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Arsenal.com published an interesting article (by Richard Clarke) this morning on Why Wenger won’t rely on strikers for goals. Due to injuries to Robin Van Persie and Nicklas Bendtner, our goals have had to come from elsewhere. The stats are given that over half are coming from midfield and the centre backs (Cesc Fabregas 10, Abou Diaby 5, Aaron Ramsey 3, Denilson 3, Alex Song 1, Thomas Vermaelen 4, William Gallas 3).

Wenger notes the changing formation of the game in general. Instead of relying on your strikers for goals where “the midfielders are the guys who bring the strikers alive”, the strikers are the ones who are bringing the midfielders into the action.

“[For example] Robin Van Persie, when he played we always scored three or four goals. He didn’t score too many [himself] but he made a lot. Not only with passing, but with movement and the quality of that movement. Strikers open walls for the deeper players. That is a big part in the modern game.”

Many others, of course, have made the same observation about strikers in football today. I think it was Jonathan Wilson, at the Guardian, who first criticized teams like Barcelona and Man United for becoming less active when they added strong, holding forwards (Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Dimitar Berbatov, respectively). When these teams relied on their mids and wings, they were a more mobile, dynamic attack, but with the addition of “targets” up front, their scoring options actually diminished.

The counter-example to this argument is Chelsea with Drogba and Anelka up front. Both are target forwards, and produce more goals and assists themselves than most teams.

The point is that modern forwards, like van Persie, act more like parts of the midfield. Its just a shame that we’re without him for the season. I wonder what it would have been like with him at this point in the campaign? …

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