Lost in translation, the playmaker’s role in Arsenal

It is simply a case of too many cooks, not enough ingredients with Arsenal after an embarrassing display at Anfield.

Brendan Rodgers's men showed us a Liverpool performance that would not look out of place in the UEFA Champions League knock-out stages, let alone the English Premier League with a thumping 5-1 victory at home against the then league leaders.

The Gunners may have conceded a goal in the first minute but there is no excuse for the diabolical midfield display thereafter. Utter shambles is perhaps the best word to describe the Arsenal midfield.

It was prompted in this column previously that there can only be one playmaker in the Gunners midfield. This was in relation to past matches where Aaron Ramsey was noticeably in competition with Mesut Ozil, often getting in the way of Ozil's calm and precise build-up with his (Ramsey's) all-action style of play.

Players like Ozil thrive in a system where the ball is often at their feet, and others around them have to be willing to release the ball back to the playmaker whenever he asks for it.

Here's a homework assignment to prove my point: scour the internet for footage of Arsenal's performances this season, and take note of the number of times Ozil gives the ball to his teammates and demands it back.

Players such as Mathieu Flamini, Mikel Arteta and Santi Cazorla have an innate understanding of this style of play, but far too often we see Jack Wilshere and (to a lesser extent) Aaron Ramsey receive the ball from Ozil, turn around and run across their own halfway line to spread the ball to their fullback on the opposite side.

Not only does this break up the flow of Arsenal's best attacking option, but it also frustrates your teammate whose duty is quite simply to create goal-scoring opportunities.

Argentina's Juan Roman Riquelme was often lamented throughout his career for what many a fan described as his "uninterested" and "languid" style of play, and for being a "prima donna" – completely undermining the fact that these players need to be involved constantly and dictate the tempo of the match.

At Anfield, there were too many playmakers attempting to do their own thing, with Mikel Arteta wanting to create from deep but invariably spending too much time on the ball.

The great English hope, Jack Wilshere tried to win the game on his own, reverting to the Wilshere we have all come to loathe in seasons past where he attempts to do everything by himself and woefully comes up short.

Ozil made runs his teammates did not see. The wide midfielders, Santi Cazorla and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain tried hard but lacked quality to beat the Liverpool fullbacks, which is truly disappointing seeing that Jon Flanagan and Aly Cissokho are hardly world-beaters themselves.

Winning is the game

It may have been a home game but Tottenham Hotspur spluttered more than sparked against a well-organised, compact and sharp Everton. It’s fair to say that Everton won the football match but Spurs won the game.

The talking point will be Moussa Dembele playing at No. 10 after being used as a Number 8 for too long. He was strong, held the ball and opponents off but he has zero vision. Enough said.

Being strong, holding the ball and holding opponents off was what Emmanuel Adebayor does well and he did not let Tim Sherwood down. Every game with Adebayor starting is like a fingers crossed, please play for the team and not yourself, plea! To date, he has delivered and the hope of every Spurs fan is that he continues doing so.

His form has been akin to his loan spell at Real Madrid, total commitment only because he had respect and fear for Jose Mourinho. Hope the same sentiment holds with regards to Tim Sherwood until the end of the season.

When a team has huffed and puffed as much as Manchester United and taken the lead, were the Red Devils expecting to score a third? I mean, seriously! Simply naïve.

The saga of Manchester United's cluelessness continues. Go 2-1 up and the game should have been shut down. Game over. Close shop. Three points in the bag.

But no, the highly-entertaining Moyes's Marvels shot themselves in the foot, yet again. – February 11, 2014.

* This is the personal opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of The Malaysian Insider.