Analysing Arsenal's Worst Performance Of The Season

So what went wrong tactically?

Monaco played in a 4-2-3-1 defensive system which means that the two players on the right and left of midfield try to stay as near to the defence as they can to shield the back-four and help out if necessary.

When you look at the chances which Monaco had, you'll not find many more than the ones when they scored from the suicidal mistakes made by the Arsenal players.

2^nd goal: For example Alexis lost the ball in position due to an unusual touch to the ball at the edge of the 18-yard box and Mertesacker and Coquelin did not win the important challenge and the rest you know. Mertesacker should have stayed at the back where the goal would have been difficult to score.

What many forget about football is that it is a team sport which means that everybody is responsible for mistakes when playing on the pitch. When basics are not done right, you cannot succeed at the top level.

It is not all about tactics in football. First of all the positioning is the most important thing. Communication is vital otherwise the tactical organisation put in place by the manager will not produce the planned result.

Tactical view

As already told by many pundits the players on the wing have to stay wide to tie the full-backs. That's not the only reason, it is required so more channels will be open to sprint in for other players and one-twos are more likely.

As you can see on the next illustration spaces get smaller if the wingers and full-backs move more towards the middle. The opposition can deal with runs and passes easier because they have to cover less space.

Arsenal showed it in the first half when Alexis, Giroud and Welbeck played through the middle. 

A nice side effect is that if the full-backs stay at the byline the creative midfielders will have more room and time to operate.

Return leg

With my analysis done I stay optimistic for the return leg. If the Arsenal players score a third of their prolific chances which means 3 out of 10, they'll be back in the race. A positive and tactically well trimmed squad can turn it around at the Stade Louis II.

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Goonersphere's Response

Thank you for that Albrecht. It was an interesting read with excellent visual aides. It was certainly an off night for the whole team and the return leg whilst winnable will require a Herculean performance to see Arsenal through. If, as you say, Arsenal are clinical with their chances and remain defensively focused then anything is possible.

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