3. The Runs of the Central Forward Player
The loss of Robin Van Persie's finishing is constantly talked about in the press, but his movement off the ball was equally important to the way that Arsenal play. Giroud and Gervinho have made great runs for the team in the games that they have started at center forward. Podolski's goals against Liverpool and Montpellier are good examples of the fruits of Giroud's movement. Against Liverpool, Giroud was coming across from the Arsenal right to the left side when Cazorla was making his breaking run forward, but he saw that Podolski was coming in off the left wing; so he reversed his run, immediately giving Cazorla two options and the Liverpool defenders the dilemma of choosing which attacker to cover. This is the kind of movement that is lacking in Marouane Chamakh's game. Against Montpellier, it was Giroud, passing left while running to his right, that released Podolski and set up his goalscoring chance. A similar analysis of Gervinho's goals will show the part his running played in creating the chance. This kind of running by the forwards must continue as it creates scoring opportunities for the forwards and for the midfield players running on from behind. It would seem obvious that the forwards need to make intelligent runs for the team to play well, but in a possession team like Arsenal, this kind of running becomes a matter of life and death. This is something that the Manchester players will be looking to take away, and Arsenal must continue to be fluid and efficient to create goalscoring chances.