Arsenal players enjoying freedom of structure

Arsenal head into the international break in fine form. Currently, on a nine-game winning streak, the Gunners seem to have a new lease on life under Unai Emery.

Many Arsenal fans were enjoying the quiet run of form that the team put together after two back-to-back losses to start the season. While the competition the Gunners have faced hasn’t been of the highest quality, picking up wins as Unai Emery tweaked his tactics was encouraging. However, after the 5-1 thrashing laid upon Fulham at the weekend, its safe to say that the club is no longer flying under the radar.

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Two points off of the top spot and sitting rather impressively in fourth place, Arsenal are showing great signs of growth under the new manager. At Craven Cottage, the boisterous away support voiced their admiration for the new gaffer with several chants of his name. The most conspicuous chant of the day, however, was ‘we’ve got our Arsenal back’.

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One can only assume that the fans meant the club had finally been brought out of the doldrums of Arsene Wenger’s final years and into the light of new expansive football. Ironically, the Arsenal we saw against Fulham last Sunday played a style of football very reminiscent of the North London club’s greatest ever side.

Indeed, the 4-4-2 formation that Emery employed to put Fulham to the sword resembled the system of Wenger’s famous Invincibles. Aaron Ramsey’s goal had all of the hallmarks of Wengerball, but there was something intrinsically Emeryian about it. We are finally seeing the structural change that this Arsenal side has badly needed.

Perhaps the most telling observations of what Arsenal have been missing came in the 29th and 79th minutes. The first goals from Alexandre Lacazette and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang were nearly mirror-images. Both goals came from low, driven, pull-back crosses from forward running full-backs to a waiting striker at the near post to turn and finish. By examining the two goals, it’s easy to see that every player knows where they are supposed to be and what is expected of them.

It may seem like an obvious assertion to make but think back to the play of Lacazette last season. Besides the fact that he was acclimating to the English football, the Frenchman seemed to wander about the pitch and feed on whatever scraps he could find. Time after time, we would see  Arsenal’s number nine make darting runs forward through the middle, only for no service to come. Now Lacazette knows that during a break he should check his run and pull towards that near post and make himself available. That simple positional tweak has worked wonders for him.

Another important element of Lacazette’s first goal is the play of Alex Iwobi. When the Nigeria international receives the ball, he is out wide to the left, nearly on the touchline. His first thought is to carry the ball to the inside channel of the pitch, to the left of the goal. Once he arrives there, Nacho Monreal overlaps him, receives the perfectly weighted pass from Iwobi and fires in a low cross.

Iwobi has made similar plays throughout the nine-game winning streak. You only need to look back to Danny Welbeck’s goal versus Brentford in the Carabao Cup (which shares a striking resemblance to Ramsey’s goal on Sunday), Mesut Ozil’s goal against Watford in the league and even Emile Smith-Rowe’s goal in the Europa league.

Iwobi’s combination of strength and pace has made him the perfect candidate to run down the inside channels of the pitch, whether he is on the left or right. He is always looking for the overlap from the full backs or the run of a player to score inside, and is constantly surveying opportunities to run at defenders and force them into committing to challenges. This seems to be the perfect way to utilize a player who is not quite a winger but also incredibly athletic and technically gifted.

After breaking into the first team, Iwobi seemed to stall under Wenger. It seemed like the young attacking talent would freeze on the pitch, inundated with the options running through his mind. Given the license to express himself, Iwobi would routinely hang his head with every dead end move falling upon his shoulders. Iwobi now seems to be a liberated player with the freedom from making major decisions all on his own.

There are more encouraging stories all across the team. Hector Bellerin is another. He has improved leaps and bounds from the start of the season. He seems to know when to stay and protect the back and when to push forward. Too often he was getting caught out of position and that issue has seemed to be addressed somewhat. His crossing has also improved a great deal. We no longer see Bellerin whipping balls behind the goal time after time anymore. Now the Spaniard is happy driving the ball low toward the penalty spot and causing far more danger to opposition defences.

By giving the players clear roles and jobs on the pitch, Unai Emery is actually liberating the squad with structure. There is a freedom in instruction, and Arsenal are benefitting from it greatly.