Arsenal's Match in Dortmund Signals a Change in Style for the Gunners

When Arsenal kicked off at Dortmund, fans of the North London club were highly unsure as to what to expect from their team in the match, and even the consequent group-stage games that lay ahead.

10 years ago, The Gunners would have been straight-forward favorites to win a UEFA Champions League group, comprising the likes of Dortmund, Marseille and Olympiakos. However, that era of the Invincibles, which heralded legends such as Thierry Henry, Dennis Bergkamp and Robert Pires, is long gone. Some bookies even appear confident enough to pin a shocking group-stage exit against Arsenal.

Such is the predicament the Emirate's faithful and club find themselves in.

Perhaps had the North London team still boasted the dynamic midfield duo of Cesc Fabregas and Samir Nasri, predictions may not have been so grim. After all, we've seen that, at full strength, Arsenal not only managed to beat Barcelona, Manchester United and Chelsea at home, but also record a memorable win against City on the road. 

Bookies undoubtedly would have taken Samir Nasri's seemingly-perfect ball retention ability, Cesc Fabregas' unparalleled vision and combined it with Robin van Persie's lethal touch to pin The Gunners as runaway favorites of the group. Expecting the North London club to play the exciting brand of football it has become synonymous with would not have been far-fetched either, as Arsene Wenger's team rarely fails to entertain.

However, Samir Nasri and Cesc Fabregas have moved abroad to pastures new, and though Robin van Persie still remains on the squad, he can only be as good as his opportunities allow.

What is most interesting though about Wenger's team of yesteryear compared to the current squad is the age difference. While Nasri and Fabregas were both influential standout players on a team full of talent, they were continually described as lacking the experience required to get things done in the clutch. Simply put, when it mattered most Arsenal consistently capitulated in extremely unprecedented fashion.

No Arsenal fan will need reminding of the outings at St. James Park and Wembley (at the Carling Cup final) to persuade them of the team's glaring weakness. For all the 'pretty football' Arsenal produced, what they lacked was a killer bite and the ability to get things done when it mattered most.

Though this can, and often has, been attributed to the team's style of play—a high defensive line coupled with short precise passing—what is often overlooked is the type of personnel The Gunners have employed over the years. Nasri and Fabregas, for all their infinite talent, were players that seemed to either be unwilling, or simply unable, to play a disciplined defensive system, despite the fact that they're midfielders. All they wanted to do was attack relentlessly.

While this style worked well in certain games—The Gunners often employ this sort of tactic successfully against the smaller teams—it seemed suicidal when playing both domestic and European powerhouses.

Mikel Arteta, Per Mertesacker and, to an extent, Yossi Benayoun, bring something to North London that previous teams under Wenger lacked—experience.

Both Arteta and Benayoun have endured their fair share of years in England. And though Mertesacker may be somewhat of a novelty on English soil, his experience, both on the International and European front, cannot be undermined.

The display against Dortmund on Tuesday emphasized exactly what previous Arsenal teams severely lacked—seasoned professionals. The aforementioned players may not have been hugely successful earlier in their careers, but they know the whereabouts on how to perform when it matters. Against the German outfit, The Gunners managed to do something previous Arsenal teams failed to—defend valiantly against continuous waves of pressure.

The giant German Per Mertesacker may be different than his defensive contemporaries at the club—seeing as he's not a ball-playing, mobile defender—but his qualities are exactly what is needed in Arsenal at this moment in time. A calm yet imposing approach is something other Arsenal defenders of past seasons have lacked, and his performance in his homeland on Tuesday exemplified just why Wenger wanted the German.

Even Arteta and Benayoun played their part in keeping Dortmund out. While Fabregas and Nasri may have tried playing 'the Arsenal way' even against waves of German pressure, the new arrivals did exactly what was needed in high pressure situations—keep the ball and slow down the tempo.

Fans may not have understood it, but Arsenal's hesitance to try and play their brand of forward football was strategic. Pushing too many bodies forward, as is the Arsenal thing to do, would have undoubtedly left the high-line defence exposed. Instead, both Arteta and Benayoun played the ball backwards and tried to retain possession—an attempt to try and stifle the host's momentum.

If the last two performances, specifically the game at Dortmund, are anything to go by it seems Arsenal's emphasis has departed from the original, fast-paced adventurous style, and has transformed into more mature, no-nonsense play.   

Though the goal at the end undoubtedly broke some hearts, Arsenal fans can take hope in knowing that a once naive team seems to have come of age, or is at least in the process of doing so. In a hostile environment, in a foreign land, Arsenal teams of past campaigns would have been expected to buckle under the pressure and not come away with the goods. However, as many have pointed out, a point looked like a favourable possibility from the outset. The fact that Arsenal was able to come away with something explains just how positive a difference that little surge of experience can make. 

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