Scoring three goals in his last three games in all competitions, including one versus PSG, 21-year-old Mounir Chouiar of Dijon has been garnering some attention for himself lately.
The attacker has developed a reputation as one of Ligue 1’s most potent dribblers this season. It’s easy to see why that reputation has developed looking at Chouiar’s dribbling statistics for the 2019/20 campaign. Chouiar has attempted a total of 7.85 dribbles per game this season, with 54% of them proving successful.
The 21-year-old’s development has provided a glimmer of light to an otherwise dull season for Dijon, who currently sit in 17th place in the Ligue 1 table, with only a slightly more positive goal difference than 18th placed Nîmes Olympique keeping them out of Ligue 1’s relegation playoff place at the moment.
Dijon have played with a variety of different systems over the course of the season, however, more often than not, they have lined up in a 4-2-3-1 shape. Within this system, Chouiar generally occupies either the left-wing position or the ‘10’ position, depending on Dijons specific plan with regard to tactics in that particular game.
In this tactical analysis piece, we will examine the key elements of Chouiar’s style of play. We will examine some of the reoccurring traits of Chouiar’s style of dribbling and we will discuss some of the important components of the 21-year-old’s game that help to make him an effective dribbler. This scout report will also detail how the Dijon attacker utilises his key attributes to make a positive contribution for his team.
Chouiar’s tendency to cut inside from the left-wing
One noticeable reoccurring trait of Chouiar’s game is his tendency to cut inside from the left-wing onto his favoured right foot frequently. As mentioned above, Chouiar often features on the left side of Dijon’s attack. However, the 21-year-old attacker is not a player who generally tends to drive down the byline or attack the final third from a wider area.
Chouiar does often receive possession of the ball in wider areas, however, upon receiving possession of the ball, he usually tends to try and cut inside, subsequently attacking the left half-space or even a more central position as he probes into the final third.
This image shows us an example of how Chouiar often positions himself in wider areas prior to receiving possession. Here, we can see the winger occupying a wider position on the left-wing as the ball is being played out to him from the midfield.
As Chouiar positions himself wide prior to receiving possession, he allows himself to create distance between himself and the nearest opposition defender prior to receiving the ball. As the ball is subsequently played to the winger, the opposition defender is forced to push out wide to close him down. Chouiar is then able to attempt to use his dribbling ability to beat the charging defender and subsequently proceed to move into the more central areas that he likes to attack in the final third.
