Source: Daily_Mail
Do Martin O'Neill's Aston Villa really play long-ball game, Arsene Wenger?
Arsene Wenger lit the fuse and retreated. Having accused Aston Villa of 'long-ball' football, he hopped on Arsenal's team bus and tootled back to north London, leaving Martin O'Neill to explode.[LNB]'An appalling insult,' fumed the Villa manager. 'Ridiculous.' The long-ball slur can cut like a knife for someone like O'Neill, raised on the pass and move of Brian Clough, and comes at a time when Sir Trevor Brooking, head of football development of the FA, says England's quest to match Brazil and Spain relies on banishing such tactics.So, is Wenger right about Villa?[LNB]Statistically, O'Neill's side make a lot fewer passes than Arsenal and tend to make them longer but they are not the most direct in the Premier League.[LNB] Great pace: Gabriel Agbonlahor has been a key man for Aston Villa this season[LNB]In fact, only Arsenal and Portsmouth have attempted fewer long passes than Villa this season.[LNB]Wenger is really talking about the speed with which Villa react when they get possession.[LNB]They have great pace out wide and up front and are designed to counter attack, with speedsters like Ashley Young and Gabriel Agbonlahor.[LNB]Having a ball: Wenger has caused a storm at Villa[LNB]When his team win the ball, O'Neill wants the next pass to go forward before the opposition can regroup. It can be a five-yard push, but it must go forward.[LNB]'Everyone is a long-ball team compared to Arsenal,' said Villa's Richard Dunne. But Wenger's team can be effective on the counter, zipping quick passes forward, albeit shorter ones.[LNB]Wenger can rely on the administrators to clamp down on bad tacklingbut he cannot stop opponents opting for a direct, counter-attackingstyle. All coaches crave options. That's why successive Englandmanagers have embraced Peter Crouch.[LNB]If you're struggling to play through midfield, why not go over the top?[LNB] Wenger lacks variety since selling Emmanuel Adebayor. His passing interest in Marouane Chamakh, Carlton Cole and Edin Dzeko and his impatience for Nicklas Bendtner to return suggest he might like an aerial dimension when his intricate passing hits a wall, as it did at Villa. Would that make Arsenal a long-ball team?[LNB] 'I'm good enough to be Arsenal's top striker,' crows fit again Nicklas BendtnerThomas Vermaelen's X-ray relief gives Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger a title tonic Aston Villa likely to delve into the transfer market after Nigel Reo-Coker is ruled out for three months ARSENAL FC
