Arsenal Vision: Four phases of the Arteta cycle

For a long time, Mikel Arteta's emphasis on Arsenal's "rebuilding process" and his "vision of football" puzzled Arsenal fans. In the more than two years he has been coaching, he initially accepted a team with an average age and many famous players, but the style is solidified and the actual combat ability is not strong. Although he was lucky enough to win the FA Cup soon after, the defensive kicking of the three centre-backs was clearly only a transitional stage.

The 2020-21 season was Arteta's first full season in charge, with ups and downs. Tactically, he pays more attention to control and penetration, but even if the midfield has reinforcement adjustments, the control is not enough, and the defense frequently makes mistakes in the process of mixing the old and the new. This season has a heavy summer window investment, but it started with three consecutive defeats, and then climbed up a little bit.

In the final ten rounds of the season, Arsenal re-entered the top four. Whether or not he will eventually qualify for the Champions League next season is not yet known, but this climbing process can make people see Arteta's governing ideas, tactical requirements and command characteristics - sending away the team's top 10 and famous stars such as Aubameyang, and building a better managed young team completely according to their own thinking, Arsenal's direction of progress has been more recognized.

The Premier League is still the era of the Big Three, even if Chelsea's future is uncertain. In terms of potential, perhaps as Steve Nikkor put it: "Two or three more positions, Arsenal will have the strength to challenge the top three." ”

From the beginning of his tenure, Arteta has insisted that Arsenal be a "long-term project" in the process of reconstruction. He reminded everyone of the difficulty of the project and the associated time costs. Over the past two years, Arsenal Club and Arteta have indeed left debatable places in many local decision-making and management details, but the overall pattern has gradually become clear, and from this point of view, Artat's Arsenal "vision" has gradually become clear.

On the tactical dimension, The Times has this four-stage analysis:

In the first stage, he took office and quarantined across the UK

(10 matches from 26 December 2019 to 7 March 2020)

Expected goals (xG) per game: 1.31

Opponents' average expected goals per game: 1.55

Percentage of shots per game: 43.9%

Possession per game: 55.4%

Average age of the team: 26 years and 8 months

Arteta took over halfway through the season and didn't have time to train at all, but he described his football concept very clearly, so everyone felt that Arsenal would follow a path similar to Manchester City, but would also accommodate some of the characteristics that Arsenal had inherited: the 4231 formation, which emphasized the speed of the flanks, the breakthrough speed of the flanks, and the top 10 players in the middle to show their organizational creativity.

It can be said that Arteta, while clarifying his thinking, basically retains the way Ofe and Emery arsenal played, and there is not much intervention and transformation of the team. He confessed that he would give every player a "fair chance", Emery basically abandoned the top 10 in the later stage, and Arteta gave the top 10 a lot of opportunities.

At this stage of the game, Arsenal had the ball dominant, and there were also excellent scenes of 4-0 defeat to Newcastle United, but the overall results were mixed. Possession advantage, low shot conversion on the offensive end, expected goals (xG) lower than opponents. A little comparison will reveal that Arsenal are more focused on attack, there will be 6 players, so the defensive side is not tight enough.

The most prominent weakness, this stage lies in the offensive and defensive conversion, the central forward partner, Arteta constantly tries Xhaka's partner, from Ceballos, Torreira to Guendouzi, but there is always no ideal combination. Centre-backs usually use David Ruiz and Mustafi, and such centre-back pairs can be very vulnerable when it comes to emphasizing high defence with possession. What's more, the top 10 is often free from the game, any kind of tactical system, his sense of existence is imminent.

Therefore, Arsenal always has the posture of being able to control the ball, but it can not prevent the opponent's attack at all, the number of shots is not as good as the opponent, and the tenacity and layering of the defense are even less lacking.

Stage 2: Premier League restart, FA Cup triumph to the first anniversary of coaching

(24 matches from 17 June 2020 to 19 December 2020)

Expected goals (xG) per game: 1.12

Expected goals per game: 1.34: Percentage of shots per game: 44.5%

Possession per game: 50.9%

Average age of the team: 26 years and 5 months

Because of the epidemic, the Premier League was suspended for three months, and after the restart, the team has changed a lot. After the first 10 left the team, the 4231 formation lasted for several games, the defensive errors and omissions were frequent, Arteta simply changed to the three center-backs, and the 343 and even the 541 formation when defending became his choice. Having to pay more attention to the defensive phase, the proportion of possession declining, the attack relying more on counter-attacks, Aubameyang's speed and ability to seize opportunities, especially critical.

Tierney entered the three-centre-back system as a left centre-back, paired with Ruiz, Mustafi, Holden and Gabriel, who joined in the summer window of 2021. Arsenal's defence has improved when they first tried the three centre-backs, as evidenced by the FA Cup triumph. It's just that such a formation, in the absence of super wing-backs, the quality of central defenders has not been significantly improved, so the team's creativity is seriously limited. Bellerin, Niles and fledgling Saka, whose efforts on the flanks have become the only source of inspiration for the team's attacking organisation, while creativity plummets in the middle. So, like the scene presented by the data, Arsenal at this stage, the game scene is not as good as the 10 games that Artat just accepted, he clearly must improve the quality of defense, but the improvement of defense is completely offset by the decline in the team's offensive creativity.

Stage 3: Victory over Chelsea – Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang leaves

(38 matches from December 26, 2020 to December 2, 2021)

Expected goals per game (xG): 1.44

Opponents' average expected goals per game: 1.29

Percentage of shots per game: 53.2%

Possession per game: 52.0%

Average age of the team: 25 years and 8 months

In December 2020, losing 1-2 to Everton, Arsenal fell into the worst stage of performance since Arteta took charge: 2 draws and 5 defeats, and many games, even if they lead, will bury the results due to stupid mistakes in the midfield.

Arteta also suffered the greatest crisis of trust. Unable to bear it, he moved the formation back to the four and made no other changes to the defence.

On Boxing Day 2020 against Chelsea, Arsenal at the lowest point beat their opponents 3-1 at home in a 4231 formation. The young Saka began to occupy the main position on the right, after he was randomly placed in any position on the wing. The left side used Smith Rowe.

This adjustment is not only the determination of the defensive formation, but also the reuse of two young people cultivated by the club on the wing, but more importantly, it reflects Arteta's disappointment with the famous adult players and the trust in the youngsters. Sacco and Smith Rowe not only bring new morale to the team on the offensive end, but also because they are produced by Arsenal's youth training, they have narrowed the emotional distance with the fans.

This new template quickly brought results changes, changing the first 6 matches and 5 wins. Aubameyang, who played mainly on the left wing in the three-centre-back stage, became a single centre-forward, while Lacazette was reduced to a substitute.

The midfield is still a weakness, and Thomas Pate has high hopes, but injuries have affected his normal play for more than half a year. In January 2021, Erdegaard, who was hired from Real Madrid, quickly formed a tacit and improving attacking combination with Saka, Smith Rowe and Martinelli. By the second half of 2021, after being strengthened by the summer window, Ben White and Fuan Jianyang, as well as enthusiastic England goalkeeper Ramsdale, let Arsenal defend and truly upgrade.

However, in the process of promotion of the whole team, Aubameyang was lost. His match with young people is obviously not as good as Lacazette.com. Arteta's discipline requirements are highly restrictive to young people, but they cannot control Aubameyang. In terms of results, Arsenal's defense has improved significantly, but the offensive creativity has not improved due to the lag in midfield, and the threat of shooting points has not changed.

Stage 4: Aubameyang has been out of the squad so far

(12 matches ——, 6 December 2021)

Expected goals (xG) per game: 1.90

Opponents' average expected goals per game: 0.86

Percentage of shots per game: 63.7%

Possession per game: 56.4%

Average age of the team: 24 years and 11 months

The december 2021 match against Everton can be seen as the beginning of the fourth stage. In that game, Aubameyang failed to make it to the starting list, playing five minutes off the bench and the captain's armband was removed. He then attended the Africa Cup of Nations and then went straight to Barca on a free transfer.

From the perspective of tactical style, after four stages, Arsenal seems to be back to the situation at the beginning of 2020: high possession ratio, there will be a "quasi-10" offensive organizer in the frontcourt, and the formation is still dominated by 4231. However, the actual performance, as well as the results of the race, are very different from two years ago.

Thomas has finally shown his general demeanor in midfield, although he still needs a better interceptor around him. Xhaka's position forward can both avoid his defensive malaise of frizzy fouls and better play his pass transfer characteristics. Erdegaard is more in the right of midfield, he is Arsenal's new "quasi-10", and his active energy allows him to not only limit himself to attack, but also to convey creativity in the whole field.

To a large extent, Arsenal at this stage, is on the right side of Saka + Odegaard, as the core link of the attack.

Aubameyang is still a top scorer, and at Barca, his departure is a win-win result. The younger Arsenal front is more dynamic, Andetta's repeated infiltration and oppression in training, better execution – which of course requires a team-minded centre-forward like Lacazette to constantly retreat into the midfield to participate in the organisation and articulation.

Rebuilding the defensive line, improving the vitality of the front court and gradually adjusting the midfield, Arteta's two years seem to have gone through a cycle, but it is this team and even this club, gradually out of the past haze, can look up at the future process. Arteta's "vision" may be closer to the Guardiola-433: Thomas is behind, Xhaka and Erdegaard are in the front, and it is more like a 433 architecture. The young and united defence, especially Ramsdale's dynamism, Gabriel's confrontation and White's ability to control at his feet, has also improved Arsenal's ability to cope with offensive and defensive transitions in the process of high possession ratio.

This is a two-year cycle, but it is also more in line with the philosophical "spiral" theory. What will be the next stage of the rise?