Arsenal: Midfield must learn Pep Guardiola’s obsession

Pep Guardiola is solely focused on the ball moving at tempo from player to player when in possession. Arsenal could do with learning from his obsession.

Arsene Wenger often said that it was easy to see when Arsenal were playing well. He said that if you simply watched the ball, the speed at which it moves from player to player when in possession, within the first ten minutes of the match, you can tell whether the team is playing well or not.

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He’s right. The ball fizzed throughout the pitch when Arsenal were playing well. With pace and verve and tempo and creativity, they passed with intention and speed. It was lovely to watch. And the very opposite happened when they were not so comfortable. The game slowed, the passing was ponderous and lethargic, the tempo was not there.

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It has been an issue in the first two games of this season also, even though Wenger is no longer in charge. Against both Manchester City and Chelsea, the ball has moved too slowly, especially when the opposition chose to press the ball high up the pitch.

Contrast their passing sluggishness to these comments by Pep Guardiola. Here is an extract of what he said in an extremely revealing interview (you can see the full video here):

"“Move the ball to move the rival. If the ball stays in one place, then it is easier to defend. But if the ball is constantly moving, then the defending line of the opposite team doesn’t know where the biggest danger will come from. And in that time, moving the ball from side corridors to the centre, that is the way you can attack <…> I love it when the ball is almost on fire, when it’s constantly moving.”"

Guardiola has an obsession with moving the ball as quickly as possible. The Arsenal midfielders, I believe, could learn a thing or two from adopting his sole focus on passing at pace.

The three deepest-lying midfielders that have featured so far this season are Matteo Guendouzi, Granit Xhaka and Lucas Torreira. All three have been guilty of slowing down the play by taking too many touches on the ball, rather than releasing the simplest pass as quickly as possible. Guardiola would not be pleased with their performances.

Even Guendouzi, who has been the best of the trio in possession, showcasing a wonderful passing range with raking switches of play and piercing passes into attacking players in the final third, has sometimes taken too long to release the ball. I do not know the statistic, but I would love to know how many passes Arsenal make first-time.

Speed of play is something that I have harkened on about for years. Wenger is the same. As is Guardiola. Hopefully, Unai Emery will too. Certainly, his players need to understand its importance. At the moment, they seem to be missing the point.