#RSS Feed for Alan Smith articles - Telegraph.co.uk < img alt="dcsimg" id="dcsimg" width="1" height="1" src="//webtrends.telegraph.co.uk/dcsshgbi400000gscd62rrg43_4o2o/njs.gif ?MLC=&Channel=&Genre=&Category=&Content_Type=&Level=&source=&dcsuri=/no javascript&WT.js=No&WT.tv=10.2.10&dcssip=www.telegraph.co.uk"/> [p?c1=2&c2=6035736&cv=2.0&cj=1] Accessibility links * Skip to article * Skip to navigation [telegraph_print_190.gif] Advertisement Telegraph.co.uk ___________________ Submit Wednesday 23 January 2013 * Home * News * World * Sport * Finance * Comment * Blogs * Culture * Travel * Life * Fashion * Tech * Dating * Offers * Jobs * Football * Rugby Union * Cricket * F1 * Tennis * Golf * Cycling * Olympics * Boxing * UFC * Rugby League * Racing * Fantasy 1. Home» 2. Sport» 3. Columnists» 4. Alan Smith Alan Smith: Arsenal must deal with Manchester United's wingers to stand a chance Sir Alex Ferguson took a few people by surprise when he picked two wingers for last weekend’s game against Chelsea. Arsenal must find a way of stoping Manchester United's in-form winger Antonio Valencia Catch me if you can: Arsenal must find a way of stoping Manchester United's in-form winger Antonio Valencia Photo: EPA Alan Smith By Alan Smith 10:00PM GMT 02 Nov 2012 IFRAME: http://platform.twitter.com/widgets/follow_button.html?show_screen_name =false&show_count=true&screen_name=9smudge Comments Comments It had been generally assumed that the Manchester United manager would stick with the midfield diamond that worked so well in their previous away game at Newcastle United. That kind of solidity seemed the best way to go against a Chelsea side that tends to flood the middle ground. Yet Ferguson put his trust in Antonio Valencia and the returning Ashley Young, presumably in an effort to pin back Chelsea's full-backs, whilst Wayne Rooney dropped off to help Michael Carrick and Tom Cleverley. It will be interesting, then, to see what United do today against an Arsenal side that also likes to build through the centre. Back to the diamond? A switch to 4-3-3? Or something very similar to the shape at Stamford Bridge? To be honest, I would guess at that final option which sees United use the flanks when they’ve got the ball. That has traditionally been their way, especially at home, and there is no reason to change now when you examine Arsenal’s weakness at the back. Because if Valencia can give Ashley Cole a tough time, as he did last week, he can certainly do the same to Andre Santos whose positional sense at left-back can be very poor. This is a player at his happiest attacking, not staying put to deny his winger. Related Articles * Alan Smith: buck stops with Wenger 26 Oct 2012 * Hoolahan and Holt key to Norwich 19 Oct 2012 * Van Persie's goals the most effective in the league 02 Nov 2012 * Manchester United v Arsenal: preview 02 Nov 2012 * Vidic return delayed until 'around Christmas time' 02 Nov 2012 * Ferguson is worse off than Mancini 05 Oct 2012 Not only that, the Brazilian’s physical capacity for getting back after a forward burst is questionable at best. Valencia can therefore match his man for stamina and speed whilst holding the advantage when United win the ball. Santos could therefore leave a huge gap if he’s not careful, forcing Thomas Vermaelen to shift across (Fig 1). To avoid such a problem, Arsene Wenger could conceivably ask Vermaelen to play at left-back, but that might compromise the centre of defence where Robin van Persie, of course, is more than capable of punishing his old club. Up the other end, meanwhile, Arsenalmust find a way of causing problems and that means getting Santi Cazorla on the ball in decent areas. Over the last few weeks, the opposition have rightly earmarked the little Spaniard as Arsenal’s biggest threat and so have gone out of their way to close down the playmaker, thereby limiting the team to fewer chances. But the good news for Wenger is that Jack Wilshere is back, meaning Arsenal now have more than one player who can quickly see the pass. After so long out, it would be unreasonable to expect Wilshere to hit the heights straight away, but he can still make a big difference to this Arsenal side. Also make a difference, perhaps, to Theo Walcott who must stand a chance of starting this game after boosting his confidence with those midweek goals against Reading. Walcott, we know, wants to play through the middle. It’s the main reason, apparently, he hasn’t yet signed a new contract. If I was him, though, I wouldn’t get too preoccupied with his starting position because someone in his role, if he’s cute enough, can end up running through on goal plenty of times. Look at Chelsea’s Eden Hazard. You don’t see the brilliant Belgian staying out on the wing. He will choose his moments to drift inside before making a darting run between full-back and centre-half that someone like Juan Mata can usually pick out. In many ways, this is an easier way of finding space than playing directly up against two central defenders who can cover for each other when you make a run. In any case, Walcott isn’t exactly restricted within Arsenal’s shape. He can always move across to get involved. And with Cazorla and Wilshere about, that should lead in theory to some excellent service, as long as Walcott learns the ropes to this important role (Fig 2). That said, I wouldn’t be surprised to see him start on the bench today, with Aaron Ramsey used instead to give the team a more solid feel. Arsenal, after all, have a dreadful recent record at Old Trafford, even when you discount last season’s 8-2 shocker. While this one shouldn’t get that humiliating, Arsenal do go into the game with plenty to do. Up against United’s attacking power, the visiting defence might not be strong enough. Alan Smith * Sport » * Football » * Premier League » * Arsenal » * Manchester United » In Alan Smith Steve Tyler - The weekend world of sport, April 17-18 2010 in pictures The weekend world of sport Advertisement telegraphuk Please enable JavaScript to view the comments powered by Disqus. blog comments powered by Disqus More The Football Blog World Cup 2010 Football Action Photos Advertisement Advertisement Sport most viewed * TODAY * PAST WEEK * PAST MONTH 1. India v England: live 2. Roger Federer v Jo-Wilfried Tsonga: live 3. Colin Murray is not just irritating and irrelevant – he is a very bad presenter 4. 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