and the goal-line from three to two. This led to the introduction of a centre-back to stop the opposing centre-forward, and tried to balance defensive and offensive playing. The formation became so successful that by the late 1930s most English clubs had adopted the WM. Retrospectively, the WM has either been described as a 3–2–5 or as a 3–4–3, or more precisely a 3–2–2–3, reflecting the letters which symbolise it. The gap in the centre of the formation between the two wing halves and the two inside forwards allowed Arsenal to counter-attack effectively. The WM was subsequently adapted by several English sides, but none could apply it in quite the same way Chapman had. This was mainly due to the comparative rarity of players like Alex James in the English game. He was one of the earliest playmakers in the history of the game, and the hub around which Chapman's Arsenal revolved. In 2016, new manager Patrick Vieira, a former Arsenal player, brought the WM formation to New York City FC. In Italian football, the WM formation was known as the , and its use in Italy later led to the development of the formation. The WM formation was used by West Germany during the 1954 FIFA World Cup. It antedates Pozzo's Metodo and made more radical changes to the widely used system of that era: the 2-3-5 formation. WW The WW formation (also known as the MM formation, according to current formation diagram convention – goal keeper at the bottom, similar to MM. But It is called WW formation if the goalkeeper is depicted at the top in the formation diagram as it was customary), was a development on the WM formation. was created by the Hungarian coach Márton Bukovi who turned the WM 3–2–2–3 into a 3–2–3–2 by effectively turning the M forward formation "upside down" (M→W). The lack of an effective centre-forward in his team necessitated moving this player back to midfield to create a playmaker, with a midfielder instructed to focus on defence. This morphed into a 3–2–1–4 formation when attacking, and turned back into 3–2–3–2 when the team lost possession. This formation has been described by some as a kind of genetic link between the WM and the 4–2–4. This formation was successfully used by fellow Hungarian coach Gusztáv Sebes in the Hungary national team (Golden Team) of the early 1950s. 3–3–4 The 3–3–4 formation