Sport
the times | Saturday August 1 2020 2GS 3
Cup, Mount will be central to his manager’s efforts to add silverware to an already impressive maiden top-flight campaign
If Mason Mount is to make his father
happy, it will not be quite enough for
Chelsea to win the FA Cup. The
21-year-old will also need to score a
hat-trick today at Wembley.
At the start of every season Mount
sits down with Tony, his dad, a former
non-League manager, and they
determine the attacking midfielder’s
targets. So far this campaign Mount
has scored seven goals but Tony had
said he should aim to score ten.
“Dad’s very hard on me,” Mount
says, “and is my biggest critic so ten is
always going to be the target. He has
said that my whole life. If you are
averaging ten goals as a midfielder
you are having a good season.
“I fell a bit short but that will be my
goal next season. I will keep setting it
until I achieve it and hopefully keep
getting better and better at it.”
At least Tony was pleased with the
free kick his son scored against
Wolverhampton Wanderers on the
last day of the Premier League
campaign, which helped to seal
Chelsea’s place in the top four and
Champions League qualification.
That particular set piece was almost
unnerving. The club posted footage of
Mount taking an almost identical free
kick aged ten.
“It’s scarily similar,” Mount laughs.
“When you put them side by side... it
was a special moment.”
Mount, aged ten, was almost
precocious, predicting he would score
using Cristiano Ronaldo’s
technique.
“Yeah... that’s just me
as a boy, on a football
pitch, just enjoying
myself,” he says. “I
stepped up, we were
talking about the
Ronaldo technique,
that’s something I
was always looking at
and working on, and I
managed to score. It was
a nice little moment and it
got caught on camera as well.”
Because he has fallen short of his
father’s expectations, Mount awards
himself a mark of seven out of ten for
the season to reflect his goal tally, but
he has also, this campaign, made 51
appearances across all competitions,
won his first England caps (he now
has six), provided five assists and
scored against Manchester United in
the FA Cup semi-final.
He has won the hearts of Chelsea
fans for his commitment, pressing
and consistency as well as his skill,
but he also suffered the indignity of
being hauled off at half-time, along
with fellow youngsters Billy Gilmour
and Reece James, when Chelsea wereguide my way, reveals Arteta
1
Switch to three at the back
Mikel Arteta’s second game as Arsenal
manager came against Chelsea, his side
losing 2-1 before drawing 2-2 in the return
Premier League fixture less than a month
later. Much has changed since — not least
Arsenal’s formation, with Arteta having
switched from a 4-2-3-1 to a 3-4-3.
An FA webinar this week said Arsenal’s win
percentage had increased from 50 per cent
to 63 per cent since the change. Attacking
efficiency, measured as entries into the
penalty area, has increased from 52.8 per cent
to 56.8 per cent and shot conversion is up
from 20.8 per cent to 30.8 per cent.
“Arteta came in wanting to play four at
the back,” Paul Davis, the former Arsenal
midfielder and now FA senior game coach,
said. “But they continued to leak goals. Since
he has changed it to three, they have looked
more solid. He is learning about his players
all the time. He has done a fantastic job in
getting the best out of what he has got.”
The ability to adapt is a key managerial
quality and in last weekend’s win over
Watford, Arteta started with 4-2-3-1 before
switching to a back three in the second half.2
Key role for Luiz
David Luiz will always divide opinion,
but he has become a pivotal player for
Arteta. He is better suited to a back three and
can switch play with his range of passing,
something his former club Chelsea will be all
too aware of. Arteta’s vocal style on the
sidelines has earned him the respect of his
players and Luiz has stepped up of late. “For
all the criticism that David Luiz is getting, it
seems as though he is a good influence on
the young lads,” Davis said. “He seems to be a
bit of a role model for them. Arteta is playing
with Luiz in the middle of the three and in
possession, if he is on his game, he is pretty
good. He can distribute well. He has had
some lapses, and that has been a big problem
for Arsenal, but the way they set up in that
3-4-3 is more suited to the players Arteta has
got.”3
Pressing at the right times
Arsenal’s pressing is more organised
now, to cut out opposition passing
patterns. The opening goal in their FA Cup
quarter-final win against Sheffield United
came as a result of Arsenal twice winning the
ball high up the pitch, with the ensuing phase
of play resulting in a penalty. Improvements
were also shown in the league win over
Liverpool. Alexandre Lacazette stuck to
Fabinho, with Arsenal’s wide men inviting
passes to the centre backs and then
pressing. Virgil van Dijk’s rare mistake
gifted Arsenal a goal but the press forced
the error.
Arsenal are also more cohesive
than under previous manager Unai
Emery, having worked on their
structure behind the ball. They
have the ability to drop off and
defend deep, as they did
against Liverpool and also
Manchester City in
the FA Cup semi-final.Mount eyes dream
end to stellar year
struggling against Leicester City in
their FA Cup quarter-final clash.
Should Chelsea win the Cup, it
will be this act of mercilessness that
will define how Frank Lampard
won his first silverware as manager,
particularly as Mount emerged not
only unscathed but more energetic
than ever. “He [Lampard] obviously
made the right decision and changed
a few positions,” Mount explains.
“One minute he can put his arm
around you and tell you, ‘You have
been doing well.’ Then if he doesn’t
think you have, he will take you off
and you will know about it. He has
definitely got that side to him and
we’ve seen that.
“He is massive on the competition
side of things, especially in training.
If you train really well, you will start
the games.”
Much is made of the bond forged
between player and manager when
both Mount and Lampard were at
Derby County, but Mount’s maturity
was honed when he went out on loan
to Vitesse Arnhem aged 18.
“Vitesse was a brilliant decision and
a brilliant loan,” he says, “to go out
and learn about a different kind of
football. It’s different playing out
there and I learned so much. I had to
grow up. I am so grateful for what
they did and for the player I have
become now.
“It won’t suit everyone to go abroad
at such a young age. You have to be
mentally strong to move away from
your family. I was living on my own at
the beginning and had to grow up
very quickly. For some young players
it may not be their way to success or
their pathway. That was mine. I chose
it. I was dedicated and focused out
there. It was definitely right for me
but for others it may not be.”
Mount will today cross paths with
David Luiz, the former Chelsea
defender now at Arsenal, who
was a fixture of the senior
squad while Mount was
coming through the
Chelsea academy in
Cobham, Surrey.
“He would come
over and watch us
play and train and he
was always brilliant
with the younger
boys,” Mount says.
“I always looked up to
him. He has loads of
experience so, as a younger
player, speaking with him and being
around him I learnt so much.
“I get on very well with David.
He messages me now and again.
But I’m looking forward to facing
him on Saturday.”
The Hampshire-born midfielder
has fond memories of attending the
2008 final as a Portsmouth fan and
being held aloft by his father when
Nwankwo Kanu scored the winning
goal. His entire family would have
been at Wembley this weekend but
for the restrictions and they will
instead hold a big party at home, all
wearing replica Chelsea kits.
“I know what it means to be a fan
and to see your team win the FA
Cup,” he says. “So I want to do it for
the fans that can’t be there.”Lampard’s tough love
and a loan with Vitesse
forced young midfielder
to push on to next level,
he tells Alyson Rudd
VISIONHAUS/GETTY IMAGESgood. He can distributewell. He hashad
some lapses, andthat has been a big problem
for Arsenal, but the way they set up in that
3 -4- 3 is more suited to the playersArteta has
got.”Pressing at the right times
Arsenal’s pressing is more organised
now, to cut out opposition passing
patterns. The opening goal in their FA Cup
quarter-final win against Sheffield United
came as a result of Arsenal twice winning the
ball high up the pitch, with the ensuing phase
of play resulting in a penalty. Improvements
were also shown in the league win over
Liverpool. Alexandre Lacazette stuck to
Fabinho, with Arsenal’s wide men inviting
passes to the centrebacksand then
pressing. Virgil van Dijk’srare mistake
gifted Arsenal a goal but the press forced
the error.
Arsenal are also more cohesive
than under previous manager Unai
Emery,having worked on their
structure behind the ball. They
have the ability to drop off and
defend deep, as they did
against Liverpool and also
Manchester City in
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player speaking wMount, pictured with his father Tony,
after joining Vitesse on loan aged 18