By Vinay Shankar (Tactical Analyst)
A poor ending to a largely one-sided game to kick start an exciting season:
• Despite all the new signings, Arteta went back to the same formation as the one against Forest away back in May with Partey at RB inverting into midfield to create a 3-2-5 formation to break the Forest deep block. It was largely ineffective on that day but the idea remained to keep the opposition pinned back and a 3-man backline to counter the threats from the wide areas in transition.
• Timber has largely played the ‘Zinchenko” role in pre-season but he was largely just a third centre-back who did not really influence the build-up from those positions. The left-hand side dynamics were largely incoherent but it is hard to read too much into that against a deep block with minimal space.
• Declan Rice was given the licence to play a large variety of roles as he was instrumental in breaking-up play centrally as well as drifting out wide on the left as a passing option or providing overlapping runs to support Martinelli. The dynamic between him and Partey to keep drifting to cover the space left by the other allowedArsenal to completely nullify the opposition.
• Rice’s attacking forays into areas that Havertz operates in made a congested final third even more chaotic to make a difference or unsettle the structure of the visitors. The pace of the passing and incisiveness was not at the optimum level either for any link-up play in the tight areas and thus, a lack of chance creation.
• There are a lot of moving parts and new variations being trialled to find the best fit of the available personnel and this is in stark contrast to last season. Keeping in mind the need to compete on multiple fronts, perhaps a slow start could be better in the long run as the season progresses.
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