Pain in the Arsenal
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Arsenal Vs Watford: 5 things we learned – Thank God it’s over

By Andrew Dowdeswell

Arsenal, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (Photo by RUI VIEIRA/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)
Arsenal, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (Photo by RUI VIEIRA/POOL/AFP via Getty Images) /
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LONDON, ENGLAND – JULY 26: Mikel Arteta, Manager of Arsenal gives his team instructions during the Premier League match between Arsenal FC and Watford FC at Emirates Stadium on July 26, 2020 in London, England. Football Stadiums around Europe remain empty due to the Coronavirus Pandemic as Government social distancing laws prohibit fans inside venues resulting in all fixtures being played behind closed doors. (Photo by Neil Hall/Pool via Getty Images)
LONDON, ENGLAND – JULY 26: Mikel Arteta, Manager of Arsenal gives his team instructions during the Premier League match between Arsenal FC and Watford FC at Emirates Stadium on July 26, 2020 in London, England. Football Stadiums around Europe remain empty due to the Coronavirus Pandemic as Government social distancing laws prohibit fans inside venues resulting in all fixtures being played behind closed doors. (Photo by Neil Hall/Pool via Getty Images) /

3. Mikel Arteta shows off tactical flexibility

This week, Mikel Arteta expressed his desire to have tactical flexibility. Speaking with Sky Sports, he said:

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"“We want to have versatility. We will be more difficult to control if we are able to master two or three different formations without driving the players crazy. Always with the same principles, but being able to change system, and to attack and defend in different ways.”"

Here, he showed precisely what he meant.

Officially lined up as a 4-3-3, Arsenal switched between three different formations depending on the state of the game at specific moments. Triggered by Granit Xhaka’s position, Arsenal would move from a 3-4-3 with Xhaka as a left-sided centre-half to a 4-2-3-1 with Xhaka moving into midfield alongside Dani Ceballos to a 4-3-3 with Joe Willock dropping deeper and Xhaka moving up even further such that the pair flank Ceballos.

This tactical flexibility did not always work, of course. At times, Watford played through Arsenal with ease. But Arteta would change the system, stem the tide, and wrestle back control of the match through altering the numerical equation. He wants to have tactical flexibility, the versatility to change systems, and here, he proved it.