Back to front for big Belgian

by Guardian Chalkboards

Thomas Vermaelen's return from injury after two and a half months without a Premier League start was a welcome boost for Arsenal in the 3-0 win over West Brom. In addition to grabbing the second goal that effectively ended the game as a contest, he also helped his side to a clean sheet. He and Laurent Koscielny are yet to concede a goal in the 205 Premier League minutes they have played together this season, and while Arsène Wenger brought in Per Mertesacker this summer, Vermaelen and Koscielny appears to be his first-choice combination at the back.

Despite having completed only three games together since Koscielny joined the club, they seem to be a good partnership. Vermaelen constantly wants to move towards the play and sneak ahead of opposition strikers to win the ball, while Koscielny is much more reserved and tends to naturally cover for his partner. Indeed, with Vermaelen often caught high up the pitch, and Arsenal's two full-backs, Carl Jenkinson and André Santos, still positionally uncertain, Koscielny's discipline and calmness at the back is vital for Arsenal.

by Guardian Chalkboards

The difference in Vermaelen and Koscielny's play is summed up by where, and how, they win the ball. Vermaelen made five interceptions against West Brom, usually close to the halfway line, but made no successful ground tackles. Koscielny makes fewer interceptions, and when he does they are in deeper positions – but he is far more likely to make successful ground tackles on the edge of his penalty area.

Vermaelen's impetuousness was both a help and a hindrance for Arsenal. His proactive method of winning the ball back led to a quick Arsenal attack for Robin van Persie's opener, but it also resulted in him committing unnecessary fouls and giving West Brom the chance to put free-kicks into the box, where Arsenal are most vulnerable. Perhaps he is regaining match sharpness, but this has been an issue throughout his Arsenal career – winning the ball quickly is useful but he needs to learn that sometimes he simply can't win the ball and he will be easily turned by the striker.

United keep it clean

On the subject of interceptions and tackles, Manchester United showed that it is possible to keep a clean sheet despite hardly ever making successful challenges on the floor. They completed only five ground tackles in the entire game, all down their left-hand side, compared to 17 interceptions. It was the second-fewest ground tackles won by a Premier League side in a game this season – the other occasion was against Norwich, in the home game before the 6-1 defeat to Manchester City, when they won only four tackles but again kept a clean sheet.

by Guardian Chalkboards

Spider-Man spins his web

With Newcastle United's midfield suffering from injury problems during the 2-1 over Everton in the early afternoon kick-off on Saturday, it was an interesting afternoon for Jonás Gutiérrez. He started on the left wing but was moved to the right for the second half. He seemed to be given more creative responsibility in the centre of the pitch, especially after Yohan Cabaye went off injured after 38 minutes. Compare the positions of his passes to Newcastle's previous home game against Wigan, and it is clear that he was much keener to come inside off the flank and play passes in central positions, roughly 30 yards from goal. Gutiérrez showed why he is a winger, though – almost all the passes he attempted near the flanks were successful, and nearly all the ones he tried in the middle of the pitch went astray.

by Guardian Chalkboards

Vorm on form

Liverpool did not have a strategy to beat Swansea City, but they had a good tactic for disrupting their passing game from the back. Knowing that the Swans goalkeeper Michel Vorm likes to play short passes out to his defenders, Kenny Dalglish asked his players to be in a position to close down quickly if the Dutch goalkeeper took the short option. It gave the goalkeeper a dilemma – to play risky short-range passes or hit longer balls that were less dangerous but likely to concede possession? There was a mixed bag from Vorm – he kicked some balls straight out for a throw, completed some passes to the back four, and also went long occasionally. It was a clear contrast from Swansea's previous game, against Bolton, when his distribution was nearly always short. His pass completion ratio was 96% there and only 59% at Anfield. He will be pleased with his fifth clean sheet of the season, however – no Premier League goalkeeper has kept more.

by Guardian Chalkboards

Cottagers cheesed off

Fulham recorded an amazing 32 shots in their 3-1 home defeat to Tottenham Hotspur – and yet failed to score with any of them, their only goal coming from a Younes Kaboul own goal. It was the highest number of shots by a team in a Premier League game this season and it is the first time since Opta records began that a side have had 13 shots on target and still lost the game.

by Guardian Chalkboards

Michael Cox is editor of zonalmarking.net