Three tactical tweaks that Mikel Arteta should make to Arsenal to swing the Premier League title race the Gunners’ way

ARSENAL fans are hungry for success and early signs this season are that this could be the one that sees them end their long wait for a league title. 

With the additions of the likes of Mikel Merino, to add steel to the midfield, and Riccardo Calafiori, to bring versatility and a touch of class to the defensive unit it is fair to say that Arsenal were already looking stronger as they came into this season. 

Kai Havertz and Bukayo Saka are the key attackers for Arsenal

Stats show they are not dominant in possession

This was before aDeadline Day loan to secure the signing of the English star Raheem Sterling from rivals Chelsea.

For all that Arsenal have looked strong this season with a very physical line up that excels at set pieces in particular and a rock solid defensive foundation, there are still tweaks that Arteta and his coaching staff can make in order to give Arsenal an even greater chance of beating Liverpool and Man City to the title this season.

Here are three key areas that Arteta can turn to in order to end the season as champions of the Premier League.

Isolating Bukayo Saka

Bukayo Saka has for some time been considered one of the best young players in world football. 

Now aged 23, it is time to drop the word young from that sentence. 

Saka has been playing at an extremely high level for some time but this season his performances have gone through the roof.

He is playing at such a high level that he has been the best player in the Premier League this season.

His raw attacking output alone has been extremely impressive and in 10 games in all competitions so far this season he already has 3 goals and 7 assists to his name. 

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That is before we even drill further down into his performances in possession and better understand the threat and danger that he poses to opposition defences whenever he has the ball. 

He can carry the ball and beat the defender 1v1 but his crossing, especially when cutting back onto his left-foot and crossing from a deeper angle, and his passing have also created real danger for opposition teams.

Here, against PSG, Arsenal creates the ideal opportunity for Saka to go 1v1 against the fullback

Bukayo Saka played a very attacking role v PSG

The current injury to club captain Martin Odegaard, who normally plays as the most advanced central midfielder closest positionally to Saka, gives Arteta an opportunity to use Saka slightly differently from a tactical point of view. 

We will still see the England starr stay high and wide on the right-hand side.

But now Arteta can isolate him on that side in an attempt to create more direct 1v1 opportunities for Saka to attack the opposition fullback.

This is a tactical concept that Pep Guardiola used extensively when he was coaching at both Barcelona and Bayern Munich and to an extent at Manchester City in order to create opportunities to overload one side of the pitch and isolate a dangerous attacking wide player on the other side.

Saka receives the ball outside and goes 1v1 against the Spurs fullback. In these situations he can attack the opposition player either on the inside or the outside

Giving Saka more opportunities on the ball in isolated situations would be hugely beneficial for Arsenal as they move towards the end of the season.

Compact against the ball

It has been a very notable part of Arsenal’s recruitment strategy in recent seasons to recruit tall and physically imposing players in all areas. 

From the additions of Ben White or William Saliba in defence to Declan Rice and Mikel Merino in midfield to Kai Havertz in attack. 

They have recruited players who are more than capable of standing up to the physical demands of Premier League football.

This is, in part at least, responsible for the sheet defensive strength of Arsenal this season. 

They have conceded just six goals in the league and for the vast majority of the matches that they have played they have looked very strong from a defensive perspective. 

This is partly down to the fact that in William Saliba and Gabriel they have two of the top central defenders in all of Europe.

Against Southampton, the Arsenal midfield and defence are very compact and prevent the opposition from being able to build an attack

Arsenal were very compact in their draw with Man City

As the season progresses we believe Arteta will look to set up his side to be even more solid and compact out of possession as they look to strangle the opposition and prevent them from being able to break them down in central areas. 

This is where the size of the players that Arteta has at his disposal comes in. 

They are big and physical but also mobile and they have a very high technical level. 

This means that Arteta will be able to have them play in a deeper block against the ball but then also retain possession and build their attacks when they win the ball back.

By keeping the players on the pitch compact against the ball Arteta will deny them any space to attack into between the lines of defence and midfield or midfield and attack. 

This will force the opposition to either go long, where Saliba and Gabriel are comfortable or around the outside where Arsenal will set pressing traps and triggers in order to quickly engage and regain possession.

Arsenal were incredibly disciplined against Man City as they work to prevent the champions by refusing to allow any space for a goal scoring chance

Arteta has already shown that he is not afraid to use some of the ‘dark arts’ of football so Arsenal fans should not be surprised to see them starting to play slightly more defensively when out of possession.

Greater control

Arteta is clearly an obsessive and detail-oriented coach who wants to control and micro-manage every aspect of Arsenal’s performances on and off the pitch.

This is part of the reason that Arsenal have already reached the level that they have this season, and indeed last season when they finished a credible second, and it is this search for control that will see him look to use his fullbacks in such a way that they can dominate and control matches when they are in possession of the ball.

Calafiori was wide but also tucked inside against Leicester

With the likes of Ben White, Jurrien Timber and Riccardo Calafiori all capable of playing the fullback positions Arteta has developed a set of options in these positions that are comfortable in different positions.

They can invert and play inside when Arsenal are in possession as extra midfielders.

Or sit deeper in wide areas and almost play as very deep fullbacks who only move forward to support the attack at very specific moments.

In the moments before Calafiori’s goal vs Man City, the Italian international is narrow and receives the ball in a pocket of space, instead of moving wide as you might expect

These movements from the Arsenal fullbacks, whether inverting into the midfield or staying wide and deeper to support the attack, are a way for Arteta to ensure that his side always have control in possession. 

They give options to receive the ball when Arsenal are attacking but that is not the main reason for the fullbacks to be used by Arteta in this way.

The main purpose is that in this kind of tactical shape and with the fullbacks operating and behaving in this manner so that when Arsenal do lose possession they are immediately in a position to defend against dangerous counter attacks from the opposition players. 

The fullbacks add an extra element of control and security for Arsenal in these situations.

Once again we see Calafiori inverted and positioned inside in order to help the build-up play from Arsenal. This narrow position is ideal for ball possession

Jurrien Timber is a full back who is comfortable inverting into midfield

Arteta is a coach who favours control and security in and out of possession. 

Now that he has these fullbacks in his squad expect to see them used in this manner more frequently between now and the end of the season.

Conclusion

With Liverpool under new management this season and with Man City losing their talisman Rodri for most of the rest of the season Arsenal are many people’s favourites for the league title this season. 

We believe that the three tactical concepts we have outlined in this article will be used extensively going forward by Arteta and they could be the key to finally delivering the Premier League title back to North London for the first time since 2004.