Granit Xhaka has several nicknames, such as "Swiss Piggy", "Swiss Schweinsteiger", "Little Einstein", etc. Pen "Fun" Pavilion www.biquge.info

Many people think of Xhaka as a midfielder, but in fact, when he joined Borussia Mönchengladbach, Xhaka was an attacking midfielder because his idol was French star Zinedine Zidane.

Good at ball control, with excellent physical fitness and passing vision, strong aggression, at Borussia Mönchenchen, Xhaka was transformed into a midfielder, which can also be said to be a midfielder, and as a result, he became famous in one fell swoop, "Switzerland's Schweinsteiger" is what former Swiss manager Otmar Heathfeld said.

Xhaka is not without his flaws, as he was the first in the Bundesliga for both red cards (three) and fouls per game (2.8).

After coming to the faster and more fierce Premier League, Xhaka has won an amazing "record" of 3 yellows and 2 reds in the 6 Premier League games he has played.

Poor positional sense, poor defensive awareness, slow kicking frequency, slow return speed, as a midfielder, Xhaka's flaws are infinitely magnified in the Premier League, frequent card making people doubt his tactical discipline, and also make Gunners manager Arsène Wenger very cautious when using the Swiss.

An exchange with Zhang Zhetian during a closed training session in the days leading up to the game made Wenger seem to have found a way to use Xhaka accurately, which was to place him in a new tactical midfield position, freeing him from heavy defending, playing to his strengths and weaknesses, and making the most of the Swiss passing and long-range shooting.

In this game, Arsenal discharged a B formation, that is, two backs and a single midfielder, Xhaka's responsibility is to counter-attack in the front, deliver shells to the attackers in front of the attacker when he has the ball, or wait for opportunities far beyond the shot.

Behind him, there are two full-time defensive midfielders, so Xhaka does not need to worry about the opponent hitting behind him, Mohamed Elneny and Francis Coquelin in the new tactics, Wenger arranged a clear division of labor and responsibilities, and it is unprecedented to put forward a requirement for the whole team that has never been said: "Strictly abide by tactical discipline and obey the command of Zhang Zhetian on the field." If anyone does not follow the tactical requirements and leaves the position without authorization, they will sit on the bench and guard the water cooler in the future! ”

As a double midfielder, the division of labor and responsibilities of Elneny and Coquelin is mainly defensive, and when attacking, an opponent who is responsible for entangling the retreat from the front court to assist the defense is generally a forward midfielder.

For example, just now Coquelin put David Silva on the side.

The other presses up front and puts pressure on the opposition with Xhaka, either pulling out one of the opponent's centre-backs, or being a-stirring stick up front, adding a fulcrum to the penalty area, or going to the wing to increase the local numerical advantage, penetrating the ribs and creating chances.

That's what Elneny did, and whoever he or Xhaka was marked by the opposition centre-backs, one of them would create chances with a long-range shot or a run, and not to forget, the Egyptian also had a long-range shot.

The essence of Arsene Wenger's 2-3-5 tactic is that when attacking, there will always be one more person than the opponent in the attacking third, unless the opponent withdraws all the frontcourt personnel and puts on a 10-0-0 iron bucket formation.

This tactic is very aggressive in attack, even Josep Guardiola, who likes to attack, feels that this tactic is too risky, if the attack fails, the opponent has a speed-type frontcourt player, once counterattacked, not afraid to break through the defense?

So Pep Guardiola is about aware of the offensive advantages of this new tactic, but he still hasn't figured out the defence and the role of Zhang Zhetian in this tactical system.

Manchester City kicks the goal, as long as it is Pep Guardiola's team, the goal kick is rarely kicked big, because he doesn't like to use a high striker, there is no high point in the frontcourt, and he will give up the ball with a big foot, which is intolerable for Guardiola who likes to control the ball at his feet.

Therefore, there are contact points on both sides and in front of Manchester City's penalty area.

However, City's point of contact was watched by the opposing Gunners players not far away, and as soon as the opponent got the ball, they would rush up fiercely to press it.

Willfredo Caballero passed to John Stones in front of the penalty area, as a rare central defender in England, Caballero believes that his teammates with excellent skills at his feet know how to deal with the opponent's high pressure, after all, this kind of scene, Manchester City has met more this season, and the Argentine goalkeeper said that he has not encountered it in front of him.

The person responsible for forcing Stones is Danny Welbeck, and many people wonder why he is not the French center Oliver Giroud, but the shorter Heibei, in fact, many people forget that Wenger is a coach who is very good at playing the characteristics of a center forward.

In addition to showing his fulcrum role, Giroud does not have the ability to pull out a defender by running widely, using his ball sense and technique to impact the opposition's defence.

Such characteristics make Arsenal able to exert greater deterrence and create chaos locally, regardless of whether they play a single center forward tactic or a twin tower strategy.

Compared with the Frenchman, who are a little lazy and slow in the front court, Welbeck is more motivated and executed, and when he sees Stones receiving the ball, he immediately rushes up.

Alex Sanchez felt very cool for the first time this season, and was used to pressing with his teammates in the front court in Barcelona, but after coming to Arsenal, he was basically alone in the front court by the opponent's monkey, waving his teammates several times to come forward, but because of different tactical ideas, he could only "struggle" alone.

Today was different, he could finally feel what it was like to play at Barcelona, Stones was under pressure from Welbeck and passed back to Caballero, Welbeck then rushed towards Caballero, Sanchez rushed towards Jesús Navas, and on the other side Gael Klich faced Mesut Ozil.

As the goalkeeper, Caballero has only two options when he is rushed by his opponent, either go straight with his foot or cross to his teammates on either side.

Of course, there is also a choice, which is to use the technique of the foot to dribble past the opponent who grabs the ball, but behind him is an important position in the goal, Caballero believes that he does not have Leo Messi's passing skills, once the pass fails to be cut off by the opponent, his own end expectation is visible.

Before receiving the ball, Caballero had already observed the situation on both sides of the box before making the decision to pass the ball to Klich.

It was the right choice, as it was much easier for Klich to deal with Ozil's rush than the Chilean on the other side, who was passionate about pressing.

Because of the German pie feeding master's ability to press, in two words, it is scum.