Liverpool, Manchester City and Arsenal are all using what kind of role the "eight and a half" is

We're tired of hearing about the analysis of the number nine-and-a-half, but do you know what the number eight and a half is, and will this role, which has been used by all three Premier League title contenders this season, lead to a new trend?

The Premier League title race this season has attracted the attention of countless fans.

By the end of the season, Pep Guardiola's Manchester City could become the first team in English football history to win four consecutive Premier League titles. Jurgen Klopp could also lead his side to a second Premier League title with a bid farewell to Liverpool. Of course, Arteta also has a chance to lead Arsenal to their first league title in two decades.

But regardless of the final result, the winner may have to thank the players in their squad who have played an unusual role this season.

The name of the nine-and-a-half seems to have become a household name - those players between the number nine and the number 10 are often the nine-and-a-half in everyone's perception. But what is the concept of an eight-and-a-half? It may be a bit of a deviation from the reality when taken literally—after all, the number eight is a midfielder with the ability to push forward, while the number nine is a striker, and the player in between these two roles is not an eight-and-a-half, but a number 10 as we all know.

So, let's start with the specifics and talk about the number eight and a half roles that have emerged from the three Premier League title contenders this season.

Liverpool, Manchester City and Arsenal all have such a player in their squad, who is an out-and-out striker and plays the role of one of three midfielders in a 4-3-3 formation. For Manchester City, that player is Alvarez. For Liverpool, that man is Gakpo. At Arsenal, he's Kai Havertz.

Gakpo was the first eight-and-a-half to appear in the Premier League. He featured in the left midfield position in Liverpool's draw with Chelsea this season.

While Liverpool are still looking to bolster their midfield – Liverpool lost out on Caicedo in the away game against Chelsea and Endo is yet to come – Gakpo is actually preferred to Curtis Jones, who is better suited to the left midfield position. And since that game, Gakpo has been playing in that position a lot of the time.

Of course, Gakpo has also played up front and there have been times when he has acted like a pure no.nine rather than a pseudo-no.nine – such as scoring the equaliser for Liverpool against Wolves. That performance was the classic "Fox of the Forbidden Zone" performance.

Overall, Gakpo has spent almost a third of his time in midfield, a third as a left winger and a third as a striker this season. Of course, Liverpool's attacking trident often swaps positions, especially when Nunez is on the left and Gakpo moves to the middle – which underlines Gakpo's versatility.

A map of Gakpo's role on the pitch this season

Kai Havertz's experience at Arsenal has also been very interesting. For most of the season, he has been in the same midfield role as Gakpo – in the left midfield position. In the previous game against Burnley, Kai Havertz, who appeared in this position, helped the team to score.

Zinchenko at left-back will move into midfield and take on the role of a left midfielder, while Kai Havertz will be given more space to manoeuvre. In the following moment, Havertz and Zinchenko teamed up to create a good chance. If Odegaard could have been better, then the goal would have gone in.

But equally, did Havertz act like a false nine when he played up front? Kai Havertz has contributed to two victories for Arsenal this season, once in a 1-0 win over Manchester City, setting up Martinelli for the only goal of the game.

Then there was Arsenal's 1-0 Brentford game, when Bukayo Saka crossed and Kai Havertz headed home.

Kai Havertz still doesn't look comfortable in front of goal, although his return ability is improving. But when he played there, he was more of a centre-forward than a nimble striker like Leandro Trossard – which is exactly what Arteta said when he joined Havertz: 'He gave us something different. ”

'For example, his height, if we need to break the opposition's press, he can tear the gap. He's playing in midfield at the moment, but I'm sure he'll be in a different position throughout the season. ”

So far, Havertz has spent 90 per cent of his time in mid-length and only 10 per cent up front.

A map of Kai Havertz's role on the pitch this season

And then there's Alvarez. More than a year ago, he won the World Cup with Argentina as the No. 9 player, and at the same time assisted Messi very well in the game. Because of this, this has convinced Guardiola that he can play alongside Haaland.

Alvarez's playing time in every position has been interesting – he mainly plays as a number 10 in a 4-2-3-1 formation, but that is only really possible when Kevin De Bruyne is out injured. Other than that, he performed roughly the same in the midfield and midfield positions.

A map of Alvarez's role on the pitch this season

Alvarez played alongside Kevin De Bruyne in Manchester City's match against Chelsea and formed a double pivot with Rodri in the absence of possession.

It was a huge challenge for a player who was used to playing as a striker, so he was twice "teased" by Palmer on the defensive end. First, as Palmer prepared to pick up a short pass from right-back Marlo Gusto, Alvarez seemed to be in a good position to stop Palmer.

But Palmer's subsequent move completely shook off Alvarez – he pretended to rush towards him and then turned back to pick up a pass from his teammate.

It was a fairly simple move that put him 10 yards away from Alvarez, a distance that allowed him to pass the ball well to Marlo Gusto, who crossed for Nicholas Jackson to provide a good chance.

Something similar happened in the second half – this time, Alvarez was a little slow to keep his opponent out and Palmer smashed the ball with ease and found a great position. He got in touch with Marlo Gustto again. The latter created another great chance, and this time it was Raheem Sterling.

In this case, a good defensive midfielder may not be so easy to 'beat' by the opposition – but when you have a striker in midfield, that's the price you have to pay. Using Alvarez and De Bruyne as 'Liberty 8s' to attack opposite the defense is just a huge risk and not really balanced in terms of controlling possession.

While Bernardo Silva did not start against Chelsea, he was picked up for the subsequent game against Brentford. As for Kevin De Bruyne, it was no surprise that he rested against the Bees to prevent injury.

On the one hand, you can think of this group as unconventional strikers – almost every Manchester City midfielder had a stellar record in attack before Haaland's arrival. The feeling was the opposite, though, with Gundogan being a midfielder pushed up front, but Alvarez, Gakpo and Kai Havertz – in that order – were more like strikers in midfield.

Gakpo and Kai Havertz's heights further reinforce the feeling that their physicality should be more of a 'suitable' centre-forward.

This has to do with versatility in part. Although, in reality, it's more about universality: the job descriptions of No. 8 and No. 9 are no longer as distinct as they were five years ago. It involves pressing, connecting games and scoring 10 to 15 goals per season. During possession, the team forms a five-man attacking formation. This means that these types of players are more closely linked than ever before.

It's also a problem that most of the top teams don't have a No.10 role. Over the years, people have been talking about the "demise of the 10th". At the moment, the three Premier League title contenders also seem to prefer a 4-3-3 formation rather than a 4-2-3-1 formation (although sometimes they rotate between the two formations) and no one can play as a number 10 or a drop-back striker. For example, Rooney was able to swing between a no.9 and a no.10 position at his peak, but now he wants to "survive" in the Premier League title contenders, and he can choose either a no.9 or a no.8 position.

That's what Kai Havertz is facing, when he joined Chelsea in 2020 and said 'my best position is a number 10', before moving to Arsenal last summer: 'Last year I was more of a no.9 but I'm used to it now. Because I've been playing there since I was a kid. Maybe having a stable role would be good for me. ”

While Kai Havertz is hoping for a stable position, his place at Arsenal may not be consistent. As shown in Havertz's position at Arsenal, he is a no.10 but has been forced to adapt to the no.8 and no.9 positions, which is not easy.

Returning to previous Premier League winners, perhaps the closest example to this approach comes from a manager who is not usually considered a tactical revolutionary.

When Jose Mourinho won his first Premier League title in 2004/2005, he rotated Didier Drogba and Gudjohnsen in a 4-3-3 formation. However, in the second half of the season, he became more daring, often placing Gudjohnsen, a cunning centre-forward, in midfield. He and Frank Lampard have a strong attacking prowess on paper.

"With our tactical system, I can play the role of a main attacker, but I wouldn't say it's my best position. Because I like to be more involved. "I like to keep the ball and I'm not a natural goalscorer, even though I've been scoring goals all my career. "

This certainly applies to Kai Havertz, Gakpo and, to some extent, to Alvarez. Nowadays, few young players consider themselves to be natural goalscorers, and most prefer a "withdrawn" character. It is obviously stupid to think of them as the "new No. 10" of their respective teams, and the role of the eight-and-a-half may seem a bit silly, but it is clearly the most accurate description of this role.

（Armour）