Watching Dani Alves tonight just highlights further the unacceptable return we get from our fullbacks in a back 4.
Alves, along with Higuain, has decided the game tonight with two moments of outstanding vision and technique. If there were more players like Alves out there - or like Marcelo, for that matter, who played a big part in seeing off Bayern in the last round - players that can be such a creative force in the attacking third whilst holding their own in the defensive third, then, fine, go with a back four. But there simply is not.
Wenger says playing with an extra centreback is a defensive move but I don't see that. It means you can potentially put someone like Oxlade-Chamberlain in the same positions a fullback finds himself in from the middle third forward and still maintain defensive stability. Chambo's technique and creative potential put him in the bracket of a good right winger, but he would be off the charts from an attacking perspective if he were a right back/wingback with that kind of speed, dribbling and crossing ability.
It only becomes a defensive move when you don't put more productive players in those wingback roles. I mean look at the difference between Sandro on the left and Alves on the right tonight. Night and day in terms of their impact on Juventus when they had the ball and yet a negligible difference when they didn't.
Klaus wrote:
Ricky1985 wrote:
Also thought Fabinho was very good in midfield - made lots and lots of good tackles.
I thought he was in a class of his own in Monaco when it came to creating something too. He was the only one who could work the ball forward between the lines until Moutinho came on. They should probably have played Fabinho in a more advanced position in this game, but it's an easy thing to say in hindsight. I don't think Jardim got anything massively wrong tonight. Juventus were just too good.
He's the best and most compete midfielder I've seen in any of the matches in the knockout rounds - and I've watched nearly all of them! There are no outstanding parts to his game but he's good at everything, including his athleticism, strength and reading of the game.
Reminds me a lot of Gilberto Silva, a bit more refined in his passing game although perhaps not the defensive monster Gilberto was.
