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As the Champions League final approaches, two-time award-winning Serie A coach Alberto Zaccheroni, speaking to the BBC, presented a detailed plan on how Arsenal could defeat the Spanish champions.
One of the most respected Italian coaches, who won the Scudetto with the club in 1999, stated that despite being a very strong team with players like Samuel Eto'o, Ronaldinho, and Carles Puyol, Arsenal could intelligently play to defeat the Catalan club. Here are Zaccheroni's thoughts on Arsenal's tactics in the Champions League final.
How to stop Ronaldinho
"Since Ronaldinho is a very capable player, Arsene Wenger will try to compact his team's right flank as much as possible. When Ronaldinho has the ball, the right defender of the London team should stick close to him, along with one of the safeties. Ronaldinho starts his attack on the left side, but he does not play with his left foot. Therefore, if Arsenal defenders press him towards the edge, he won't have as many options on what to do next."
"Ronaldinho plays very high-quality football, but when faced with numerical superiority, a player can struggle. I think Arsenal should mark him with two players, as personal defense one-on-one could be disastrous, allowing Ronaldinho to easily move to the center and constantly feed Samuel Eto'o with passes. This is exactly what happened in the semi-finals against Milan, and the Italian club faced many problems."
How to stop Barca attackers
"The English club, in order to defend against Samuel Eto'o and Ludovico Giuly, must leave them with as little space as possible. These players exploit every inch of space on the field, so Arsenal defenders must be as close as possible to these players throughout the game. The most dangerous thing is Ronaldinho's passes to these players. Such episodes could be detrimental for the Arsenal team."
Defense in the midfield
"It is very important for the London club to close down Barca's midfield, as apart from Ronaldinho, the attackers can also be fed by Deco, Iniesta, van Bommel. These players are also very good at dealing with this task, as they are also technically skilled players capable of leading attackers towards the goalkeeper with their passes."
"Arsenal must focus only on the fight in the center, as on the flanks Barca has Belletti and van Bronckhorst, who should not cause too many problems, as the Catalan club does not have good attacking midfielders or safeties in the air who could score a goal after a cross from the flank. Especially since Arsenal defenders are very strong in the second level."
How to position players
In the Champions League final, Barca will probably play with a 4-3-3 formation, unlike in the semi-finals against Milan, when they played with three defenders and a defensive midfielder covering the dangerous Milan attacking midfielder Kaka. Arsenal does not have such dangerous central midfielders, so this time there will be no need for individual defense against some midfielder."
"Meanwhile, Arsenal should play the same tactic as always – the main threat will come from the safeties playing on the flanks, feeding the dangerous Thierry Henry with their passes. Only by attacking intensely can the London club take advantage of the weakest point of the Spanish club – their defense. Barcelona's defense is not very well organized and could be exposed if played against correctly."
The attacking problem
"The biggest concern is that Arsenal probably will play with only one attacker – Thierry Henry as always. And even though he is one of the best in the world, one attacker might not be enough for the London club to overcome Barcelona's defense. I think when playing against Barcelona, you need more than one attacker. Arsenal counter-attacks would be even more dangerous if the pressure on Barca's defense was applied by not one, but two attackers."
"Arsenal must play as they did in Turin, not as they played in Spain against .
Thierry Henry
"Thierry Henry should try to go one-on-one with Rafael Marquez, not with Carles Puyol. This way he would have more chances to score a goal. However, I still think that Barcelona will move their defenders further back towards the goal, leaving less space for Thierry Henry."
"However, this could positively affect Arsenal's game – then the safeties of this team would have more space, and playing on the flanks would become sharper, with dangerous passes into the penalty area occurring more frequently."
Psychological aspects
"I am not Arsene Wenger, but in his place, I would tell the players that the psychological attitude will determine the winner of the Champions League final. I would tell the players that I trust them and believe in their success in the final. I would boost their self-confidence by saying that they deserve to be in the final and are capable enough to defeat the Spanish club."
Zaccheroni's predictions
"It is always difficult to predict the result of the Champions League final – just look at what happened last year! On paper, Barcelona may be the favorites, as they are technically stronger, but Arsenal is a more organized team, so I think both teams have equal chances."
