Oct 4, 2014 ↔ no comments TALKING TACTICS : How Arsenal Can Stop Chelsea’s Diego Costa In Sunday ’s Clash By Squawka Returning to the scene of a 6-0 drubbing, against a manager that has never lost a game to Gunners boss Arsene Wenger, it would be understandable if Arsenal fans were perhaps a bit apprehensive about Sunday’s game with Chelsea and Jose Mourinho. Add the form of Diego Costa into the equation and it’s fair to say most Arsenal fans are downright scared of the matchup. The Brazil-born striker currently tops the Premier League goal-scoring charts and – on current form at least – looks to finally be signalling the end of the striker’s curse that has plagued the Blues since the end of Didier Drogba’s first stint at Stamford Bridge. The Bridge has gone from being a graveyard for strikers, a place where reputations go to die, to the home of a forward with an astonishing eight goals from his opening six league games. If he can improve upon that record against Arsenal, he will go a long way to helping preserve Mourinho’s unbeaten record against Wenger. Costa is lethal on the counter-attack and possesses the combination of pace and power that is reminiscent of a young Didier Drogba which makes him the perfect fit for Mourinho’s system. With this in mind, at first glance, it doesn’t look particularly rosey for Arsenal this weekend. All of the Gunners’ goals conceded have come from within the penalty area this season, while Costa – a “six-yard box striker” if ever there was one – has netted all of his goals from within the box (just one of his last 53 goals in league and Champions League have come from outside the box, with the bulk from around the penalty spot.) Of the seven goals conceded this season by Arsenal four have been headed – the highest total in the league. Costa has netted twice with his head this season and with his movement and power to get on the end of service from wide areas, he could give Arsenal’s defence a long, long afternoon. So how do Arsenal stop him? Per Mertesacker and Laurent Koscielny have developed into a top-level center-back partnership over the past few seasons and will prove a tougher nut to crack than many other sides Costa has played. The only top-class pairing that Costa has faced this season, Vincent Kompany and Eliaquim Mangala, successfully kept the striker at bay and remain the only team to do so this term. Mertesacker and Koscielny as a partnership works so well because of the balance they provide Arsenal’s defence. This is exactly what could help them stop Costa. Against quick but slight defenders, Costa is a bully, but against powerhouses he is cuter and uses his movement to elude his marker. Between them, Mertesacker and Koscielny have a combination of guile and brute force that could stop the Chelsea man, if utilized correctly. The giant German contends the aerial balls for Arsenal, while Koscielny will sit deeper and covers his partner. Koscielny’s pace and anticipation in the tackle complement Mertesacker well and will be key in tracking Costa’s runs behind the defense on the break. Such a tactic was also successfully deployed by City. While Costa has barged defenses around this season, Mangala and Kompany won every single aerial duel against him at the Etihad. The strapping Frenchman contested the challenges in the air with Kompany dropping off for the second balls; collectively they barely gave him a sniff. However, Arsenal are not Manchester City. They have kept just one clean sheet this season – against Aston Villa – and are infamously susceptible to the counter attack. Wenger this week alluded to the runs that Costa makes and the Spaniard is the kind of player ideally suited to the counter; a trait that could explain his relative lack of impact at international level for Spain, playing at a slow pace against deep defenses, but one that will see him right at home against Arsenal, who invariably like to control possession in the opponent’s half. Mertesacker and Koscielny will need help that they weren’t given last season, with the rest of the team needing to prevent space opening up for Costa and not allowing their center backs and Costa to become isolated. Against Costa it would make sense for the fullbacks to play narrower and more defensively and in that respect having Chambers, a natural defender, at right back may be a blessing in disguise. Better teams frequently find space behind Arsenal’s fullbacks and if Chelsea do so then it makes little difference how good Mertesacker and Koscielny are if they are pulled all over the pitch. If the full backs play more defensively in order to help their center backs, then the onus will also be on the midfield to help track Chelsea’s full backs and cover, making Alex Oxlade- Chamberlain and Alexis Sanchez – both hardworking – logical choices in wide areas. In order to stop Costa, the Gunners will also have to stop service to him. The bulk of his goals have seen him slipped in behind defenders, often on the counter. Cesc Fabregas has assisted three of his goals, including two against Swansea – worryingly for Arsenal, a side that were caught out while trying to dominate possession at Stamford Bridge. It is no coincidence that the only game in which Costa failed to score was also the game with the fewest chances provided by Fabregas (2) in a game this season. Whisper it quietly in north London, but Fabregas has so far looked as crucial a signing as Costa. Arsenal fans will know all about his ability to pick a pass and create a chance, while they will also be well aware of the gaps that their gung-ho approach leaves. Put the two together and without a more defensively responsible approach there could be chaos on the counter once again: the perfect storm for “El Cholo” to wreak his havoc.
Posted on: Sat, 04 Oct 2014 23:25:53 +0000