Arsenal Vs Huddersfield Town: Alex Iwobi, Henrikh Mkhitaryan offer smoothness

Arsenal squeezed past Huddersfield Town on Saturday afternoon thanks to a smooth, free-flowing counter-attack. Alex Iwobi and Henrikh Mkhitaryan were key components of that.

Not much of what Arsenal did in Saturday’s 2-1 squeezed win against Huddersfield Town was very good. They were lapse in possession, lacking in control, and conceded far too many chances. But if there was one thing that Unai Emery’s side did do well, it was counter attack.

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The two goals they scored, both in the first half, came directly from fast breaks. And then, in the second half, they created numerous opportunities to put the game away on the break, though failed to take them. The Gunners could and probably should have scored more than they did, even without ever really controlling the midfield.

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What was most pleasing about their attacking play was the speed and smoothness of their execution. Without much of a foundation provided from extended periods of possession, the attacking players were working with little service. Yet, when they did receive the ball in dangerous areas, they moved it with speed and fluency, pulling the Huddersfield defenders out of their positions and engineering openings in and around the penalty area.

There are two players who were central to this attacking success. The 3-4-3 system is designed to provide freedom for the two wide attacking players. They are not shackled by defensive responsibility because of the presence of a third centre-back and they are also freed of having to stay wide when attacking thanks to overlapping wing-backs. On Saturday, these roles were filled by Alex Iwobi and Henrikh Mkhitaryan.

The pair were excellent. Both were heavily involved in the goals, — Iwobi scoring the first and playing a beautiful pass to Mkhitaryan in the build-up to the second; Mkhitaryan completing two crucial through balls to overlapping wing-backs — they carried the ball well when breaking free form the Huddersfield press, and their interchangeable movement with Alexandre Lacazette caused problems and created opportunities.

Neither was perfect, obviously. Chances were wasted in the second half. Some of the final passes were not as accurate as they needed to be. But there was a greater smoothness to the Arsenal attacking play that has not been seen for some time. Every time they were able to work into Huddersfield’s half, such was the movement off the ball and the speed at which the ball travelled from one player to the other, they were able to carve through a rather confused and helpless backline.

Creativity has been questioned in Mesut Ozil’s absence recently. There is the belief that Arsenal cannot be creative with the German on the sidelines. But here, that sentiment was directly challenged. Although there was a lack of control in the midfield, which is concerning, the Gunners still played with ingenuity and inventiveness in the final third, and it largely stemmed from the dual attacking axis of Iwobi and Mkhitaryan.

There was plenty to bemoan from Arsenal’s showing on Saturday. But the speed and smoothness at which they counter-attacked was very pleasing indeed. And for that, they have Iwobi and Mkhitaryan to thank.