Mikel Arteta’s tactical vision for Arsenal has exploded into life during an impressive start to the 2022/23 campaign.
In essence, they still line up in a 4-1-4-1 formation, but there is a different type of vigour, fluidity and structure to their play compared with what we saw from them last season.
Winning six of their first seven matches, averaging 2.4 goals a match, the Gunners are in excellent shape.
A different system
A lot of managers aim to build five lanes of attack inside the opposition half and the majority include at least one full-back getting forward in those scenarios.
This still happens on occasions for Arsenal, but interestingly, Arteta has tried to move away from that this term.
For example, rather than asking a central midfielder like Granit Xhaka to slide across and cover the wide area, when the left-back pushes on, Arsenal regularly invert both full-backs.
From his right-back berth, Ben White tucks in to form a defensive trio when Arsenal attack, while Oleksandar Zinchenko or Kieran Tierney consistently move into central midfield to play alongside Thomas Partey.
In front of them, Xhaka’s style of play has altered dramatically. Last season, 10 team-mates had more touches inside the box, with his total figure standing at 37.
Ahead of Matchweek 9, he is ranked fourth at Emirates Stadium, with 25 touches in that domain across from the opening seven matches.
His marauding runs and desire to test midfield markers with forward bursts has added an exciting new dimension.
What are the benefits?
Firstly, the structure is well-balanced with the team’s best defenders all in place should a transition or counter-attack arise.
More importantly, this set-up provides enough stability down the centre to allow Arsenal’s front three and box-to-box midfielders to freely interchange with one another.
When Arteta initially took the job, a lot of his side’s build-up play was overly rigid.
Now we see Xhaka, Gabriel Martinelli and Gabriel Jesus all switch up their positions on a regular basis and this is mirrored on the other side, when Jesus joins Bukayo Saka and Martin Odegaard.
Together they have created a lot more chaos for their opponents to deal with, which in turn has helped them find greater penetration.
ARS attacking stats
| 21/22 | Rank | 22/23 | Rank | |
| Touches in opp box | 27.3 | 4th | 36.3 | 2nd |
| Shots in opp box | 9.8 | 4th | 11.7 | 2nd |
| Passes played into opp box | 24.5 | 9th | 32.6 | 5th |
In real terms, this fresh way of attacking has made a tremendous difference.
Encouraging varied movement, coupled with an appetite to fill the box, Arsenal are getting into the opposition’s area with far greater frequency.
After seven rounds of matches, Arteta’s men enjoyed more touches inside the area than Manchester City, which is no mean feat.
Key additions
The impacts made by Jesus and William Saliba cannot be underestimated.
Providing great pace and quality at both ends of the pitch, they have played a key role in the team’s transformation.
Jesus has elevated the speed of Arsenal’s attacks with his quickness and industry. Varying his movement far more than predecessors Alexandre Lacazette and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyamg, rival defenders are experiencing less time to switch off.
Lacazette liked to drop into pockets, which heaped pressure on Saka to make runs into the box from a right-wing position.
He did it well, but as you can see from this comparison among Arsenal’s attackers (below), they now have a healthier balance.
Arsenal formation 2021/22 v 2022/23
Strikers Lacazette and Aubameyang combined to produce just 16.2 per cent of Arsenal’s touches inside the area last term, with Jesus currently boasting a 29.1 per cent share on his own.
Arteta’s best finishers are in positions to score goals on a more consistent basis.
ARS touches in the box comparison
| Player (posn) 22/23 | % ARS touches in box | Player (posn) 21/22 | % ARS touches in box |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jesus CF | 29.1 | Saka RF | 21.3 |
| Martinelli LF | 18.5 | Martinelli LF | 12.3 |
| Saka RF | 16.1 | Lacazette CF | 11.3 |
| Xhaka LM | 9.8 | Smith Rowe LF | 6.4 |
| Odegaard RM | 7.9 | Odegaard RM | 6.3 |
Pressing better
At the heart of Arsenal’s back four, Saliba’s outstanding recovery pace also gives the team confidence to press with conviction.
This has made them a lot harder to play against.
Able to hold a higher line to congest space, the passes opponents make per defensive action (PPDA) against Arsenal has dropped markedly from 13.6 to 11.1.
| Arsenal per 90 | 2022/23 | Rank | 2021/22 | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Passes per defensive action | 11.1 | 5th | 13.6 | 11th |
Confident defence
Arsenal’s first-choice back four of White, Saliba, Gabriel and Zinchenko now contains a quartet of excellent technicians.
This is important, as all of them are confident and progressive distributors, who add value to the Gunners’ build-up play in a precise and efficient manner.
It is part of the reason why Arsenal’s control of games has been better.
In 2021/22, only two sides faced more shots against them from high turnovers than Arsenal.
This season they have been very secure when pressed, facing just six shots from high turnovers to date.
Only four top-flight sides have experienced fewer.
Coming together
There is still room for improvement, but Arsenal’s tactical play has come on leaps and bounds.
Comfortable with the demands their manager is asking of them, there is a far greater flow to their passing and movement.
Arteta has tinkered less with his personnel and formations too, as well as working hard on the mentality of his players.
The way his team reacts to setbacks is certainly improving.
There is no doubt this young Arsenal side is developing nicely and Arteta should take a lot of credit for the strides they have made.
His vision and processes are beginning to bear fruit.