I asked my followers on Twitter-What was the most interesting thing they observed from Arsenal Vs AC Milan,below are few of the more interesting replies.


Unpredictable Arsenal? They continue to confound fans & critics alike this season. Just look at the scribes’ opinion on Wenger.Milan are still some way from being mentioned among the top clubs in Europe atm. Yesterday’s game showed just that.Walcott has much to worry about his place in the side given the phenomenal rise of Oxlade-Chamberlain in recent weeks.Finally, Arsenal will be obviously disappointed after getting so close but they need to realise that 4th place is priority now.

                        

                                                                                                             –@AbhinavCJ

Ibra’s fantastic hold up play in the second half won the tie essentially.


                                                                                                             -@Whole12Yards

Arsenal have a backbone, Spurs game motivated them, they’re not bottlers anymore. As for Milan, they were too complacent.

                                                                                                             -@Radwancfc

The amazing pressing by #AFC in the first half. I love pressing like that.


                                                                                                             -@FlixandTrix

The crowd seemed to die after VP’s miss, even though there was 30 mins left. As if everyone woke up from the same dream at once.


                                                                                                              -@RGSOAS

How important Arsenal’s aggression was in unsettling Milan. Look at the foul and yellow card counts.


                                                                                                               -@DiarmaidHill

A few of my own thoughts
  • Arsenal’s defensive coordination and  positioning was excellent,Zlatan was caught offside often during the match.
  • When playing away from home,teams usually defend with  two banks of four,but Milan always leave 3 up front which means they should be effective on the counter which they weren’t against Arsenal(KPB was missed a great deal).
  • Milan’s weakness is that their midfield is narrow and Arsenal took advantage of this by playing two natural wingers on the flanks,Wenger should have done the same thing in the first leg too.
  • A better bench would have helped Arsenal a great deal in the final 30 minutes.
Arjun Rao is a football writer covering the Premier League for The False 9 — tactical breakdowns, transfer analysis and the numbers behind the game.