One criticism labelled against Mikel Arteta is his tactical stubbornness.
His critics paint a picture that Arteta’s lack of experience (it is easy to forget that this is his first job) and his ego result in his belief that he is always right and will not change his ways. This leads to a tactical stubbornness where he is neither willing nor able to make in-game tactical changes during a game, or for different games.
I do not believe Arteta is tactically stubborn.
Like all managers, he has his preferred way of setting up. And any top professional will tell you that high level performences come from a continuity of playing style and not through chopping and changing tactics game by game.
Sir Alex Ferguson never felt a need to change tactics too far from his core set up. His belief was that if his team performed to their best, following his plan, then they would win the game. It was up to their opponents to try and develop tactics that would beat his side.
Saying that, it is undeniable that Arteta does not change this as often as Pep Guardiola does at Manchester City or Arne Slott at Liverpool.
In Fantasy Football terms, Manchester City forwards (barring Erling Haaland) are considered a “no-go” due to their “rotational risk”. Meanwhile, the only consistent man in Liverpool’s front line last season was Mohamed Salah, with Darwin Nunez, Diego Jota (RIP), Cody Gakpo and Luis Diaz chopping and changing for the other position.
Meanwhile, at Arsenal, if the front 3 of Gabriel Martinelli, Kai Havertz and Bukayo Saka were fit, they would play. And it made us predictable.
For me, the issue is not that Arteta was tactically stubborn, but he did not have the personnel to call upon.
Some will say “that is because Arteta never signs forward players” and I do get that. But he was also hampered by injuries.
Gabriel Jesus provided us with huge tactical fluidity in the front line. He could rotate with Havertz to create a different style of attack, and could also come in for Saka and Martinelli on the wings to offer something different. But he spent most of last season injured, denying Arteta of an option to change things.
Leandro Trossard was our other forward option. But I do not think he was trusted by Arteta to start games.
Mikel spoke recently about only having 5 or 6 players that he could trust to play a full 90 minutes week in week out, saying “Last year the line up was done, ‘Give me five players who can finish 90 minutes.’ Those five? Ok, those I have to play.”
Those guys started nearly every game. and played nearly every minute (when fit). It is certainly true that Arteta did not overly trust players beyond his starting XI. and with Trossard, the statistics back this up. The Belgium is much more effective coming off the bench.
This summer, we have recruited well, bringing in Noni Madueke and Viktor Gyorekes to bolster the forward line. Ethan Nwaneri also continues his development and is now a genuine option. These guys give Arteta more options in attack, and the ability to change up or tactics in-game to give teams a different problem.
But tactical fluidity is not just about the forward line. It starts at the back.
Inverting and overlapping full-backs
Arteta’s first full season saw us start with Olexsander Zinchenko coming into midfield on the left, and Ben White overlapping on the right. It is a tactic that nearly one us the league.
The recruitment of Jurrien Timber gave us a right back who could then invert on the right, and many games last season we played with both Myles Lewis Skelly and Timber both coming central. That led to a lack of width (especially as we also had inverted wingers).
Ricardo Calafiori and Ben White offer the “overlapping” option, whilst also both being good enough to invert to cover their teammate without tactic changes. But both picked up injuries, denying the option to change things.
If all 4 men stay fit this season, Arteta then has the options to play either MLS and Timber inverted, giving us more control in the middle of the park, or White and Calafiori overlapping, giving us more offensive dynamism.
Arteta will also have the option to split the tactics, going with MLS inverted on the left and White overlapping on the right, or Calafiori overlapping on the left with White inverted on the right.
He can make the decision on how the back four lines up based both on the opponent and in-game. The small tactical tweak will be quick and easy for teammates to adapt to and change how we look to attack.
Zubimendi / Rice pivot
What was noticeable in the final preseason game against Bilbao was the interchangeability of Declan Rice and Martin Zubimendi.
Whilst Zubimendi started as the deeper, with Rice more advanced, they switched throughout the game depending on the team needs.
Zubimendi provides a passing range and calmness on the ball that Rice does not have. This could be key when teams are playing with a low block. Likewise, Rice is a powerhouse runner and if the key of Zubimendi will not pick the lock, Rice’s battering ram style changes it up.
I expect throughout games this season, we will continue to see Rice and Zubimendi swap positions. But they will also play alongside each other.
There will be times when we want to completely free up the forward line, and absolve them of tracking back. Liverpool have done this with great success through the years, freeing up Salah, Sadio Mane, Gakpo and Diaz to do what the do best – explot space going forward and attack the box.
Liverpool were able to do this by playing quite a deep, efficient midfield (Jordan Henderson and Fabinho, moving to Alex Mac Alister and Ryan Gravenberch).
With the recruitment of Zubimendi, Martin Odegaard will no longer feel the need to drop back to start attacks. That pushes our captain further up the field, and we end up with Gyorekes (Or Havertz) , Martinelli, Saka and Odegaard attacking from a higher position, closer to each other, and able to interact quicker.
The flexibility of Zubimendi and Rice, alongside how we play our full backs, will make us a lot les predictable when transitioning the ball from the defence into the final third.
Wingers
For so long now, we have played inverted wingers.
Saka and Martinelli are fantastic, but they can also become predictable. Always looking to come inside. And without the overlapping full back, opposing full backs and centre-backs know that they can ignore the space outside them. Noni Madueke and the overlapping full backs changes this.
As above, Calafiori and White both offer overlapping options which will take advantage of the space left when Martinelli and Saka drop inside. They both give Arteta a tactical option off the bench if Martinelli and Saka are getting crowded out.
My belief is Madueke was primarily bought as Saka cover. A like for like replacement on the right hand side who can come on for Saka with 20 minutes to go, or start in 30% of Premier League games reducing our Starboy’s workload. But he is also an option on the left.
If Arteta decides to go with MLS on the left hand side, then Madueke can then play on that flank and hug the touchline, giving the team width. He will look to beat his fullback on the outside everytime and put crosses in.
In turn, his positioning will drag the fullback wider, giving MLS and Declan Rice more space on the left hand side of the pitch and creating an overload. And if teams then shift themselves left to cover this overload, Odegaard and Saka will be in more space on the right for a quick switch of play.
We are still in the market for a new left winger (likely to replace Trossard). This will be a right footed left winger who will allow us to maintain the current tactics. But Madueke gives Arteta the option to change it up on that flank. As does Calafiori.
Same size, different strikers
It would be easy to look at Havertz and Gyorekes and think they are similar players based on their physical attributes. This can not be futher from the truth.
Gyorekes is an out and out striker. Someone who will occupy both full backs, look to run in behind and only has goals on his mind. Meanwhile, Havertz is more of a “false 9” and will look to drop deeper, get involved in the build up, and leave space for others to occupy ahead of him.
This gives Arteta great options on who to start, and who to bring on depending on how a game is going. Something a little bit different to make slight tactical changes without changing the structure.
And Eze?
The final piece of the fluidity jigsaw could be Eberechi Eze.
Arteta has tended to overload the right with attacking talent (Saka, Odegaard, White), whilst keeping the left fairly solid defensively (Martinelli, Rice/Xhaka, MLS/Zinchenko). That can make us lobsided from an attacking point of view.
Recruiting Eze would give us both an inverted option on the left hand side to compete with Martinelli, but also an attacking option to play inside.
When chasing a game, we could go to a front 5 of Martinelli, Eze, Odegaard and Saka in behind Gyorekes (or Havertz), creating a huge attacking overload in the final 3rd as we look to score. This is a move we have gone for in the past playing Trossard inside.
But what Eze adds above Trossard is a 90 minute player.
We could line up with Eze in the left sides central position alongside Odegaard on the opposite side of the pitch in games we expect to dominate (say, Sunderland at home). And if Arteta believes a side is weaker defensively on the left against the right, we could opt for Eze centrally, with Odegaard dropping to the bench and Rice switching across to the right to provide the defensive cover.
Put simply, Eze would give Arteta a different central attacking option.
The tactical fluidity we could see next year is exciting. And whilst it will not be tinkerman level changes, the slight switches can be enough to make a positive impact in the game.
What will also be interesting is to see how Slott deals with his lack of options.
With Nunez and Diaz gone, and the sad passing of Jota, Slott has lost three attacking options. Whilst Hugo Etikite has come in, the Frenchman does not offer much forward fluidity. They will mainly be lining up with Salah, Etikiite and Gakpo, with Isak potentially coming in for Etikite.
Liverpool’s line up will be much more predictable this season compared to last, and Slott will not have as many attacking options at his disposal to make tacticial changes.
Enjoy the sunshine.
Keenos