Same Old Story As Milan Defence Show Class Once Again

Tom Oldfield

In front of a packed house at the Emirates, Arsenal battered on the Milan door. Make no mistake about it, the Gunners played very well. And on another night Arsene Wenger’s side might have walked away with an unassailable first leg victory. But this is Milan and this is their style. The Champions League is their comfort zone and they know it like the back of their hand.

As Martin Samuel of The Times pointed out, those who felt Milan failed to live up to their hype on Wednesday night do not understand the nature of Carlo Ancelotti’s team and so many Milanese line-ups dating back through time. The Italians have turned resilient defending away from home into an art form and, whilst they clearly rode their luck at the Emirates against a fired-up Arsenal side, it has happened too often for Paolo Maldini and company to be branded as lucky. Grinding out such results has always been the aim on their travels, giving themselves every opportunity to finish the job in their own backyard.

Much of the post-match discussion had focused on the aging legs in the Milan team and how the youthful Gunners might exploit the alleged lack of pace in the Italians’ back line. Ex-Milan boss Fabio Capello, now in charge of England, admitted that he felt the Gunners were the worst possible opponents for his former club because of the pace and movement at Wenger’s disposal. We were all told that AC Milan were on the decline, despite the fact that they are reigning European Champions, and that this could well be Arsenal’s time. That of course remains to be seen but, on the evidence of the first leg stalemate, the Italians are certainly not a fading force – far from it, in fact.

The Gunners have been in supreme form this season. Emmanuel Adebayor is possibly the most in-form striker in Europe, Cesc Fabregas must be ranked amongst the most influential midfielders in world football while Alexander Hleb has been the most improved player in the Premier League this year. They sit proudly at the top of the table domestically. Yet Milan still shut them out.

Too often in the build-up, the words ‘experience’ and ‘old’ were muddled up when referring to Milan. Yes, captain Maldini would be making his 1,001^st career appearance and has won five European Cups. Yes, Seedorf has four. But this makes them wily rather than weary. The squad have been together for a number of years and know what it takes to win in this competition. Nothing can rattle them – not even a rampant Arsenal side.

Maldini might be 40 this year but in his case the emphasis should be on ‘experience’. At the Emirates, he began capably at left-back before shifting across to the centre of defence in the second half. There, he contained the pace and power of Adebayor whilst keeping one eye on the eye of the needle through balls being attempted by Fabregas, Hleb and Mathieu Flamini. The sustained period of pressure that the Gunners were hoping for in the final fifteen minutes never fully arrived.

Alongside Maldini, Alessandro Nesta, Kakha Kaladze and Massimo Oddo survived the Arsenal onslaught by relying on anticipation, positioning and, on a couple of occasions, the luck of the bounce. Crosses were well dealt with, passes were cleverly read and bodies were thrown heroically in order to preserve the clean sheet. This was a masterclass in ‘experience’.

For the Milan back four – and defensive midfield terriers Gennaro Gattuso and Massimo Ambrosini – the away leg is their responsibility. This is where they really earn their wages. If the forwards can snatch a goal on the counter attack, all the better. But the away leg for Ancelotti’s men is first and foremost about staying in the tie and giving the flair players a platform for the home leg at the San Siro.

That is not to say that Milan cannot play offensively on the road. There are plenty of examples of triumphs on their travels – including a 2-0 victory in Munich last season – but, given the choice, the team prefers to adopt a conservative approach. And it has worked wonders for them over the past twenty years.

In fairness, Arsenal made the champions put in their toughest European shift of the season and Milan had to call on every ounce of know-how to hang on against their vibrant opponents. But, ultimately, Wenger watched his side stumble where so many sides have done so before. The Gunners had Milan’s number on Wednesday night and it took all the Italians’ experience to weather a constant second half storm. It brought back memories of Manchester United’s futile attempts to beat Milan at Old Trafford in 2005. That night, United conceded a late goal to lose 1-0. Arsenal at least avoided that fate.

The most worrying part for Fabregas and company is that the return leg promises to be a very different match and the Italians’ style is likely to be unrecognisable from their first leg approach. At home, Milan are kings in possession. At the Emirates, they wasted the ball time and again in the midfield areas. Andrea Pirlo was out of sorts, Kaka only flickered into life occasionally and Alexandre Pato was too isolated up front. But their time will come in the second leg. Kaka, in particular, likes to step forward when it matters most – just ask Sir Alex Ferguson.

An English club have never beaten AC Milan at the San Siro in a European competition and so the odds are against Arsenal. An away goal for the visitors would certainly change the complexion of the tie but Ancelotti’s side have been here before and have a habit of turning 0-0 results away from home into aggregate victories in front of their own supporters.

Expect a shift in emphasis when the players walk out in Italy on 4 March. Maldini and his defensive colleagues have done their job, now the flair players will attempt to keep up their end of the bargain and book Milan’s place in the quarter-final draw.