Arsenal: Arteta gives us what Brendan Rodgers never could

Mikel Arteta will be everything we wanted and more from Brendan Rodgers. He is a better fit for this Arsenal squad, and here’s why.

When Arsenal were first linked to Brendan Rodgers, I was apprehensive. He is an incredible manager, and works very well with tenacious, scrappy sides like Celtic or Leicester City. However, his track record with “superstar players” is slightly below par, as is his record at top clubs. I believe that Mikel Arteta will be everything we wanted and more from Brendan Rodgers.

Brendan Rodgers turned Claude Puel’s struggling mid-table side, who were struggling to hang on to the coattails of their former glory under Claudio Ranieri, into a genuine top-four contender, and a potential powerhouse in the future. Astute signings like Ricardo Pereira, Caglar Soyuncu and Youri Tielemans , coupled with homegrown power from James Maddison, Harvey Barnes, and Ben Chilwell, and finished by the ageless Jamie Vardy and Kasper Schmeichel, have formed a backbone that has been nigh on impenetrable this season. They have conceded the second fewest goals in the league, and have scored third most. And much of that success comes down to Brendan Rodgers’ tactics.

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The Northern Irishman has employed a very successful combination of 4-1-4-1 and 4-2-3-1 formations, both employing the pace of Vardy sitting above a skillful midfield supported by the industrious Wilfried Ndidi. It’s a tactic that has worked efficiently, but also which is quintessentially English. It prioritizes over and underlapping runs by the fullbacks, and capitalizes on passes which switch play rapidly from the center of the field out, and then up towards Vardy. It is defensively solid, and has stymied many of the top teams in the league this season.

With all of this success apparent, it seems almost foolhardy that Arsenal would not break the bank for such an elite manager. Mikel Arteta has never managed a full team in his life, and is entirely unproven. Pep Guardiola and the players spoke glowingly about his tenure there, but much of we knew about Mikel Arteta before his hire was word-of-mouth. Rodgers has experience, is an intelligent coach, and an is excellent tactician historically.

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So why not Rodgers? Well for a start, his tactics are fantastic, but have two main drawbacks. His midfield has a tendency to press aggressively as a unit, leaving a gap between the defensive midfield and centerbacks. They also get caught in possession high up the pitch, and have conceded most of their goals against the counter. These problems presented themselves heavily in the 4-0 loss to Liverpool, but also against in September against Man U.

And don’t those issues sound familiar? Those are two of the biggest issues experienced by Arsenal under Unai Emery. There are, of course, differences: Rodgers plays a high-octane, aggressive brand of football, whereas Emery’s style was cautious to the point of anemia. But the comparison is still extant. Brendan Rodgers, for all of his talent, might genuinely have given us another Unai Emery.

Arteta has brought cohesion and defensive stability to Arsenal, along with a midfield which works effectively in forward progression, but is also incredibly tenacious in defending back and compressing against quick counter attacks. Individual errors have marred their record insofar, but those will iron out the more time Arteta has with the squad.

Furthermore, Arteta has garnered praise from some of the best in the business. Rio Ferdinand had this to say about his effect on players.

"“There are new ideas, maybe he has freshened the place up. Maybe they lost belief under the previous manager. I’ve not seen Özil smile like that in about 18 months. He’s enjoying playing, he’s enjoying going to training. Pépé – this kid here, massive signing, hasn’t produced. Today he looked like a new player and that comes from confidence. There must have been conversations behind closed doors where he has said ‘you are my guy’. It’s documented how much impact Arteta had on Sane, Sterling, young wingers. And Pepe falls into that category.“"

Brendan Rodgers, while a fantastic manager, is a tad prickly, and stiff in the face of opposition. Mikel Arteta has the opportunity with this Arsenal squad not only to mold the squad as he chooses, but to mold himself as a complete manager along the way. An apt comparison might be Chris Wilder, or Eddie Howe. Under Rodgers, we would have attempted to fit a square peg into a round hole: our squad does not fit his tactics. But with Arteta, we can play with a fluidity and a dynamism which we have not seen in North London in years, and would likely not see under any other manager.

Arteta has an incredible atattchment to this squad: he is a former Arsenal captain, and this squad is moulding him as much as he is changing it. If the state of affairs at Arsenal trends as it has so far into the Arteta era, I predict success we could have not dreamed of under Brendan Rodgers.