Reading 2 Arsenal 5 | Tactical Analysis & Player Stats Report

It wasn’t 5-7, but it was still highly entertaining stuff on Monday at the Madejski Stadium.

Arsenal may be in something of a crisis after losing to Bradford City in the Capital One Cup, but a strong showing at the Madejski Stadium will have Arsene Wenger pleased. Arsenal put 4 unanswered goals past Reading before McDermott’s men managed to find 2 opportunistic goals within five minutes of each other.

Readings orthodox 4-4-2 was stretched by Arsenal’s superior numbers in midfield. Their defensive line was fairly high, but this failed to reduce the amount  of running space ahead of their penalty area and Arsenal took advantage of this. When they did counter, they did it fairly well. Both of their goals had less than three passes in build up. Their game plan was clear: attempt to win the ball high and quickly put it toward goal.

Wenger fielded a 4-2-3-1. Theo Walcott, got his wish of playing through the center, flanked by Podolski and Oxlaide-Chamberlain. Cazorla operated as a link between the deeper lying Arteta and Wilshere, finding a significant amoutn of space behind Reading’s midfielders.

The Royals played a surprisingly high line that led to high involvement from Arsenal’s wingers and fullbacks. They completely dominated the midfield through short passing, but space and pace were both found and exploited down the flanks to quickly launch attacks.

Arsenal took 67% of the possession with Reading struggling to put together sustained periods of pressure. This statistic paired with their 379 more completed passes than Reading illustrates their dominance of the match. Arsenal also created 6 clear-cut scoring chances to Reading’s 2.

Walcott As A Central Striker

Theo Walcott answered some of his doubters with a decent performance as a central striker. He invited chances frequently with his direct pace. Reading played a surprisingly high defensive line and  were highly susceptible to Walcott’s speedy runs across the back of defense.

Before scoring his goal in the 80^th minute, Walcott also had a fantastic opportunity to score in the first goal when a through ball played him one-on-one against Federici in goal. The chance was ultimately missed, but it was indicative of a striker who is able to quickly receive a pass and a look for a finish behind a defensive line.

Walcott also demonstrated an admirable degree of dynamism. While his opening opportunity was the result of quick play that played to this pace, his goal was the product of an extended period of possession. Around 14 passes were strung together to create his goal. His position off the ball was vital, and he invited space in areas that maximized his potential of scoring.

Reading Exposed On The Left

Four out of Arsenal’s five goals were assisted down the left. Reading’s Cummings at right-back was given no support from Kebe at right winger, and frequently allowed Gibbs and Podolski a great amount of space to operate in. Both players were able to play quick one-two passes that forced Cummings to over commit, leaving one of the speedy players open to play a cross.

Gibbs and Podolski ended the match with two assists a piece with the German also scoring a goal. Every single Arsenal goal was created down the left flank.

Kebe contributed a well executed goal for Reading and had a perfect success rate with his 6 dribbles, but his largest impact was a negative one. His advanced role left Cummings over stretched, and Arsenal pounced on this opening to great effect.

Page 2: Cazorla’s Hat-Trick & Conclusions (click here to view Santi Cazorla’s attacking dashboard & the conclusion or click on the page 2 below)