By Harvey Gration
Instinct and energy, two of the most distinguishable traits of this Mikel Arteta Arsenal team. Nonetheless, this season, the Gunners find themselves a sort of in-between side, with the Spaniard employing two contrasting ‘styles’ of play.
The first, one that I will declare the ‘big-space’ set-up, harnesses the same vivacity we’ve seen in Arteta’s tenure so far, and is juxtaposed by a slower, methodical, and more considerate approach. Both of which are to make us a mature and effective side no matter the environment.
Welcome back to the WLYA site, and to another article by me, Harvey Gration. On today’s agenda? A comprehensive breakdown of Arsenal’s two tactical approaches this season backed up by statistical evidence and (hopefully) so, an eloquence of thought alongside it.
The ‘Big-Space’ Set-Up:
This system was largely seen when Thomas Partey was inverting from RB into midfield (although whichever full back inverts is irrelevant). It is comprised of 2 shadow strikers, no deliberate 2nd-phase presence, opts to go long over an aggressive press towards Havertz, or other outlets, with second ball wingers closely packed and one wide, free man on the left (Martinelli).
This system is all about efficient and diverse progression up the pitch, oftentimes neglecting the middle third for devastating attacking dynamism.
1. I am going to begin with describing Havertz as an out-ball. The 6 ft 4 German’s ability to allow us to ‘get-out’ vs a man-man press has been discussed exhaustively already - so that is not what I am focusing on. Instead, I will convey the new attacking dynamics this allows us to create within the ‘big-space’ set-up.
Before play settles and we form our front 5 - which this season, is essentially 2 shadow strikers on either side of the CF - we overload central areas over the opposition’s press and create the best conditions to win second balls. The players deployed off the target man must specialise in gathering the knock downs at speed, have the killer instincts to play a final pass/shot, carry the ball with power and care, and operate in tight spaces. This is why we have seen Vieira, Havertz, Jesus, and Trossard take up these positions so far, and even ESR fits this ‘gatherer’ role superbly.
When Martin Odegaard is not required to drift deeper, he also takes on such a role in this structure. Although he lacks the purposeful forward carrying at times, he exemplifies this role; his increased shots from range emphasise Arteta’s attempts to mix up the speeds, dynamics, and how we cover distance in our attacks.
Such swiftness in operation seems to be tailor-made to this Arsenal squad. Our most impressive goals under Mikel have been those energetic sequences playing through the thirds and cutting sides open. We are simply looking to combine this intent with finding our outlets in different ways.
2. The wide, free man- Gabriel Martinelli.
Our central clustering is most frequently found in the inside right channel, with the CF, SS’s, and Bukayo Saka trying to ensure retention of the ball. This leaves our LW free as a bird, and Martinelli is that destroyer of space and explosive weapon that can take the game away from you in a second.
This is what the big-space set-up is about. Brutal attacks that suck the life out of teams. It is tailor made for UCL knockout ties, or the uber technical or physical Premier League matches where instinctive modes of attacking are the difference. Arsenal are finding their knockout power.
This is why we have looked clunky at times this season. In matches vs the likes of Nottingham Forest, Crystal Palace, and Fulham, we have ultimately ‘practiced’ this set-up. Now, last season’s approach and our newfound sense of patience that I will get on to, are the way to go for these fixtures. However, against qualitatively sub-par sides, we have had the chance to experiment. We're beginning to see the fruits of this following the PSV game.
How often did we see Odegaard drift into the pivot in our 4-2 build-up shape, or form a quasi-midfield 3 with Rice and Zinchenko. Alongside Raya this overloaded PSV’s press and lured the Dutch side in. Draw PSV in, find Jesus and Havertz in the canyon of space in-between the lines (either from Raya or our initial build-up), have Odegaard roam into the SS and gather Jesus' held-up pass, and find Trossard wide left.
This is a merciless attacking structure, and as relationships continue to cohere, it will only improve further.
The Slow, Methodical, and Considerate ‘Style’:
In terms of percentage played this season, this has been the main approach for Arteta’s Arsenal. But why these words in particular to describe our more patient circulation at times? There is a reason for all 3.
Slow, because it’s the metronomic pass after pass that wears teams down; methodical, as you will always find purpose and intention underneath our intricate patterns or play; and considerate, due to our technical security that provides us the ‘minerals’ to control games for 90 minutes now.
But why? Well, it starts off the ball.
Within our fluid rotations on the pitch, our positional play remains fixed, and this style of football ensures the key zones are always occupied and distances between players are small/reliable. Consequently, when we lose the ball, we can counter press effectively to win it back, or use our physical freaks to deal with opposition transitions. I.e, the ball always ends back with us, and this sense of inevitability, that ticking time bomb football ala Pep Guardiola is something Arteta has added to us in attack.
In possession it’s a similar deal. We want to have teams at our mercy when we pin them back. For instance, Everton are normally happy to sit into their 4-5-1 block and collapse when the ball comes into the pockets, double up on the wide men, etc. Nevertheless, with players who THRIVE in the pockets like Jesus, Odegaard, Vieira, and Saka, possession and field tilt is dominated. In fact, with a share of 72% of the field tilt on average this season, no side in the Premier League can match the Gunners’ ascendancy in this regard.
Whether it is a 3-2-5, or 3-1-6, or 2-2-6 with Saka inside and White on the overlap, we are creating the optimal conditions to break sides down. Once a settled environment is created, and we prove we can maintain control of the ball, Mikel can start to add the detail. These intricacies have come in our different build-up shapes (3-2, 3-1, 4-2) or overloads in the last lines.
Additionally, Rice’s heartbeat playstyle is now cemented through his first time passes against the momentum of a block, and his switches of play that are reflected in the whole team and the big-space set-up. Deploying 2 SS’s has also seen the introduction of more blindside runs, trying to ‘cheat’ numerical dynamics with 3-4 CF’s constantly threatening. And of course, our unpredictability from pre-season continues. Which interior drops deeper? Which full back inverts?
I truly believe with a full squad, Arsenal, with these two approaches, are the most adaptable and fluid side you will find.
In Conclusion:
So there we are. I hope I could make sense of the slightly confusing approaches Arsenal have taken to games this season, whether it be looking to conquer space or untiringly dismantling sides with a million passes.
I will leave you with one more thought before I end…
Incidentally, both approaches help each other. The slower approach will make us more stone-cold when needing to act with instinct and speed. The ‘big-space’ system will provide us the penetration we have lacked when circulating around the opposition box.
It is about rhythm; that intangible understanding of a game’s requirements. When to change the tempo, when to be patient.
Remember, we have the youngest squad, youngest manager, and youngest sporting director in the league. However, in our Norwegian captain, we have one of the best on-pitch minds available. We will get there. And when we do click, we will take some beating.
Ultimately, we just need a bit more patience from our end, and a bit more experience on the players’ side of things. We need to understand the relationship between patience and ruthlessness, not to get incessant with the passing, and always keep the intentions clear no matter what.
I really hope you have enjoyed my piece, and fingers crossed you have taken something of use away from it. For now, that’s all from me, I’ll catch you in the next one.
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Twitter @GrationHarvey
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