The pre-season is almost over and it’s not long before the PL starts. We know that the ‘unbiased’ computer has given us a hell of start to the competition with away games to Manchester United, Liverpool and Newcastle before October, so we need to hit the ground running. The pre-season games, it has to be said, do not fill me with great confidence. Teams have been playing us with low blocks and on the counter-attack, and we struggled to break down the former and protect ourselves against the latter. Arsenal looked unorganised and lacking cohesion, and let’s hope tomorrow’s final pre-season game will be much better.
[](https://bergkampesque.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/arteta.jpg)
The good thing is that Mikel has opted to give as many players as possible meaningful football minutes, and if indeed this was his main objectives for the pre-season games then we should not worry too much. But tomorrow’s game needs to be different and I expect him to start our strongest possible first team. We need a good win and a team that clicks in all areas.
The big question is – see also comments in previous post – how will Arteta setup the team for those first few tough games? 4-2-1-3 or 4-1-2-3? Or something else? I feel that Mikel wants to play with one holding midfielder and two box-to-box/creator players, based on a high-press dominance of our opponents. But I think he is more comfortable with Arsenal sitting deeper and not giving away too much space. Teams really like to play us when we push up and try and beat us on the counter, and we have looked vulnerable in pre-season against the likes of Newcastle, the silly Spuds and Villareal. Can Arteta afford to play like this in Manchester, Liverpool or Newcastle? I don’t think so.
Playing with two of Zubimendi, Norgaard, Merino or Rice in front of our defence seems a much better guarantee for getting more points during the first few months of the season. In fact, I think we would be pretty unbeatable and with our attacking reinforcements we would have every opportunity to nick a goal or two. And maybe Arsenal should play like this against all teams: invite them to attack us more, create turnovers in midfield and attack the then available space with real intent. The likes of Martinelli, Saka, Madueke, Gyokeres would certainly love it.
But that is not really the Arsenal/Arteta(Guardiola) way, and I expect that (sooner or later) our manager will want to play with a very high press and one DM. Zubimendi does seem to fit this style a lot, and Norgaard is a great alternative for the Spaniard. If and when Arteta can play the fully fit formation of: Raya, White/Timber, Sal, Gab, Cala/MLS, Rice, Zubi, Odegaard/Ethan, Saka, Gyokeres, Martinelli/? then this should make a 4-1-2-3 formation very strong indeed.
The problem is that this approach needs all 11 players to be great and to sing from the same hymn sheet. It will take a while before all players are in tune with each other, and one or two injuries, let alone more, will disrupt the flow and effectiveness of this system of play (as we have seen so often in recent seasons). The squad is deeper/better now, but it is still a more risky style of play.
Arteta knows that there is no time for experimenting and the pressure of winning silverware is huge this season. I trust that he will make sensible decisions and look forward to the new season, both from a tactical point of view and the sheer delight of playing meaningful football again.
Ooh to Be.
TotalArsenal.