v:* {behavior:url(#default#VML);}
o:* {behavior:url(#default#VML);}
w:* {behavior:url(#default#VML);}
.shape {behavior:url(#default#VML);}

Normal
0
false

false
false
false

EN-US
JA
X-NONE

/* Style Definitions */
table.MsoNormalTable
{mso-style-name:"Table Normal";
mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0;
mso-tstyle-colband-size:0;
mso-style-noshow:yes;
mso-style-priority:99;
mso-style-parent:"";
mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt;
mso-para-margin:0in;
mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt;
mso-pagination:widow-orphan;
font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:Cambria;
mso-ascii-font-family:Cambria;
mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-hansi-font-family:Cambria;
mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;}

This is one of the easier games. Spot the odd one out from last
season's top seven. It is Arsenal. It often is. Defiantly different in much
they do, the Gunners are alone in opting not to buy a defensive midfielder in

1. Indeed, only they and Chelsea did not recruit someone to protect the back
   four over the summer, and that was because Jose Mourinho had pre-empted his
   rivals.

While Manchester City plumped for Fernando, Liverpool brought in
Emre Can, Everton added Gareth Barry and Muhamed Besic, Spurs signed Benjamin
Stambouli and Manchester United went for Daley Blind, the Portuguese had
already purchased Nemanja Matic in January. He ranks as the most expensive and,
arguably, the most important of the 2014 influx of midfield sentries.

Both as a player and as an emblem of contrasting policies, he
will be particularly pertinent on Sunday. Chelsea against Arsenal is Mourinho
against Arsene Wenger. It is also Matic against Mathieu Flamini, 21
million-pound rock versus free-transfer understudy. And from an Arsenal
perspective, even that may be better than Mikel Arteta facing Matic. The
injured captain's weaknesses tend to be most apparent in such fixtures. So,
too, Arsenal's shortcomings, when attacking midfielders and attack-minded
full-backs, contrive to leave the centre-backs with only a slow passer for
support.

This weekend, they go to Stamford Bridge, scene of one of three
historic humblings last season. They conceded 17 goals on their visits to City,
Liverpool and Chelsea, the trio of teams who finished above them. Had they
taken seven points instead, they would have been champions. In contrast,
Chelsea have visited the Etihad Stadium twice and Anfield once in the league
with Matic in the midfield and only conceded once. The numbers alone amount to
an advertisement for the professional defensive midfielder.

In Arteta's defence, he merits sympathy -- his defensive
deficiencies were not exposed in David Moyes' more organised, less ambitious
Everton side -- and requires more assistance from others. Failings are often
tactical as much as individual and a focus on him can personify the problems.
In any case, he missed the 6-3 thrashing at the Etihad Stadium. But as he
scored an own goal in a 3-0 defeat at Goodison Park, he was troubled on his
travels to top teams. If Arsenal endured an unfortunate hat trick on their
visits to the finest English teams, Arteta almost recorded a treble of his own
in Europe.

He was sent off at Napoli, cautioned and fortunate to escape
other dismissals against Borussia Dortmund and Bayern Munich. Over the three
games, he committed at least six bookable offences. A determined player who
lacked the attributes and ability to cope in such tests. City won the title
without employing a specialist defensive midfielder but Fernando's arrival
indicates they recognised they needed one, both for defining away games and
Champions League matches.

And Arteta highlights the difference between deep-lying and
defensive midfielders. A possession game requires a distributor, and a
counterattacking -- or even just negative -- strategy necessitates a nullifier.
The best, of course, can combine the two roles, and Matic has an 87 percent
pass completion rate, two goals and an assist already this season.

Perhaps more significantly, he also presents a huge barrier in
front of the central defenders, standing 16cm (6 inches) taller than Flamini
and towering 18cm (7 inches) above Arteta. In stature, as in ethos, Chelsea and
Arsenal represent opposites. Mourinho has focused on the spine of side in his
2014 transfer business; Wenger could line up with his two biggest buys, Mesut
Ozil and Alexis Sanchez, on the flanks.

Indeed, Matic was Chelsea's biggest January buy. Mourinho
prioritised his re-signing despite a more pressing need for a striker (and
because he planned to bring Diego Costa in over the close season). Wenger has
not paid a penny for anyone to anchor the midfield since Arteta's 2011 arrival.
Since the Spaniard joined, too, Wenger has paid more than 100 million pounds
for a quartet to occupy the more attacking positions in his midfield: Lukas
Podolski, Santi Cazorla, Ozil and Sanchez.

If Arteta is disqualified -- on the grounds that, unlike
Flamini, he is not really a defensive midfielder at all -- then the last to command
a fee was actually purchased from Chelsea: Lassana Diarra, a 2007 arrival who
was only granted four league starts by Wenger. Not since Gilberto Silva arrived
in 2002 has a defensive midfielder been Arsenal's biggest purchase of a window
and the Brazilian lost his place because his passing was not deemed sharp
enough, rather than because of any failings as a ball-winner.

It marked a change in emphasis. Once Arsenal had the strapping
6-footers in the centre of the pitch; once their centre-backs were the envy of
their equivalents elsewhere because of the protection they were afforded. The
change from destructive to constructive players should not obscure the reality
that arguably the Premier League's greatest defensive-midfield duo were pillars
of Wenger's first title-winning team: Emmanuel Petit and Patrick Vieira, one a
player he had managed at Monaco and another whom he signed before his own
appointment at Highbury was ratified.

Yet perhaps the division's most influential defensive midfielder
plied his trade for Mourinho. He inherited Claude Makelele from Claudio
Ranieri, but the former Real Madrid man proved perfect for the Portuguese.
Unlike the all-action Vieira, Chelsea's Frenchman was an anchorman. It was
imitated so much that "the Makelele role" entered the footballing
lexicon. No one ever talks about "the Vieira role."

As tactics changed, as midfields became two-tiered in 4-2-3-1
and 4-1-4-1 formations, the Vieira-esque box-to-box player became a rarity, his
duties divided between more attack-minded, creative footballers and the
policemen parked in front of the back four. Wenger stopped spending on them,
focusing on the forward-thinking players. It may have marked the point when
purist principles held sway over pragmatic instincts. It exacerbated his
already considerable differences with his Chelsea counterpart. But while Cesc
Fabregas, who has played for both managers, will be the focus of attention on
Sunday, Matic is the midfielder who illustrates that Wenger and Mourinho are
poles apart in their thinking.

This is one of the easier games. Spot the odd one out from last
season's top seven. It is Arsenal. It often is. Defiantly different in much
they do, the Gunners are alone in opting not to buy a defensive midfielder in

1. Indeed, only they and Chelsea did not recruit someone to protect the back
   four over the summer, and that was because Jose Mourinho had pre-empted his
   rivals.

While Manchester City plumped for Fernando, Liverpool brought in
Emre Can, Everton added Gareth Barry and Muhamed Besic, Spurs signed Benjamin
Stambouli and Manchester United went for Daley Blind, the Portuguese had
already purchased Nemanja Matic in January. He ranks as the most expensive and,
arguably, the most important of the 2014 influx of midfield sentries.

Both as a player and as an emblem of contrasting policies, he
will be particularly pertinent on Sunday. Chelsea against Arsenal is Mourinho
against Arsene Wenger. It is also Matic against Mathieu Flamini, 21
million-pound rock versus free-transfer understudy. And from an Arsenal
perspective, even that may be better than Mikel Arteta facing Matic. The
injured captain's weaknesses tend to be most apparent in such fixtures. So,
too, Arsenal's shortcomings, when attacking midfielders and attack-minded
full-backs, contrive to leave the centre-backs with only a slow passer for
support.

This weekend, they go to Stamford Bridge, scene of one of three
historic humblings last season. They conceded 17 goals on their visits to City,
Liverpool and Chelsea, the trio of teams who finished above them. Had they
taken seven points instead, they would have been champions. In contrast,
Chelsea have visited the Etihad Stadium twice and Anfield once in the league
with Matic in the midfield and only conceded once. The numbers alone amount to
an advertisement for the professional defensive midfielder.

In Arteta's defence, he merits sympathy -- his defensive
deficiencies were not exposed in David Moyes' more organised, less ambitious
Everton side -- and requires more assistance from others. Failings are often
tactical as much as individual and a focus on him can personify the problems.
In any case, he missed the 6-3 thrashing at the Etihad Stadium. But as he
scored an own goal in a 3-0 defeat at Goodison Park, he was troubled on his
travels to top teams. If Arsenal endured an unfortunate hat trick on their
visits to the finest English teams, Arteta almost recorded a treble of his own
in Europe.

He was sent off at Napoli, cautioned and fortunate to escape
other dismissals against Borussia Dortmund and Bayern Munich. Over the three
games, he committed at least six bookable offences. A determined player who
lacked the attributes and ability to cope in such tests. City won the title
without employing a specialist defensive midfielder but Fernando's arrival
indicates they recognised they needed one, both for defining away games and
Champions League matches.

And Arteta highlights the difference between deep-lying and
defensive midfielders. A possession game requires a distributor, and a
counterattacking -- or even just negative -- strategy necessitates a nullifier.
The best, of course, can combine the two roles, and Matic has an 87 percent
pass completion rate, two goals and an assist already this season.

Perhaps more significantly, he also presents a huge barrier in
front of the central defenders, standing 16cm (6 inches) taller than Flamini
and towering 18cm (7 inches) above Arteta. In stature, as in ethos, Chelsea and
Arsenal represent opposites. Mourinho has focused on the spine of side in his
2014 transfer business; Wenger could line up with his two biggest buys, Mesut
Ozil and Alexis Sanchez, on the flanks.

Indeed, Matic was Chelsea's biggest January buy. Mourinho
prioritised his re-signing despite a more pressing need for a striker (and
because he planned to bring Diego Costa in over the close season). Wenger has
not paid a penny for anyone to anchor the midfield since Arteta's 2011 arrival.
Since the Spaniard joined, too, Wenger has paid more than 100 million pounds
for a quartet to occupy the more attacking positions in his midfield: Lukas
Podolski, Santi Cazorla, Ozil and Sanchez.

If Arteta is disqualified -- on the grounds that, unlike
Flamini, he is not really a defensive midfielder at all -- then the last to command
a fee was actually purchased from Chelsea: Lassana Diarra, a 2007 arrival who
was only granted four league starts by Wenger. Not since Gilberto Silva arrived
in 2002 has a defensive midfielder been Arsenal's biggest purchase of a window
and the Brazilian lost his place because his passing was not deemed sharp
enough, rather than because of any failings as a ball-winner.

It marked a change in emphasis. Once Arsenal had the strapping
6-footers in the centre of the pitch; once their centre-backs were the envy of
their equivalents elsewhere because of the protection they were afforded. The
change from destructive to constructive players should not obscure the reality
that arguably the Premier League's greatest defensive-midfield duo were pillars
of Wenger's first title-winning team: Emmanuel Petit and Patrick Vieira, one a
player he had managed at Monaco and another whom he signed before his own
appointment at Highbury was ratified.

Yet perhaps the division's most influential defensive midfielder
plied his trade for Mourinho. He inherited Claude Makelele from Claudio
Ranieri, but the former Real Madrid man proved perfect for the Portuguese.
Unlike the all-action Vieira, Chelsea's Frenchman was an anchorman. It was
imitated so much that "the Makelele role" entered the footballing
lexicon. No one ever talks about "the Vieira role."

As tactics changed, as midfields became two-tiered in 4-2-3-1
and 4-1-4-1 formations, the Vieira-esque box-to-box player became a rarity, his
duties divided between more attack-minded, creative footballers and the
policemen parked in front of the back four. Wenger stopped spending on them,
focusing on the forward-thinking players. It may have marked the point when
purist principles held sway over pragmatic instincts. It exacerbated his
already considerable differences with his Chelsea counterpart. But while Cesc
Fabregas, who has played for both managers, will be the focus of attention on
Sunday, Matic is the midfielder who illustrates that Wenger and Mourinho are
poles apart in their thinking.

Cheers @ Marcus2011. They say the best defence creates the best attacks. Same goes for AFL football in Australia. Defence right first.

@quikzyyy Ozil is on the back of 3 great performances. He was good vs Aston Villa, and he was awesome against the spuds and Galatasaray. The issue will be flamini/wilshere. Wilshere will go forward, and Flimflam will get skinned by hazard and costa on the counter. Just like you the more I think about the game the more I'm warming up to it. I'm a little more optimistic than earlier.