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SK Rapid showed an extraordinarily strong performance for 70 minutes against Arsenal FC, but against a team so high that sometimes it is not enough to win a point. Even if the opponent had a better team B.
He started fast against a weakened Arsenal, in which some star players voluntarily stayed on the bench, as expected in a 3-5-2 system. It was easy to see that the people at Hütteldorfer focused primarily on the compactness of the block and did not want to enclose themselves too much. Even in the early stages there were individual situations where Rapid pushed quite high, although they didn’t assign too many players to avoid running into the open knife.
Arsenal’s asymmetric midfield
From the beginning, Arsenal demonstrated fundamental resistance to pressure at headquarters. Thanks to the double six with rookies Thomas Partey and Mohamed Elneny, they had a good presence in the six zone and made few mistakes in this dangerous pressure zone. Unsurprisingly, Arsenal left room ten largely orphaned. While Elneny frequently swung to the right at six heights, the third rated midfielder, Bukayo Saka, turned more toward Nketiah on the left offensive end. Arsenal wanted to give depth to the middle positions, but at the expense of the headquarters or the central space between lines, in which only the center forward Lacazette entered depending on the situation.
Well-defended anticipatory Lacazette
Lacazette was largely well defended by Rapid’s central defense and Hofmann and Barac avoided being pushed too far off the chain. Since the Rapids central midfield wobble worked well too, the French attacker was pulled out of Arsenal’s combined play. As a result, Arsenal were too lazy in terms of play from the transition from second to third periods and danger arose either from one-on-one situations or after balls behind defense. Gunners were hardly ever really dangerous.
Fast with a good variable playing height
Rapid kept the team’s internal gaps largely very small and was difficult to play due to this stiffness. The delicate situations arose in the first half mainly when Hütteldorfer’s defensive chain pushed a little higher. The spaces behind him were immediately attacked by Saka, Nketiah and Pépé with their corresponding running game. Since the classic playmaker position seems to be a thing of the past under Mikel Arteta, they relied specifically on the balls behind the defense, which Thomas and Elneny should look out for. As a result, Rapid’s entire central midfield should be covered and Rapid’s defenders should engage in difficult reverse duels against Arsenal’s swift wings. Rapid varied the height of the five-man chain (and therefore the entire team) very well, getting a little lower over and over again to pull the teeth off Arsenal’s bridges.
Rapid has better opportunities and gives you confidence
At the same time, they acted very aggressively against the ball and faced the duels, which the arrogant arrogant arrogant Arsenal did not like. Mikel Arteta was also not impressed by the laxity of his players. Rapid realized this and felt more and more sure that he could carry something with him. Even in the first half, the home team had better chances than the English top team.
Arsenal suffer from mid-wing positions
However, the main problem in Arsenal’s starting lineup were the wingers. In general, Cédric Soares had very little depth to his game and the strongest Sead Kolasinac seemed prone to making mistakes on the one hand and on the other hand he was hiding too often behind Saka, who was leaning towards the same rooms. The focus of attack was spread over very few shoulders and Rapid was able to Gunners Defend with great confidence and stay away from the goal. Arsenal did not reach the necessary depth for their game system, mainly due to the lack of overload of the wings and the insufficient intensity of the sprint from the stage to the sides.
Good Kara-Fountas interaction in early game brings this 1-0
Rapid became more courageous and after the break he scored 1-0 in the fastest possible time. The proven pressure pattern, in which the slowest Ercan Kara runs ahead and the most dangerous Taxiarchis Fountas behind, is supposed to win the ball so that he can shoot immediately, worked perfectly in a weak accumulating action from the goalkeeper. from Arsenal, Leno. Fountas pushed to make it 1-0 and subsequently even had two other similar situations in which he came to a conclusion due to accumulation errors. Rapid was very smart and balanced in these scenes.
Amazing strong midfield, compact block
The new wobble in central midfield, in which Ritzmaier played a very flexible role, also made the pressure line behind him tighter and more dangerous against the ball. If Rapid can establish this kind of pressure permanently in the league, then you are strong enough not to miss anything against small opponents in the national Bundesliga. The compact block, which could be seen practically all the time against Arsenal, could even be pushed ten meters higher against technically inferior opponents. The most important is the block of about 30 x 30 meters in which the ten field players moved and moved together. This requires a bit of discipline, which Rapid consistently demonstrated against Arsenal, but was often lost in the league against smaller opponents on the ball.
Bellerín instead of Soares as a decisive change
If Rapid had made it 2-0, Arsenal shouldn’t have complained. But to bring more seriousness and frankness to the finals, Mikel Arteta ultimately made the decisive change. The replacement of Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang was indeed of secondary importance. The most important change was that of Héctor Bellerín instead of Cédric Soares.
Spanish sprint missile brings more depth
With the replacement of the lightning-fast Spaniard, Arsenal finally got the depth they needed for an hour. Arsenal’s right attacking side was now much more difficult to defend because the infidelity of the higher position simply caused disturbances and less order in Rapid.
Strebinger’s mistake leads to compensation
In 3 ½ minutes, the game turned completely upside down. First, Rapid conceded the 1-1 from a standard situation that was not extremely difficult to defend. Richard Strebinger could not decide whether to stay on the line or go to the flank of Nicolas Pépé and in the end he was exactly where he should not be, that is, right in the middle of these two options. David Luiz played from his routine and headed to tie. A few seconds earlier, Strebinger could have secured the ball with a more convincing run, but instead Rapid remained in a stressful situation, which later resulted in the fatal free kick.
If 1: 1: Fountas offers the difficult opportunity of “Empty Net”
Two minutes after the draw, Taxiarchis Fountas had a chance to take the lead again after Bernd Leno, who was also weak, shot his head of defense David Luiz on a field trip. Fountas did not get the ball into the empty goal after a good dribble. Here Rapid would have had a chance to turn the game upside down again, but he was out of luck and wrong for the moment. A somewhat cooler Fountas could have taken advantage of the confusion in the Arsenal defense.
Bellerín’s deep sprint activates Elneny’s passing quality
A minute later, the extra shot on Arsenal’s wings paid off. Bellerín’s higher position on the field brought an additional facet to the offense, which broke the order of the Rapids and Elneny was finally able to play the pass that she did not bring once in the entire first half. Rapid relied – as it was used to from the first half – heavily on Elneny, who carries balls, as well as Pépé and Lacazette, while Bellerín was able to run free in the defense zone and receive the ideal pass from Elneny. So in the end it was a simple move, but very well finished, that disarmed Rapid. It is only possible thanks to the much higher field position of the defender on the right. Superstar Aubameyang just said “Thank you” in the middle.
Gunners with strong possession play the lead at home
This broke the resistance of Rapids. The Hütteldorfer made an effort, but was now mentally empty and the physical wear and tear was evident after the selfless performance. Arsenal were now playing routine and technical superiority: With the 2-1 at the back and the high ball possession ratio (more than two-thirds throughout the game), the Gunners were finally able to play the game safely at home.
Many positive surprises in green and white
Rapid put on a consistently impressive performance, but then he let the unfortunate double hit rip his teeth out. It’s extremely difficult to single someone out after this game, but especially the toxicity of the much-criticized Kelvin Arase, the extraordinary adaptability of Marcel Ritzmaier, and also the (often somewhat unconventional) confidence of Mateo Barac were probably the surprises of the night. Richard Strebinger became a tragic hero and his mistake brought about the change. However, the goalkeeper’s performance on Thursday evening in Vienna-Hütteldorf was quite manageable on both sides.
Kühbauer’s strong plan and the question of the last risk
Coach Dietmar Kühbauer deserves praise as he tightly adjusted the team to the opponent and demanded tactical discipline and got it back from his team. Only in the final phase of the game would Kühbauer’s courage have been asked a little more. The rapid was clearly flat, but he could have tried to force the tie a bit more vehemently, for example, leaving forward Ercan Kara in the game for high balls. Because as has been said since the days of football: it doesn’t matter if it’s 1: 2 or 1: 3.
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