Tactical advice needed

Hello fellow fm'ers!

I have played fm for many years now but i have always took the "weekend warrior" approach and just used plug and play tactics from the forums. Recently i have decided to "dive right in" and actually try to learn the game and specifically the tactical approach. I started a new game on 11.2 with Arsenal using 2 formations. My first formation is a narrow 4-1-2-1-2 aka chelsea style. My other formation is your trusty 4-5-1 attacking formation aka barca style. My first game of the season went great and trashed wolves 5-0 at home which got my spirits up!

Second game of the season i'm against blackburn at their place. Scout tells me it's a long field where direct play might be better suited. I follow the advice and play direct. Blackburn lines up in a 4-5-1, i play my narrow diamond. Throughout the whole game i created only 5 shots on goal and they end up scoring a goal in 89th minute and i lose the game 0-1. I started the game in standard approach since the odds were very close. I moved to attacking after halftime since i wasn't created any chances. Now did i simply get countered since i'm assuming 451's strength is through the middle of the pitch and my diamond is also through the middle? Any advice would be dearly appreciated as i'm just trying to figure out where i went wrong. I'm almost inclined to think i should have played a 451 myself against their 451 but my thinking was that being Arsenal i should force my game style onto them.

Try the tactics forum. You'll probably get more detailed and better help there.