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Mikel Arteta Injury Leaves Gunners Short

By John Wallin

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Following Arsenal’s unexpected collapse in the Champions League on Tuesday, there has been a rush to point fingers, even from the gaffer himself. As noted by Scott Johnson in his post on Wednesday, Arsene Wenger has placed blame squarely on the shoulders of his much maligned defense. Scott posited another possible culprit for Tuesday’s inaction, which saw a 3-0 lead slip through the Gunners’ grasp: the defensive midfield. While I typically write for fantasy premier league site PlayTogga, a number of the stats we employ for our fantasy game are useful for evaluating real-life performance as well. Today we are going to use a few stats courtesy of Opta, passes, interceptions and tackles won, to evaluate Arsenal’s first-choice defensive midfield pairings and their performance in the 3-3 draw with Anderlecht.

“I think when we lost Mikel Arteta we lost out because he was one of the few who defended well. That didn’t help.” -Arsene Wenger

For those who missed the match, Arteta departed immediately after the first Anderlecht goal. The Gunners led 3-1 at that point, as their Captain succumbed to a hamstring injury. He was replaced by Mathieu Flamini on 62′ having done his job. The 32-year-old Spaniard had been typically composed on the ball, completing 72 of 76 passes, creating a chance and calmly converting a 25′ spot kick to open scoring. He was nearly as good winning the ball back, as he won three of his four tackles and two of three aerial duels. Despite playing only two-thirds of the match, he was involved in three of the seven most prolific passing tandems in the match (per 442 Stats Zone) and his replacement came at an unfortunate juncture. With the match well in hand, this would have been a good time to give Aaron Ramsey an opportunity to rest his injury-prone legs. Instead, Wenger was required to replace Arteta. He elected to bring Flamini from the bench, and watched his side relinquish the lead.

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It may be a difficult term to use without choking on the words, but the Makélélé role is so commonly referenced that Google will auto fill that for you before you get the second “l” down. The role that Claude made famous at Real Madrid and Chelsea has seen a decline in recent years, as a Barcelona and Spain-led revolution pushed controlling midfielders to the fore. Still, when a match needs winning, it is nearly always won by the men in the middle. Indeed, it is hard to image a side with Makélélé, Roy Keane or Andrea Pirlo departing the pitch with a single point when leading 3-0 on 60′. While no one will mistake Mikel Arteta or Mathieu Flamini for any of that trio, is it fair to leave the blame for Arsenal’s collapse on their doorstep?

Flamini is certainly a more combative midfielder than Arteta. In just 1605′ last season, he was was cautioned on eight occasions and has already been booked twice in the League this season. The cards are part and parcel of his play. This season in the Prem, only Mile Jedinak and Craig Gardner have made more midfield interceptions than Flamini’s 24, and he is similarly aggressive with tackles, winning 18/30 this season – via WhoScored and Togga. Despite his fine form in League play, he was largely ineffective here – failing to record a tackle or interception, as Anderlecht scored twice more to claim a vital away point.

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Interestingly, Aaron Ramsey’s role shifted once Flamini joined the fray. Ramsey started the match alongside Arteta – with Alexis, Santi and Ox supporting Danny Welbeck. Ramsey and Arteta meshed well, as the duo complemented and covered for each other. The change in personnel brought an overt shift in tactics. After completing 54/61 passes while Arteta was on the pitch, in the final 30′ Ramsey completed 21/22 (6/7 in the attacking third) and created an attacking chance as he abandoned the defensive part of the game. With the Arteta/Ramsey pairing, the duo employed tactics which allowed each to attack and defend. Once Flamini entered, Ramsey moved into a singularly attacking role – pulling the strings in midfield and attempting just one tackle in the final 30′, even as Arsenal gave away the match. The Welsh international had won four of seven tackles in the first 62′. At the same time, Flamini was left to hold the space above the defense alone. Relegated to the holding role, he attempted only three final third entry passes and missed on each. Anderlecht seized on the opportunity to exploit a defensive unit now playing with just five men, leveling with 4′ to play.

The late addition of 34-year-old Tomas Rosicky (81′ for Oxlade-Chamberlain) did little to stem the tide and Arene Wenger can rightly be called to the carpet for a slew of poor tactical decisions which ultimately cost his side two points. The shift in tactics – intentional or otherwise – left the back four exposed and they crumbled under the weight. It is, of course, impossible to say with certainty that another move would have secured three points, but on the weight of their play in the Premier League and the way the two pairings played on Tuesday, it would appear the problem lies with the manager and not the players. It should be noted, Aaron Ramsey is certainly capable of playing in a holding or defensive midfield role. In 541′ of League play Ramsey has won 13 tackles and made nine interceptions. In 665′, Flamini has 24 interceptions and 18 tackles won, while Arteta has played 357′ with four interceptions and seven tackles won. Had Arsenal maintained the same balanced approach to midfield with Ramsey/Flamini that they had shown with Arteta/Ramsey, they should have been able to withstand the loss of their Captain. If Arsene Wenger does not trust the Ramsey/Flamini pairing to execute those tactics, then my colleague is correct and the Gunners must move for another player in the Arteta mould.

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