Havertz Arteta’s Raumdeuter? Mullering it over

By Merlion
January 19 2024

In an interview in 2011, Thomas Muller was asked to describe himself as a player, Müller coined the term “Raumdeuter”. – “space interpreter”. Muller takes advantage of his superb understanding of tactics, positioning and his instinct for where space and chances will appear and his work rate are remarkable. That was his greatest talent; the ability to see and move into spaces nobody else has noticed at the right time.

He possesses no outstanding physical qualities; he is not known for his speed, dribbling, strength or startling finishing ability. His headers are unexceptional and so is his shooting ability with both feet, not the cleanest striker of the ball. He pressed but often lost sight of his objective.

Muller was the antithesis of the kind of player Pep was looking for when he arrived at Bayern. He’s not technical gifted and he lost more balls than any Bayern players during Pep Guardiola Era. Pep tried to convert him into an attacking midfielder but quickly had to admit defeat. And yet he has the extraordinary knack scoring goals, and admired for his boundless energy and unstinting commitment to the team.

Pep then modified his tactics with Muller as the deep-lying striker playing behind Lewandolski. A no. 9 that draws defenders away and leaving Muller to exploit those spaces and a vital linkup man to superb dribblers like Ribery and Robben attacking from the flank.

When Arteta bought Kai Havertz, he was thinking of a new tactics utilizing Havertz as a “raumdeuter”, that vital linkup man behind the striker, who find spaces in a low block situation and that vital linkup man between attacking Forward-3 and Midfield-3.

Havertz has a very unique role within the ArtetaBall 4.0 system, sacrificing his defensive responsibilities (Xhaka’s responsibility) for playmaking in the final third. Unfortunately, due to the current lack of communication and synergy between players, Havertz does not have the number of assists and key passes in Arsenal games, that the lethal impact that Müller had. Havertz has yet to utilise his freedom to roam across the pitch to full effect, which is the role of Martin Odegaard.For Kai Havertz to be as successful as Thomas Müller at Bayern, Mikel Arteta must be able to coach Havertz for the main features of his role.

The first of which is most important for him to get information on the pitch:Scanning.For a Raumdeuter, awareness plays a huge part, with it being the only way to find the spaces on the pitch to determine the best positions to occupy. For Müller to be able to find and recognise where the spaces are on the pitch, he must make sure that he has a clear picture of the pitch whenever he receives the ball or moves around the pitch.

Scanning to be able to anticipate the next few passes. Müller is constantly swivelling his head to notice where the vacant spaces are on the pitch which allows Müller to decide where to position himself depending on the position of the ball and the players around him.

In and around the box, Müller thrives from his impeccable scanning. Because of the limited space in the penalty area being able to find a yard of space can be the difference between a shot getting blocked and it hitting the back of the net.

Positioning

The biggest issue for an attacking midfielder situated in the wide channel (open space at opposite flank where ball is in play) is the lack of creative spark close to the goal, and it is limited to one side of the pitch. To combat this issue, Müller utilises the half-spaces, finding larger pockets of space in this area between the opposition.

Half-spaces

Operating in the half-spaces is where Müller does most of his work to break down a defence. This is where he can slip in between the opposition shape most easily.

Defending a player of Müller’s quality in the half-space is very challenging with him situating between the full-back and centre-half, finding himself unmarked frequently during a match.

Müller’s excellence comes from his ability to maximise the gaps in the opposition shape, as he punishes defenders focusing on the ball to slip into free spaces.

Anticipation & Goal Scoring

Muller is superb in making runs into space to receive the ball is an obvious way for him to score. Without the ball, Müller intelligently made a run towards the open space in the half-space, in the opposite direction to where the ball was travelling. When a simple through ball arrived, Müller found himself free with the ball on the edge of the box.

Summary

Thomas Müller is truly a one-of-a-kind player, possessing the goalscoring ability of a striker and the creative spark of a midfielder. Pulling both of those skill sets together is what has created this role as a ‘Space interpreter’, something unique in football. Thomas Müller has taken football intelligence, awareness and movement to a new level in elite football.

When Mikel Arteta bought Kai Havertz, surely, he saw another ‘Space interpreter’ in Kai Havertz. But has Mikel the ability of Pep to transform Kai Havertz into a deep-lying striker cum playmaker?

Then, if ArtetaBall 4.0 is successful implemented, the KPI for league goals scored are:

45 goals by Saka, Martinelli and Odegaard;

15 goals by Jesus and Nketiah;

15 goals by Havertz, Trossard, Nelson, ESR, Vieira, Rice;

10 goals by Jorginho, Partey, defenders and own goals.

Havertz Arteta’s Raumdeuter? Mullering it over

Posted by: Arsenal Times (IP Logged)

Date: 19/01/2024 10:01

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Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2024:02:02:10:32:56 by Padre Pio.