Can Arteta Create a Winning Team?

For the past two seasons, the youngest manager in the EPL has been in the process of making mistakes, then analyzing them to learn lessons. However, players and team seem not to improve to the level of expectation. Do Arsenal players have the technique, talent and discipline as a team to break into Top-4 in this 2022/23 season?

Does Arsenal have top-class players with superb technical skills and winning mentality to perform by having average possession of up to 70%, using passing combinations in a very small spaces and applying pressure to force the opposing team to camp in their half continually? 

The team’s playing style of attempting possession in the opposition’s half meant that Arteta must have a well-coached team to break through compact and well-organized defensive teams having ten players behind the line of the ball most of the time. 

Let’s identify the issues on why we need to improve the attacking phase (and key players) to achieve the 90 to 100 goals as envisaged by Mikel Arteta for 2022/23 season. 

First Stage: Pass from Goalkeeper to Defender and Midfielder 

The first stage comprises mainly short passes from the goalkeeper to defenders to the midfielders (passing out from the back game using mainly diagonal and vertical passes). 

Ideally, the goalkeeper requires good technical skills, especially in receiving and passing the ball using both feet. This is essential in the build-up play from the back. He should have high levels of anticipation and great capabilities to read tactical situations and acted as a sweeper coming out of the penalty area. He must be adept at winning one-on-ones with the attackers. 

Aaron Ramsdale is more of a reaction goalkeeper as he did well in blocking shots. However, he is poor in closing down one-on-ones quickly and effectively. No doubt he has good technical skills in receiving and passing the ball which enabled him to take part in the team’s buildup play, but at the tail-end of the season, he was erratic and eccentric. This is not good and meant too much hubris, arrogance and early praise may have gone to his head. He needs to buckle down to improve on his anticipation and better reading of tactical situations which will improve his one-on-one performances. 

Overall Rating: 6 out of 10. 

2022/23 KPI: 19 clean-sheets and conceding less than 30 goals in 38 league games.

Second Stage: Creative Playmaking  

The second stage comprises mainly diagonal and vertical passes by midfielders to create a numerical superiority in the centre or on the flank. Defenders and forwards are also involved in this phase with the aim of getting into positions where the final pass can be made. 

The aim of this phase is to move the ball to positions where the final pass towards the attacking players is easy (on the flanks or behind the opposition midfield). 

The Midfield 3 of the 4-3-3 formation should be Vieira-Partey-Odegaard. Xhaka is too immobile, lacks discipline and just not a goal-scoring threat. 

When possession was won with many opposing players above the line of the ball, the direct fast breaks were executed with a diagonal move inward from one or both wide forwards (Martinelli and Saka) to support Jesus (or Nketiah) and Vieira or Partey or Odegaard should make the killer pass. 

When the direct fast break is not possible, often when the opposing team has quickly closed all passing channels, the ball carrier retains possession by executing as many passes as necessary to create an opening for the final pass. 

Martin Odegaard is the captain of the team, mainly because of his playing position in the field, his technical skills and winning mentality. 

His fine positioning, his mobility, his vision and the awareness of available options will give Odegaard more influence than anyone to participate more than anyone in the team’s build-up from the back. 

A full pre-season training will improve his ability to analyse the tactical situations and to recognize the positioning of his teammates and the opponents quickly and the available free spaces before receiving the ball, will lead him also to gain a high percentage passing accuracy. 

Odegaard, together with Partey and Vieira, will need to dominate possession and dictate the rhythm of the game. Odegaard contributed to the defensive phase by taking an active part during the pressing situations and his fast transitions from attack to defence will need improvement to complement Partey in 4-3-3 formation. 

Overall Rating: 7 out of 10. 

2022/23 KPI: 10 goals and 15 assists in 38 league games. 

Saka is a very hard worker and is always full of energy. He has good technical skills, and pace, with or without the ball, and great darting runs into the penalty area. 

During the attacking phase, he frequently made driving runs from the right towards the centre using his preferred left foot. These runs usually ended up with a shot towards the goal or a final vertical or diagonal pass towards the forwards in the penalty area. 

During the defensive phase, Saka participated very well in the collective pressing and tracked the forward runs of the opposition’s left back, but used up a lot of energy pressing the opposition. 

During pre-season training, he needs to improve his crossings and cut-backs when under pressure, and keep on enhancing that telepathic understanding with Odegaard. 

Overall Rating: 7 out of 10. 

2022/23 KPI: 15 goals and 10 assists in 38 league games.  

Martinelli was used on the left side with his diagonal movements towards the centre as a goal threat. His diagonal movements were not well-coordinated and many vertical final passes from Xhaka, Odegaard, Partey and crosses from Saka were misplaced. 

He was ineffectual with an inept Tavares not coordinating his runs with him, plus there is no synchronicity between Him and Lacazette in the centre. 

Hopefully, pre-season training will help him to develop better communication with Nketiah and Jesus when at times, during matches, Martinelli will need to move into a centre forward’s position. Martinelli is blessed with pace, explosiveness and remarkable technical skills. But it is a pity they were not consistently seen last season. 

Overall Rating: 6 out of 10. 

2022/23 KPI: 10 goals and 5 assists in 38 league games.  

Partey is the key link player in 4-3-3 formation with the role of the holding midfielder. He needed to dominate the central zone, where Vieira and Odegaard are attacking minded players. Hence, Partey has to provide cover for their forward runs, always being the safety player. Partey needs to work in coordination with the two attacking midfielders, both in pressing and non-pressing situations. 

Partey is very strong at winning duels and very capable of reading the tactical situation arising on the pitch. He used to take up the appropriate positions in order to deal with any potential problems. 

Ideally, during the defensive phase, he needed to fill every gap that is created in the defensive line caused by the extensive shift of the central defenders, plus to create superiority in numbers around the ball zone in order for easier regaining of possession.  

Overall Rating: 7 out of 10. 

2022/23 KPI: 3 goals and 5 assists in 38 league games.  

Third Stage: Final Pass  

The third stage comprises the final pass or low cross into the box towards the attacking players and the final shot/header on goal. The third stage was also achieved when possession was regained and the ball won from the opposition high up the pitch. 

The build-up play during the attacking phase not only starts when the goalkeeper has the ball, but also when the regaining possession is achieved. Occasionally, Ramsdale would surprise the opposition, going directly to third stage, by kicking straight to the attacking midfielders or forwards. 

It can be frustrating to watch Arteta’s tactics to see the team progress through the three stages of the attacking phase by patiently passing the ball, reaching the second stage and going back to the first stage as many times as necessary to find the right time to move on to the third stage. The aim of this passing game was to restrain the opposing team to a passive role on the game. 

There was no Plan “B” to this patient passing game with thirty or more passes before the defensive block was broken down, and a final pass (hopefully an assist) towards the attacking players could be achieved around the whole width of the penalty area. 

Plan “B” is that transition from defence to attack, within four passes and 6 to 8 seconds, an Arsenal player will have a shot at goal from the penalty area. 

Nketiah and Jesus are the centre forward throughout the 2022/23 season. 

Nketiah has the features of an archetypical centre froward and liked to play close to the penalty area, a fox in the box. He is quick and has a killer instinct in front of goal. He can only improve further with a full pre-season training under his belt. 

Jesus is more comfortable in all areas of the pitch, even when playing down the flanks. He has good technical qualities and an instinct to arrive at a goal-scoring chance in the penalty area. 

Forward-Line Rating: 7 out of 10. 

2022/23 Forward-Line KPI: 40 goals and 5 assists in 38 league games.