True Tinkering

Did anyone see (whatever that tournament in Holland was called) the recent arsenal v. ajax game? I only really caught the second half, but was astounded by the fact that (new team captain) Henry only made two or three runs into the box with the ball in 45 minutes of play. He spent most of his time playing from deep, making passes and looking for openings to play the rest of the midfield forward (with a happy freddie ready to oblige).

Is this another twist from Arsene? He took him him from a winger, turned him into a striker and now he's going to turn him into a creative playmaker? I personally doubt that Arsenal will be able to do without Theirry's speed and incisive attack for very long, but it is an interesting option to consider, now that Paddy is no longer with them.

Mourinho did it with Gudjohnson and now you've got Smith playing the middle of the park for United.

The idea, of course, is not to teach them how to defend or play in a new position, but rather to take advantage of a turnover by quickly moving the back upfront before the other team has switched back to defensive mode and hopefully administering a killah shot. It is the same old long ball theory that most goals are scored from three touches or less but instead of punting it forward, to keep the ball on the ground and play it into the path of one (or more) of your attackers.

Total Feedback anyone?