Arsenal FC is one of FC Bayern’s favorite opponents in the Champions League. The Munich team prevailed in all knockout duels, and there were also mostly victories in the group phase. The German record champions even won the last three comparisons 5-1. But in the upcoming quarter-finals (April 9th/17th), another victory of this magnitude is unlikely. Because Arsenal FC is now extremely strong defensively. This calendar year, the club only conceded seven goals in twelve games, they have the best defense in the Premier League – and on Sunday they confirmed this impressively in the top game at Manchester City, with a 0-0 draw.
Arsenal coach Mikel Arteta seemed prepared to sacrifice even a possible success of his own for a game without conceding a goal. His team consistently retreated to their own penalty area and stopped the flow of the game at every opportunity. In the end, City had 72 percent possession of the ball – a value that even Manchester almost only achieves against relegation candidates. For the first time in 57 home games, the team remained scoreless.
When asked how such a stubborn defense could be overcome, City coach Pep Guardiola quipped in the press conference: “Kill someone!” City failed to score against Arsenal in the first half of the season, also because Arteta, as a former Guardiola assistant, is unable to analyze any other team better than City. He recently established two midfield formations at Arsenal, which are used depending on the state of the game. In the offensive option, clearer Declan Rice, playmaker Martin Odegaard and offensive all-rounder Kai Havertz work together; In defense, the DFB international moves forward into the attack and Jorginho strengthens the center for him. Against City, Arteta naturally chose the latter option. The match sometimes seemed like one-way street football, which led to a dead end for City with no real chance to score.
The beneficiary of the 0-0 draw is Liverpool FC
Only Jürgen Klopp was probably enjoying this halting attack, which made the spoiled City fans impatient in the first half. The coach of Liverpool FC joked in advance that he would like to see “both clubs lose” – the uneventful zero number probably came very close to this wish. By sharing points between their rivals, Liverpool is the new frontrunner in the three-way title race and can become champions on their own – for the 20th time in the club’s history.
Arteta seemed to have priced in the possible loss of the league lead when choosing his tactical approach. He is considered a fine tactician, but not an idealist. Although he generally prefers a style based on controlling the game through possession, he is willing to adapt to the opponent. Arteta and his team are like a chameleon who can change the approach from game to game.
In order to increase the resilience of the team, which narrowly missed out on the league title last season despite being in the league for a long time, Arsenal strengthened itself in the summer for around a quarter of a billion euros. In focus: internationally aspiring yet renowned professionals like Havertz or Rice, the most expensive purchase in the club’s history. Both were 24 years old at the time of the move and are exemplary of the entire squad, in which almost all of the professionals are between 22 and 26.
The team’s coordination when attacking the opponent’s game structure is outstanding
This age structure is the basis for the unity of the team. It has many top professionals, but no exceptional talent. Most players are still waiting for their first big title and are therefore prepared to largely subordinate themselves to the team spirit. Havertz summed up this attitude succinctly after the City game. Although as a striker he was sometimes more involved in defense than in attack, he “accepted his role 1000 percent”. You have to “work for the team,” he emphasized. The team’s coordination when attacking the opponent’s build-up is currently almost unprecedented in Europe.
However, in the duel with Bayern, Arteta will face a coach in the person of Thomas Tuchel who often approaches important games as flexibly and pragmatically as he does. This makes preparation much more complicated than against teams whose style of play only changes in nuances. In the direct comparisons with City and Liverpool, Arsenal won the home game and drew away. These results would be enough to advance against FC Bayern.