View: How Aston Villa can hurt table-topping Arsenal
Aston Villa and Steven Gerrard face the daunting task of travelling to The Emirates to face table Arsenal in their next Premier League fixture on Wednesday evening.
Gerrard is desperate for a win after a disappointing start to the season with Villa suffering a damaging 1-0 home defeat to West Ham United last time out.
Mikel Arteta’s side have scored 11 goals in four Premier League games and have only conceded three times, however, there could be some hope for Villa if they press the Gunners’ back four.
Two of the three goals that Arsenal have conceded have come from Arteta’s side being pressurised in defence and making a mistake or gifting the opposition a chance.
Arsenal are coming off a hard-fought 2-1 win against Fulham, however, Aleksandar Mitrović’s opening goal perfectly illustrated a weakness of Arsenal’s play.
The image below highlights how Arsenal are keen to play out from the back and beat a potential press.
Marco Silva’s team have decided to full press the Gunners’ back line, with three players primed to react to Thomas Partey’s next decision.
The Arsenal midfielder decides to play a bold crossfield pass to Gabriel, who is occupying space in the Arsenal penalty area.
Partey switches the ball to Gabriel, who is left with minimal options due to Fulham engaging all the short passes that are potentially available to the Brazilian defender.
Furthermore, Mitrovic notices that the lofted ball to Gabriel is difficult for the defender to get under control and decides to aggressively press the defender as he gathers the ball.
With Danny Ings and Ollie Watkins having plenty of pace and energy between them, they should be looking to capitalise on any lapses in concentration from Arsenal’s defenders.
Due to the lack of options available to Gabriel, the defender gets caught in two minds and dithers on the ball, allowing for the Serbian striker to engage and make a tackle in a dangerous area.
Mitrovic’s aggressiveness and work rate allow for him to dispossess Gabriel and create a clear one-on-one chance with Aaron Ramsdale in the Arsenal goal.
The Fulham striker duly tucks the ball away with ease to continue his good early season form.
This is certainly a ploy that Aston Villa could look to replicate at The Emirates on Wednesday (31 August), with Ings and Watkins looking to be aggressive towards the two central defenders and the likes of John McGinn and Jacob Ramsay being bold in their pressing of Arsenal’s full-backs and midfielders.
Another example of Arsenal’s back four coming unstuck this season due to pressure from opposition attackers was in their 4-2 win over Leicester City at The Emirates.
Jonny Evans starts the move by playing a fairly innocuous long ball, which should be dealt with fairly comfortably by Arsenal’s defence, as the image below displays.
The Gunners fail to win the first ball, which allows for the ball to be flicked on into the space behind William Saliba.
Jamie Vardy reads the situation and pressurises the French defender from behind.
Saliba is caught in two minds due to the pressure from the Leicester striker and makes an awful decision to head the ball back towards his own goal, instead of out for a corner or throw-in.
The young defender ultimately plays the ball into his own net due to Vardy not allowing him any time to settle.
It is going to be a daunting task for Villa on Wednesday evening, however, the majority of fans would rather see Gerrard’s side go down fighting rather than sitting back and allowing Arteta’s side to dictate and control play from the back.
Watkins and Ings pressing from the front and being supported by the midfield will be vital in any success the Villans have as they look to kickstart their Premier League season.
Forcing Arsenal to go long and play into the likes of Tyrone Mings and Ezri Konsa could be ideal for Villa’s game plan.
In other Aston Villa news, manager Steven Gerrard is very keen to bring Liverpool defender Joe Gomez to the club.