Il nostro calcio

Articolo di giornale

In an in-depth interview, the Gunners boss uncovers how he teaches his young side to play what is universally regarded as the best football in the land.

For many purists, only European champions Barcelona are as pleasing on the eye as Wenger's Arsenal.

Spectacular combinations based on speed of body and mind, together with technical ability and power, have made the North Londoners the nation's favourite second team.

This season, more than any other since the Invincibles of 2003-04, Wenger's Gunners seem to be mounting a quietly confident title challenge - lying in the slipstream of leaders Chelsea.

With 36 League goals in 11 games they have scored seven more than the Blues and 13 more than Manchester United - even though they have played one game less.

Wenger's blueprint is based on intelligence, class, technique, and fitness. But the key ingredient is confidence, which makes individuals comfortable on the ball.

His players must always have choices and alternatives, which provide "solutions".

The legendary French boss has revolutionised the English game since arriving from Japan 13 years ago, changing dietary and training habits as well as the lifestyle of the top professionals.

But it is Arsenal's brand of football that is Wenger's biggest achievement.

The 'Arsenal way' is based on off-the-ball movement, with the main objective being to give the man on the ball as many alternatives as possible. Those solutions, as Wenger calls them, mean endless problems for Arsenal's rivals.

When he teaches his charges, Wenger uses what he calls "green lights" and "red lights" to show where his players must be when Arsenal are in possession.

Of course, like any teacher, he wants his pupils to stay well clear of the "red light" districts on the pitch.

Essentially, when an Arsenal player has the ball there must at least two possible passes he can make - the so-called green lights - and so on and so forth.

He said: "We work a lot on the potential of combinations between players. We plot it on the pitch and, once a player has the ball, there are red lights or green lights.

"The collective goal is to create the most possible green lights.

"That is to say to give passing solutions to the man with the ball and to leave the responsibility with that man to make the best choice possible, allowing the team to keep possession but at the same time - if possible - make the game progress towards the attack.

"So you must always offer the player solutions that allow him to utilise his intelligence around the game to the maximum."

 The Arsenal boss, 60, accepts his biggest challenge as boss of a team that plays the 'Wenger way' is to prepare his team mentally.

Over the last few years, a lot has been made of the mental fragility of his Gunners side.

Critics have argued that, while they may be easy on the eye, they are also easy to disrupt.

The way Arsenal collapsed in last season's Champions League semi-final against Manchester United is a case in point.

Their confidence was shattered after the Red Devils grabbed a two-goal lead inside 10 minutes in the second leg - and one of the biggest games in Arsenal's history turned into a procession for United.

Speaking on French radio, Wenger continued: "For it to work, players must make themselves available and we work on that in training.

"That's where top-level sport becomes really interesting, in finding a way to have the team in a position of psychological comfort so that they can offer solutions.

"Because you know that, when doubt creeps in, the green lights become red lights.

"Because each player takes fewer spontaneous initiatives and, all of a sudden, it's absolutely unbelievable at what speed all those lights become red and the player with the ball finds himself in the s***.

"Doubt is the key enemy of our game but, eventually, we must at the same time give our team the sense of availability.

"And, on a psychological level, we must give them a taste for audacity and for developing connections between each other."

Wenger insisted that to maintain the quality of Arsenal's game, he simply cannot afford to make too many changes or bring in too many players at once.

During the summer, only Thomas Vermaelen was brought in to bolster the Gunners' first-team squad.

He concluded: "When you change more than three players from game to game you take a technical risk.

"The balance of a team doesn't depend on one player but if you change three it's a grave risk, not only in a game but also in signing players.

"You change three players and bring in three or four new faces who do not know your playing philosophy and it can hit your team like the flu.

"Sometimes when the players are extremely intelligent they adapt very quickly and it can also click very quickly. But it's rare."