The silky, wiry dribbler that was Alexander Hleb, who slalomed past defenders, yet rarely went for goal, played in a way which made teammates like playing with him, but would at times frustrate critics and spectators. He was a huge part of why the Arsenal side of 2007/08 played such an attractive brand of football. Yet this Arsenal side came short of all titles they were vying to claim.
Context
Finishing third in the league, and reaching the quarter-finals of the Champions League, Arsenal really did come close to winning titles in 2008. Arsene Wenger’s young side played intricate, attack-minded football, and saw themselves at top of the league table, and progressed to the second round in Europe by Christmas. But injuries, a subsequent string of poor results, and lack of consistent output during the second-half of the season halted the Gunners.
Having been excellent in the first-half of the season, Arsenal suffered a dip in form from February onwards, that saw them win only one of seven league matches following the infamous 2-2 draw against Birmingham City, where Eduardo’s horrific leg-breaking injury presumably had a great psychological impact on the team. In that time, Arsenal did outwit and knock out Milan in Champions League, with a brilliant win at the San Siro, but were then defeated by Liverpool in the round that followed.
The 2007/08 campaign was a change in the times for Arsenal. Household names who had earned Arsenal great success had been departing over the course of two years. Patrick Vieira departed for Juventus in 2005, whilst a year later, Dennis Bergkamp retired, and Robert Pires moved to Villarreal. Now, Thierry Henry and Freddie Ljungberg moved on to FC Barcelona, and West Ham United respectively. It was a new look arsenal side, starting a new, exciting era. But it was harder to tell if they were making the right moves.
This was Hleb’s third season at Arsenal, after from Stuttgart in the German Bundesliga, in the summer of 2005. By this time, Hleb had already helped Arsenal reach a Champions League final, and regular audiences of Premier League football had a greater idea of what type of player he was, and what role he played for Arsenal. He was, again, part of a side which played eye-pleasing football, but also came just short; here is a look at the tactics and Hleb’s role in all of that.
Tactical set-up
Arsenal would set up in either a 4-4-2, or 4-4-1-1, depending on the game, and the players starting. Both full-backs were expected to support the attack by providing overlapping runs, whilst the midfield was highly technical. Francesc Fabregas was the sides star player. Merely 20 years old at the start of the season, Fabregas was already the talisman; he was a brilliant midfield schemer, who kept play ticking, and linked up well with teammates. Hleb himself played on the right or left of the midfield four, and was even given responsibility of playing in behind the centre-forward, typically Emmanuel Adebayor, who was the leading marksman up front, scoring 30 goals in all competitions.
Arsenal’s approach in possession meant that they often dominated it. For instance, the opening game, a 2-1 win against Fulham, saw Arsenal share 58% possession. Arsenal’s play was all about keeping the ball, and expressing themselves when they had it. The football they played was not only very pretty on the eye, but also effective, and hopes were therefore very high as the first-half of the season rolled on. The Gunners also boasted the lowest percentage of passes that were long in the league during the 2007/08 season, with 10.33%.
Technical traits
Hleb had an array of feints, turns, and dummies in his armoury when being a highly silky attacking midfielder, who was there to bring the ball forward with his dribbling, bypassing defenders and providing passes for teammates. Data courtesy of Opta shows that Hleb completed the second most dribbles in the league with 88, just two short of Cristiano Ronaldo, with 90.
Hleb would make runs in behind, but seemed to prefer receiving the ball to feet, where he could then bring it forward himself, by either carrying it, or looking up and picking put a pass. However, third-man runs were handy at finding players in space, and drew fouls, even earning penalty-kicks; Hleb was brought down in the penalty-area, and was therefore awarded a penalty, which was converted by van Persie to complete a comeback against Bolton Wanderers after going two goals down.
Hleb’s tendency to dribble forward would attract numbers to him, which would not only create space for others, but also attract nasty attention from the opposition; he had to be stretchered off against West Ham United following a challenge from Mark Noble, and was often fouled cynically.
Although not an overly physical player, Hleb would protect the ball by getting his body in the way, essentially trapping it, which was handy when his back was facing the defender, and when in tight spaces, and facing tighter man-marking.
Comfortable passing forward with either foot, Hleb completed 1552 passes, with an accuracy of 82.73% in the Premier League that year. He was largely good at retaining possession, and always seemed to be in proximity of a teammate, he was always a passing option.
Hleb could supply the nearest full-back with a pass down the side, or cutting the ball back for a cross to be sent into the penalty-area, and was frequently part of shorter passing combinations on the edge of the box with teammates, which were difficult for defences to intercept. Hleb was likelier to cut the ball back, or recycle possession, than play a cross into the box. He offered a nice range of passes to meet forwards, be that between the lines, or over the top of the defence.
Hleb was adept in tight spaces, made evident by weaving his way past markers, or picking out a pass. But he was sometimes at fault for giving the ball away cheaply when attempting to dribble, or play a forward pass. Similarly, out to in passes played by Hleb were made fruitful by runs across and into the channels, but were sometimes blocked by opposition players.
A wide playmaker, and a second striker
If Hleb was playing as a wide midfielder, he would drift inside from the flank to receive the ball in pockets of space, and allow the full-back the room to overlap. He did not attach himself to the wing, he was able to roam, and even rotated positions with others.
Part of the shift that Arsenal made during this time period, which was headlined by moving stadiums, was starting more playmakers, rather than out-and-out wingers. This meant wingers were not always playing out wide, and that playmakers who were taking up wide midifeld berths invariably drifted inside.
Hleb was one of Arsenal’s two playmakers playing out wide; if Hleb and Rosicky started on either flank, they did not play as out and out-and-out wingers. They tucked inside, rather than consistently providing the width in attack, with the full-backs making overlapping runs. This meant that at times, Arsenal were outnumbering the opposition in the final-third, and the spaces Arsenal’s players were occupying allowed for quick, and short passing combinations.
Hleb was suited to playing such a role, as when receiving the ball infield, he could do so on the half-turn, he could play out to in passes, the pitch opened up as he dribbled infield, and he could avoid tighter man-marking. It also allowed for an extra centre-forward to start. He could also make runs in behind the opposing full-back and into the penalty-area.
These qualities would come through in attacking moves, where Arsenal would quickly shift the play across from one side to the other, and get the ball to the free man in space. In the 2007/08 campaign’s first rendition of the North London derby, Hleb received the ball from right-back Bacary Sagna, who pushed forward to support the attack.
Hleb turned, and dribbled into space and at the defence whilst moving infield from the right.
The defence shifted across to close down Hleb. But this left Abou Diaby free on the left to receive a pass from Hleb, who had already feigned to shoot to outwit the defence.
Diaby’s shot inside the box, however, was fired over the goal.
The trend of playmakers starting out wide for Arsenal would continue after Hleb’s eventual departure to Barcelona, with Samir Nasri, Andrei Arshavin, Yossi Benayoun, and Santi Cazorla all signing within the next few years.
Funnily enough, there were scenarios where Hleb would provide more conventional wing-play. A goal against West Ham oversaw the ball be sent out wide to Hleb, and on a rare occasion, he played a cross into the box, which was met by Robin van Persie. Though Hleb was likelier to cut the ball back, or play a pass on the ground across the box than a lofted ball.
If Hleb was instead playing as a second striker when Arsenal would adopt a 4-4-1-1, he would drop into deeper spaces to link with the midfield. Players like Hleb and Tomas Rosicky appreciated space more than others.
Hleb started as a second striker in Arsenal’s opening game of the season against Fulham, and also played in the same role in some important ties against tougher sides, including against Liverpool in Europe, where although Arsenal lost, he provided the assist for Diaby to give Arsenal a temporary lead. In another game which Arsenal lost, away to Manchester United, Hleb started just in behind Adebayor, where for a large portion of the game, they both combined well, with Hleb having the freedom to float across the attack.
Playing centrally also enabled Hleb’s presumed want to always be within space to receive the ball. Though he was not always picked out during attacking moves.
Combinations with Fabregas
Hleb had a strong on-pitch relationship with Fabregas, with whom he often combined to create chances, and this occurred whether Hleb started on the left, or in behind the centre-forward.
Fabregas would advance into the final-third from deeper positions in midfield. From more advanced positions, he could combine with the attack. Hleb could either be the recipient of a pass from Fabregas, or provide Fabregas with a ball to run onto.
Hleb scored the late winner in the aforementioned win against Fulham in first game of the season, after combining with Fabregas. Fabregas’ lofted ball was met by Hleb, who brought the ball down, and placed the ball into the bottom right corner. Though Hleb was not normally this clinical in front of goal, and did not shoot all too often; Hleb was a pass-first, rather than shoot-first attacking midfielder. Switch passes from Fabregas to Hleb out wide were followed by a run made via the channel or in behind the defence, which would then see Fabregas receive the ball back from Hleb.
The 7-0 thrashing of Slavia Prague, during match week four of the Champions League group stages, became Arsenal’s record win in Europe, and is a record which still stands to this day. This was perhaps one of the best summaries of Arsenal’s footballing qualities from that season, as, albeit against seemingly weaker opposition, Hleb and his teammates were absolutely brilliant on the night.
Hleb started on the left of midfield, and partook in one-touch play, and combinations, which resulted in chance after chance, and control of the opposing half. The game went in Arsenal’s favour tactically, as with Emmanuel Eboue and Sagna stretching play on the right, Hleb had space to tuck inside as well as play on the left.
Hleb assisted Fabregas’s and Arsenal’s first goal within the first 5 minutes. The ball was passed to Hleb, who dribbled down the wing.
As Hleb was holding up play on the left wing, Fabregas made a run into space on the edge of the penalty-area.
The run enabled the pass, but Hleb did well to give Fabregas the time to run into the vacated space. The finish that followed was superb.
Hleb was part of patient build-up from Arsenal, which played around the Prague shape without the ball. After forcing an own goal with a shot to double Arsenal’s lead, Hleb scored a goal which couldn’t be taken away from him. Arsenal played the ball through the thirds, with the move starting from the back. Fabregas’ movement invited a pass from Eboue on the right.
Hleb knew to run when Fabregas had the ball.
The ball progression drew numbers to Arsenal, creating space on the left. Hleb was the spare man this time around, and Fabregas returned the favour, setting him up, with Hleb driving inside…
and slotting the ball into the bottom right corner.
This was another case of arsenal interplay creating space on one side of pitch.
Then came another assist, this time for Walcott. Brilliant one-touch play down the left channel saw Fabregas combine with Hleb, before the latter fed he run from Walcott, who started this match up front, rather than on the wing, and scored, to increase the deficit to five.
Following Prague corner, Hleb dribbled down the wing from his own half, and passed inside to Walcott, who then set up Fabregas to bring up his tally to two. Of the 7 goals scored, Hleb was integral to 5. But even with contributions like this, did he provide enough over the course of the season?
A matter of output
Hleb, as well as Eboue, and Walcott, were Arsenal’s main options on the right side. Between them, they only managed 11 goals in all competitions, with Eboue scoring none. Ljungberg and Pires, those who previously occupied the flanks at Arsenal, provided more goals than Rosicky, and especially Hleb. Arsenal achieved their highest points tally since winning the title in 2004, but they could have went all the way with more efficiency in front of goal. It cost them in particular matches.
Arsenal did miss a lot of chances, but happened to have second highest goals to shots ratio in the league, with 15.64%. And not too many players providing a regular source of goals in the way the people often expect in the modern game could be said for number of a sides. Chelsea’s top scorer in the league was Lampard, with 10 goals. Cristiano Ronaldo, Wayne Rooney, and Carlos Tevez all reached double figures, but Saha was United’s top scorer barring those three, with 5 goals.
Not always deploying conventional wingers could be perceived as a double edged sword, especially when considering the numbers, and the predictability that can come with not being able to stretch opposing defensive lines in a way you would be able to with wingers; centre-forwards had to make runs out wide. Due to the shift in profiles, the full-backs provided the width, and that is not an issue in isolation. But there were times that because the full-backs had advanced forward, Arsenal could be susceptible on the counter-attack.
Diaby was another non-winger who was regularly picked to play on the flank, in his case the left, in many games throughout the season. Mathieu Flamini and Fabregas was the preferred midfield pairing. Diaby did not tend to stay wide either. Arsenal’s play garnered deserved praise in the earlier stages of the season, but as season rolled on, it could be deemed that were lacking a dynamism and a threat off of the ball that other sides had, which was notable in crucial matches against tough opponents.
The big games
Hleb was always a threat if able to evade pressure, albeit more difficult to do so in the so-called bigger games. These games would be cagier, so Arsenal would not have the privilege of more time on the ball.
Arsenal won by some margin against Everton 4-1, but the score line did not reflect how Everton made matters difficult for Arsenal for large chunks of the match. Everton were very compact, and Hleb therefore had less space when trying to play inside rather than out wide.
The 2-2 draw with Manchester United at Old Trafford saw tighter marking in midfield, where Hleb could be closed down. Anderson marked Hleb when Arsenal came up against United. The midfield, including Anderson and Owen Hargreaves, closed down passing lanes, which was especially necessary with Fabregas moving beyond their cover shadows.
But during the second-half of said match, Hleb passed to Fabregas in open space in midfield. The ball was sent to Adebayor on the flank, and the ball sent into the box was eventually met by Fabregas who scored. That was his 11th of 13 goals scored in all competitions that season, and the season hadn’t even reached halfway.
In the return fixture, however, United won all three points following a 2-1 win, and initially used an extra man in midfield. Arsenal managed to create openings with good interplay between Hleb and Adebayor, and took the lead, albeit controversially with a handball from Adebayor, but failed to take any more of the chances that came their way.
United grew into the game, and benefited from changes in the second-half, with more attackers introduced. Interestingly, van Persie played on the left flank, whereas Hleb took up an more free central role, before tighter marking in the second-half meant that Hleb was eventually reverted to a wide role.
This lends itself to the greater point of Hleb often playing centrally in the bigger ties too, which included Champions League ties against both Milan and Liverpool. Arsenal were brilliant against Milan, but as they came up against Liverpool, were arguably too open defensively, and perhaps became predictable for the bigger games.
Arsenal were outwitted at times in these sorts of matches. United adapting to the state of affairs meant they swung the game in their favour. On top of this, Arsenal developed a knack of not being clinical enough, and therefore not killing games off. Ultimately, this young Arsenal side lacked the physicality and guile that other sides vying for titles had. They were a good footballing side, but they were not overly physical, and lost crucial games in crunch time, against Chelsea, and United domestically, and against Liverpool in Europe.
Frankly, it is a case of if, buts, and maybe’s, but Arsenal had the quality to go all the way, but an array of factors kept them from doing so.
Sources; FBref, Opta, BBC Sport, The Coaches Voice, The Guardian
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