wilshere and Ramsey
White: Starting Yaya Sanogo against Dortmund (h)

Although most of manager Arsène Wenger's decisions proved justified over the full season, it would be interesting to hear him reflect on some of the season's choices, particularly the reluctance to use Alexis from the outset in the fall North London Derby. Given that he had already delivered in a high-stakes match, the Champions League qualifier against Besiktas, Alexis seemed just the player for this occasion. If he needed resting, the Capital One Cup match against Southampton four days earlier looked a better bet.

Wenger could also clarify the rationale for deploying both Ramsey and Wilshere in central midfield, which complicated other early season adjustments. Sanogo's opener against Dortmund silenced questions about his inclusion, but at the time he seemed an odd choice in a meaningful Champions League encounter.

Brain fart of the season

Yellow: Southampton (a), featuring Szczesny
Red: Monaco (h) Champions League, featuring Per Mertesacker and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain
White: Swansea (a), featuring Mathieu Flamini

The then-number-one goalkeeper's fumbling performance, followed by his nicotine-fueled dressing-room indiscretion, tops this category by some distance. David Ospina replaced him and held the starting job for Arsenal's remaining League matches. The other two choices here were surges of tactical naivete when the motivation to score overwhelmed good sense. The good news is that these occasions arose less frequently than in seasons past.

Missed opportunity of the season

Yellow: Giroud misses a pointblank shot against Monaco (h), Champions League (1:08 of this video, for the sadists)
Red: Alexis & Walcott miss in succession against Swansea (h) (5:20 of this video)
White: Alexis pulls a shot wide against Crystal Palace (a) (4:53 of this video)

Let's not dwell on the failures. We can note them and revisit them on days we're feeling particularly morose. The one point I'd  make is that, from a style perspective, Alexis's chance against Crystal Palace would have been a wonderful 26th goal. It would have capped a perfect counterattack and served as a fitting finish of Özil's ingenious lob to himself and deft pass.

Such scintillating plays became more commonplace in 2015 and defined the performance in the FA Cup Final. They're just reward for the off days, which were compelling in their own ways. I've tried to highlight both here to remind us of our good fortune to follow such an extraordinary sporting endeavor.

Arsenal's Defining Mindset

As the 2014-15 Premier League season draws to a close, Arsenal's manager Arsène Wenger and his players have begun talking about the prospects for next season. One underlying theme of their statements is the type of players the club is likely to retain and recruit, a topic always of interest to supporters.

The easing of the financial burden associated with the Emirates Stadium construction means that Arsenal are again in the market for top-flight talent and will compete with other elite clubs for those players. Among those clubs, physical skill is almost a given and, on balance, does not separate the teams much: For an Eden Hazard at Chelsea, there's a Mesut Özil at Arsenal and a David Silva at Manchester City.

What does set the clubs apart from each other is a finely honed mentality. An exacting mindset, combined with a fortunate-bordering-on-sinister injury record, drove Chelsea to the league title.

At Arsenal, players' mental constitution is emerging as the decisive factor in Wenger's selections for his starting lineups and squads. This filter identifies players based on three major aspects:

1. Decision-making
2. Response to pressure
3. Long-term outlook

Make mature and quick decisions

The players who've earned the manager's trust over the course of this season have been able to strike a balance between patience and decisiveness. Relying on both maturity and agility of mind, they wait for the appropriate moment to act and know what to do when that moment comes.

The prime example of this dynamic is midfielder Francis Coquelin. Loaned out three times, virtually forgotten, and seemingly destined to leave Arsenal this summer, Coquelin was an emergency recall from Charlton in December and by January had made himself essential to this Arsenal team.

He's a combative character in matches, but he has also shown the levelheadedness that Wenger values. As the manager said in describing Coquelin at a recent Barclays event, "It's unbelievable how patient and open-minded you have to be." (Arsenal.com, "Coquelin sticks to what he's strong at")

The counter-example is goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny. His nicotine-fueled indiscretions after his poor performance in Arsenal's 2-0 defeat at Southampton laid bare his poor decision-making, prompted Wenger to bench him, and cast doubt on his Arsenal future.

Thrive under pressure

A second psychological requirement of Wenger's players is their willingness to embrace pressure. I have written about this quality, which psychologists call "resilience," in "Mesut Özil Plays for Arsenal, and You Do Not." In short, Arsenal favors players who view the intense attention and stakes of elite competition as opportunities to improve performance.

It's a mindset now common in the team. Center forward Olivier Giroud, the object of considerable scrutiny during his Arsenal career, spoke about the group's response to pressure in a feature on the club Website. He said: "Nowadays you have to deal with that pressure. There is more media now, and social media as well - it is more than in the 1990s. But I like pressure, and the boys do as well." (" You must be able to deal with pressure")

As a result, we see the team panic less often. For example, when Chelsea visited the Emirates in April with the clear intention of preventing Arsenal scoring, the Gunners did not go headlong into attack and leave themselves exposed to a counter-attack. This patient approach has been at work for much of 2015 when Arsenal have failed to establish an early lead in matches.

Take the long view

Meanwhile, on an individual level, we've seen players bounce back quickly from poor performances. Giroud's response to his nightmare Champions League outing against Monaco--seven goals in his next seven starts--was not out of character for him or this team. They've been able to put specific performances, particularly subpar ones such as Monday's loss to Swansea, into the proper perspective. One reason is that, unlike fans and the media, Arsenal's players are viewing their work as part of a long-term effort.

Tim of 7amkickoff has frequently noted that Wenger manages for the long term. That description is backed up by the manager's own statements, such as "Sometimes in the modern professional game [it] is, 'OK. I go two years to Arsenal, I go two years to Real Madrid.' But that doesn't make a club. You need a core of people who want to live there and want to make their lives with the club."

This philosophy seems like a fatal weakness. After all, it runs against the overwhelming trend among professional footballers, who by and large focus on their immediate, individual prospects. That's the conclusion of Bobby Warshaw, a former Stanford player currently in the Norwegian first division, in his intriguing piece, " Understanding the European Players' Mindset is Key to Understanding Klinsmann."

But what if, rather than weakening Arsenal's position, Wenger's preference for players committed to the long-term cause helps identify exceptional contributors? What if this highly refined filter gives Arsenal a competitive advantage in a business characterized by short-term prestige and financial gain?

Identifying players in this way and showing long-term faith in them are having an effect on their progress and perspective. Coquelin, for instance, recounted his difficult days on loan at the German club Freiburg in an interview with The Observer's Amy Lawrence: "Mentally it was tough. Then one day I woke up and realised: ‘OK, I am not going to play. Now I am training to be ready for next season at Arsenal.'" ("Francis Coquelin is the new Arsenal king of counter-bling")

Coquelin's statement provides evidence that Wenger's long view is present among players as well. Listen carefully to their statements as summer transfers approach. If they hint at a longer time horizon, emphasize the value of pressure, or talk about patience, those players could be in Wenger's plans. If they ignore those mental aspects and stress near-term reward, their short- and long-term futures may lie away from Arsenal.

The Özil Yin and the Alexis Yang

Since Arsenal playmaker Mesut Özil returned to full-time action in late January, questions have arisen about his compatibility with new teammate Alexis. The two have joined forces in seven matches in 2015, during which Alexis has scored just one goal. That's a significant dropoff from his 13-goal production in 18 games without Özil.

This trend has troubled some supporters and commentators, because they see the integration of these two stars as the key to Arsenal's progress. After all, the club paid the two highest transfer fees in the club's history in 2013 and 2014, respectively, to acquire these remarkable players. In the process, Arsenal signaled its reemergence as a prime destination for world-class talent.

These concerns are misplaced. That's because seven matches, plus 531 minutes in eight matches in fall 2014, don't represent a large enough sample size to declare the two mismatched. More to the point, a close study of their playing styles and ability suggests that the two can emerge as ideal complements.

Playing personalities that jibe

Armchair psychoanalysis of professional athletes is always questionable. We've never spoken with them, and, by and large, we wouldn't be qualified to draw clinical conclusions even if we had met them. We are also wrong to expect elite athletes to behave like we would in high-stakes performance environments; as I've written in "Mesut Özil Plays for Arsenal, and You Do Not," their success depends on their acting not like us.

That said, we can observe their playing personalities. Alexis is all visible action, taking on defenders, pressing with abandon, relishing the spolight. Özil operates in the shadows, exploiting the space no one else sees, directing his teammates into promising positions for themselves, deflecting the attention.

These descriptions give rise to an interesting analysis of Alexis as extrovert and Özil as introvert. FourFourTwo's Chas Newly-Burden lays out this case in a compelling fashion in "Özil, Ronaldo, and Football's Distrust of Introverts."

Because football is a team game, though, what matters is how the players work together. Do their styles, preferences, and abilities -- combined and integrated with those of their teammates -- enhance Arsenal's chances of success?

Complementary expertise

Reasonable supporters, football experts, and appreciators of athletic skill and choreography can't honestly conclude that Arsenal would be a better side without Alexis and/or Özil. The suggestion that the two can't flourish also ignores substantial evidence.

In addition to raising the squad's overall levels of quality and play, Özil and Alexis are an almost ideal attacking partnership. It's been argued that Alexis's reluctance to stay in wide areas, shown by his tendency to dribble toward the center, often crowds Özil out of the Arsenal attack. With a less imaginative playmaker, that might be a legitimate concern. But thanks to Özil's vision and refined sense of playing space, Alexis's forays actually create the conditions in which Özil thrives.

Alexis's zealous excursions, even when they aren't successful, force defenses to change their shapes. In the process, they leave space unoccupied, and Özil is probably the best in the world at identifying that space before anyone else and in exploiting the resulting weakness.

The most striking recent example of this phenomenon occurred in Monaco during the second leg of Arsenal's 2-0 win in the Champions League Round of 16. The play preceded Arsenal's second goal and appears in this video starting at the 8:25 mark.

For the entire match, Monaco had been surrounding Alexis with two, three, and sometimes four players. Özil recognized this tendency and the weakness it created elsewhere.

In this instance, Özil has the ball when Alexis drifts parallel to goal, just outsize the penalty area. Monaco midfielder Geoffrey Kondogbia is between the two Arsenal players, but that's not enough coverage to execute Monaco's gameplan.

So Monaco's right midfielder Dirar and right back Fabinho both step toward Alexis. This leaves a gaping hole down Arsenal's left for left back Nacho Monreal to exploit. Özil spots the space and Monreal's run and lifts a pass over all the Monaco defenders, catching Monreal in stride and allowing him to cut the ball back to Theo Walcott. Walcott's shot off the post rebounds to Aaron Ramsey, who shoots home.

Adapting to opponents' adaptations

This combination of awareness and skill is essential because the majority of opponents, like Monaco, are now hyper-conscious of the threat Alexis poses. Premier League sides Crystal Palace, Everton, and Newcastle were all notable in their focus on Alexis, double- and triple-teaming him in an apparent effort to force other Arsenal players to beat them. Indeed, center forward Olivier Giroud's impressive productivity in recent matches might be a consequence of this defensive attention on Alexis.

The player heatmaps and other visualizations on whoscored.com (originating with OptaSports) and the match chalkboards on Arsenal.com show the priority many opponents are now placing on stopping Alexis. Everton sent out three defensive-minded central midfielders, Gareth Barry, James McCarthy, and Muhamed Besic, two of whom largely focused on Alexis's side of the pitch, Arsenal's left. All but one of Barry's and McCarthy's successful tackles occurred on that side, and all their interceptions happened there.

Arsenal varied its attacks as a result. It pushed forward on its left 37 percent of the time, right 37 percent, and centrally 27 percent.

Against Crystal Palace, the attacks went predominantly down the left (again, 37 percent), where Alexis spent most of his time. Palace's primary method of coping with Alexis was to foul him. He drew four fouls, the most among Arsenal players in that match, contributing to his total of 57. That's the fourth-highest figure in the Premier League. (Stats from OptaSports via whoscored.com and from PremierLeague.com.)

These decisions by opponents might be related to Alexis's reduced goalscoring, as much if not more than his tiring or misfiring are. Whatever the mix of factors, the genius and skill of Özil have intervened to provide the perfect complement and to lead Arsenal to success so far in 2015.

The Good, the Bad, the Amazingly Coiffed Olivier Giroud

Arsenal center forward Olivier Giroud received widespread condemnation for his performance in the club's 3-1 home Champions League defeat to Monaco. The criticism wasn't entirely unwarranted: Giroud had misfired on six shots, failed to complete eight of his 18 passes, and went off defeated midway through the second half.

The interesting development wasn't Giroud's failure in that match; it was his response. When manager Arsène Wenger trusted Giroud with a starting spot four days after the Monaco loss, he scored Arsenal's crucial opening goal against Everton. He did the same three days after that against Queen's Park Rangers.

"He's strong mentally," Wenger said of his compatriot after Wednesday's match. "He can take some criticism and respond. He's shown that. I feel it was a bit harsh for him because he missed some chances. That can happen."

This fortitude, which few people outside professional athletic circles can comprehend, may make Giroud the ideal Arsenal striker from a psychological perspective.

How to stand tall in a storm

Center forwards at Arsenal are lightning rods. Fans, pundits, and other observers see the shortcomings of the leader of the team's attacking line and use that criticism to bash Wenger. There are three main reasons for this:

1. Many watch football for the exploits of goal scorers
2. The model of the Arsenal striker was established and perfected by Thierry Henry
3. The "value-oriented" approach to player acquisition has been most obvious in pursuit of strikers

Until the summer of 2014, when the dearth of world-class central defenders drove the price of David Luiz to £50 million, acquiring an elite forward was the transaction most subject to the irrational forces of the player transfer market. (I wrote about this last summer in "Who Is This Mythical Arsenal Striker?") It just wasn't possible to get the services of a proven goalscorer for the prices Arsenal have been able or willing to pay. Arsenal supporters bemoaned this reality and its implications for their club's standing among the elites.

These laments, of course, conveniently overlook the status of Henry when Arsenal bought him from Juventus. Although the club paid a record £11 million to acquire him in 1999, Henry had only scored three goals in one season at Juventus and a total of 28 in five previous seasons with Monaco.

Yet he emerged as the top striker of the Premier League era and the ideal in that position among Arsenal supporters--the thin, fast, cool, smart, and lethal predator. That became the aesthetic expectation.

Giroud, much like the Henry of 1999, does not meet this expectation. However, his mental makeup appears to equip him perfectly for the current football culture. He is confident but not so confident that he doesn't recognize the need to improve, particularly in the face of direct competition from newcomer Danny Welbeck. He acknowledges criticism but does not let it paralyze him. And he risks failure to achieve success. (Without engaging in too much armchair psychoanalysis here, I must note that Giroud's handsomeness might be an asset in all these respects.)

Improvements in skill and instinct

Many have analyzed Giroud's awareness, strength, and touch and have deemed him vital to Arsenal's style of play. Without those attributes, the skillful attacking play of Santi Cazorla, Mesut Özil, Jack Wilshere, Aaron Ramsey, and Tomas Rosicky and the speed of Alexis Sanchez, Theo Walcott, Welbeck, and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain lack a foundation. His three-month absence due to injury in the second Premier League match of the season coincided with the team's most tentative offensive displays.

Since his return in late November, Giroud has shown newly keen instincts in front of goal, finding or creating space in crowded areas and scoring timely goals. His savvy is a major reason that Arsenal's performance on set pieces has improved so dramatically: Through 28 matches, Arsenal have scored 10 goals from free kicks and corners this season, compared with eight all of last season. (From Squawka.com's Team Rankings)

We saw this contribution on his goal against Everton. As his teammate Gabriel ran toward the near post, Giroud pulled back into the space Gabriel and his marker Gareth Barry had vacated, just slipping away from Everton defender John Stones. Giroud then caught Özil's cross on the volley with his weaker right foot and directed it into the far corner of the net.

Against Middlesbrough in the FA Cup, Giroud spotted empty space at the near post, a frequent hunting ground for him, darted toward it and volleyed Alexis's quickly taken corner into the net with his left foot. He was also expertly positioned to prod home a rebound against Crystal Palace and a blocked shot against QPR.

These four recent Giroud goals indicate a varied approach, an important quality that prevents defenders from predicting the location or timing of the danger he poses.

Numbers among the best

As a result, Giroud has emerged as one of the top strikers in the Premier League. He's not the absolute best, as Henry was, but he is competitive with other widely lauded forwards. The stats below from OptaSports via whoscored.com provide evidence of Giroud's growing stature:

He's fractionally behind Manchester City's Sergio Aguero and Chelsea's Diego Costa in goals per 90 minutes and level with Tottenham's Harry Kane, while scoring more from fewer shots than all of them except Costa.

These aren't the numbers of the worthless lug many Arsenal supporters have portrayed Giroud to be. Instead, Giroud appears to be making remarkable progress. His goal production per 90 minutes was 0.4 in his first Arsenal season and improved only slightly to 0.5 in 2013-14. Those came from 4.1 and 3.3 shots per 90 minutes, respectively.

His current 0.8 goals per 90 minutes ratio would, over the course of a full season, amount to something in the neighborhood of 30 goals. Although we should be wary of projecting a full season's performance from one particularly productive period, it's possible that Giroud is becoming the perfect combination of mentality and skill to lead the Arsenal line.

Arsenal's Pressing Problem

In Arsenal's last two Premier League matches away from home, Tottenham and Crystal Palace pressed the Gunners aggressively. This activity stymied Arsenal's flow in midfield, the foundation of its offense, and put its defense under pressure.

Many statistics from these games show just how effective this tactic proved. Arsenal were outshot in both matches, but more telling was how much Arsenal struggled to move the ball. The team completed just 72 percent of its passes against Palace and 70 percent against Tottenham. Those figures fall far below Arsenal's season average of 83 percent, which ranks fifth in the Premier League. (Stats from OptaSports via WhoScored.com.)

The risk-reward tradeoff favors opponents

Meanwhile, the major risk of a pressing approach did not materialize. It's thought that a team might succeed in pressing Arsenal for a limited period of time; when the opposition's legs and concentration weaken, Arsenal can profit.

But neither Palace nor Spurs exhausted itself by pressing. On the contrary, the tactic seemed to wear Arsenal down, creating late lapses that led to goals. 

The successes of these two opponents, and those earlier in the season of Borussia Dortmund and Liverpool, could encourage others to take a similar approach when they host Arsenal. (Listen to this week's Arsecast Extra Episode 56 for an apprehensive discussion of this possibility.)

Arsenal manager Arsène Wenger won't be surprised by this development. After all, aggressive pressing damaged his side in several high-profile away matches of the 2013-14 campaign. Partially in response, he and his staff installed a 4-1-4-1 setup to relieve the pressure on the midfield, focus on covering space, and enable greater flexibility. (See "A Look at Arsenal's Move to the 4-1-4-1.")

Given that Arsenal haven't been able to enjoy these advantages consistently, it's worth exploring other solutions to the bedevilling pressing tactics.

Going airborne

There seem to be two general answers to the assertive press: 1. Go over it; 2. Go through it.

One way to go over the press more effectively would be to return Wojciech Szczesny to the starting goalkeeper spot. Although Szczesny has made some questionable decisions distributing the ball against the high press, notably leading to Tottenham's opening goal at the Emirates in September's 1-1 draw, he varies his passing more than does current first-choice David Ospina.

As Tim Stillman observes in his recent Arseblog column "Ospina and Szczesny Keep the Debate Going," Szczesny has relied on the long ball much less than Ospina has. The Polish keeper has averaged 4.9 long balls and 23.3 passes per match over his 17 Premier League appearances this season, while his Colombian teammate has made, on average, 14 long balls and 28.8 passes per match in seven league appearances.

Granted, Szczesny has often played without center forward Olivier Giroud, while Giroud has provided a target for Ospina in six of his seven League appearances. That may explain some of the discrepancy, as Stillman admits. Ospina seems to aim most of his kicks at the striker, making it simpler for the opposition to defend. And those kicks haven't been especially long, meaning that the opponents' pressing midfield can swarm Giroud and his midfield passing outlets.

This points to another adjustment to bypass the press--offer a different aerial outlet. We saw this alternative at Palace, as Mesut Özil occupied an advanced position, received some long passes, and controlled the ball to relieve pressure. Arsenal could also move Danny Welbeck up the pitch for goal kicks, giving the goalkeeper another target and dividing defenders' attention. A third option might appear when right back Mathieu Debuchy returns from injury; he's an effective relief valve and long-ball target, much as his predecessor Bacary Sagna was.

Arsenal could also vary the source of the long ball, launching from one of the defenders or a deep-lying midfielder. Mikel Arteta's absence makes this choice less appealing. He attempted, on average, 5.7 long passes per game over the 2012-13 and 2013-14 Premier League campaigns, completing an average of 5.0. Contrast Arteta's work in that regard to the passing of Francis Coquelin, who has attempted just two long passes and completed 1.2, on average, during his 11 Premier League appearances this season.

The land route

The downsides of the aerial approach are the sacrifices of possession and control as well as the invitation of more pressure on the midfield. If the long pass doesn't stick or isn't long enough, the opposition can close down Arsenal quickly. That's why the second approach -- going through the press, is appealing.

The problem is that the best personnel to provide that response were not available at Tottenham or Palace. Arteta's calmness on the ball and passing efficiency would have helped this terrestrial approach. Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain'a speed and power may have allowed him to elude and out-muscle aggressive opponents. (See "The Ox Rocks Arsenal 3.0.") Even Jack Wilshere, using ball control and quick surges, might have succeeded in getting through the perilous midfield.

Staying the course

Wenger may weigh these options and decide, based on the personnel at his disposal, to maintain the team's tactics against pressing sides. That would not be an unreasonable decision, especially given the requirement that pressing be precise, tireless, and comprehensive or risk leaving gaps that Arsenal's quick movement, thought, and passing can exploit.

Arsenal's depth also serves the existing approach because it allows the manager to introduce a high-energy substitute like Tomas Rosicky or a high-speed sub like Theo Walcott just as the opponents' energies wane.

The experiences at Tottenham and Palace do suggest, though, that Arsenal's play cannot be passive. The lesson is that even if the Gunners concede possession and look to counter-attack, they need to engage actively for the full period of play.