Arsenal: 5 tactical improvements needed vs Man City

Has the victory over West Brom instilled an unprecedented degree of confidence in the Arsenal players and the supporters, or is it fairly recognised that their Under-23 side isn’t quite on par with Manchester City?

Perhaps it’s a combination of both. Any match in which you leave with a 6-0 win, especially away from home, should lift the spirits. If you can’t enjoy those moments then football is not for you. It’s fun.

Being of an Arsenal affiliation heading north to home of the Premier League champions, it might be worth holding on to that smile a little while longer, mind.

This has the potential to be a bloodbath. The scope is also there for an upset. Which side the odds favour doesn’t need a great deal of explaining.

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Arsenal: 5 tactical improvements Mikel Arteta needs against Manchester City for Saturday’s Premier League clash at the Etihad Stadium

However, a result with individual performances that offered encouragement puts Arsenal about as well placed as they can be to secure a result that ensures it’s not zero points from their opening three Premier League matches.

The international break follows the weekend’s encounter and as players jet off around the world for various fixtures, having something to look at on the table during that period that isn’t entirely soul crushing wouldn’t go amiss.

Does anyone expect anything? Probably not. Many will be hoping for damage limitation and some form of improvement, however unrelated to the scoreline, to galvanise the fanbase and team as Norwich and Burnley follow next on the fixture list.

Ahead of the meeting with the champions there are a few key intricacies of the performance that we’d like to see. A win goes without saying, and if there is collective and individual solidity, perhaps it’s not totally out of the realms of possibility that a happy weekend will follow.

1. Albert Sambi Lokonga Tracking Runners

Cruising his way towards a Player of the Month gong – unless Emile Smith Rowe has a stormer on Saturday – the fanfare around Albert Sambi Lokonga is entirely justified.

The Belgian has made the step up from his native league to the Premier League fairly seamlessly, demonstrating all the tools required to be a success in this division.

Always on his toes and ready to receive, his maturity is reminiscent of Bukayo Saka: nothing fazes him and he plays the game, not the occasion. With a solid range of pass, his press evasion stands out and there are no hearts in mouths when he assumes possession while being swarmed by opposition players. The recruitment team deserve real credit for his acquisition.

But he isn’t anywhere near the finished article and one particular aspect of his game needs working on.

Proactive for loose balls and forward movements, he does struggle monitoring midfield runners beyond. There have been moments in the opening two matches where his tracking of those going past him, either second or third man runs, is lacking.

This is someone who is getting up to speed with the Premier League and while there were instances against Chelsea, not all were his fault as the midfield was found vacated by improper structure and pressing.

In City’s ever-interchanging system, these runs are even harder to track. He’ll have to be supremely switched on, especially with Granit Xhaka’s mobility limitations.

2. Aubameyang Bringing Central Aggression

Arsenal will need an out-ball on Saturday and while the likelihood is that Nicolas Pepe will be replaced in the starting lineup with Emile Smith Rowe on the left and Bukayo Saka on the right, there has to be breakaway aggression in transitional movements.

Saka has the pace to run in beyond, and with Martin Odegaard in the side to add deep-lying technical security when Arsenal need to build-out from a low-block position, it could free the 19-year-old to be more proactive in his running beyond.

Such situations won’t arise all too often and with Odegaard bringing some centrality to progression, it frees Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang to make those darting sprints at goal against City’s high line.

These fixtures have been boring affairs of late where both sides get to play some pass-a-few-times football with one team dominating on chance creation. Looking to progress up the pitch with bodies in support, Arsenal will still rely on the pace of Aubameyang as an out-ball to stretch the pitch and leave centre-backs facing their own goals.

Arteta’s side will need a similarly engaged and direct style from the captain as seen in the latter stages against Chelsea and the win over West Brom.

Have him on John Stones’ shoulder all game. Stones is at his weakest when facing his own net.

3. Taking Advantage of Set Pieces

Only two teams conceded one more goal (6) from set pieces than Arsenal (5) last season. No points for guessing which one of those teams was.

Indeed, taking advantage of set pieces when as a team you only scored four not counting direct free-kicks last season, against the champions of England who conceded just five themselves, may be a steep ask.

What might change? Well, having bid farewell to Andreas Georgson, whose work last term made the Gunners significantly stronger from dead balls in their own box than in the opposition area, and replacing him with Nicolas Jover might help.

That’s because the new set piece coach was brought in from Manchester City this summer.

City will be aware of this, and whatever routines Jover implemented during his two seasons there will likely make way for new methods Carlos Vicens will seek to employ. They won’t be an open invitation.

But Jover does know the City squad inside out. He knows who has certain weaknesses and where they’re strongest from corners and free-kicks in both boxes, so as far as an ‘advantage’ goes, it’s at least a helping hand.

4. A More Organised Press and Structure

Arsenal were structurally all over the place in their last home outing, which stemmed from the mismanaged press of the front players.

Through a combination of being stand-offish and indecisive, Chelsea were able to play through and around Arsenal like a knife through warmed butter. Taking side routes to simply bypass the likes of Pepe, it then opened up the room for their attackers, notably Kai Havertz, to drop off from the forward line and drag others out of position.

City’s revolving door of penalty box movers aim to do so in equally effective measure. They will drag players out and shift others along to open the smallest of gaps, and even if there aren’t any they still have the quality of players to conjure up a chance out of nothing.

Having not done so against Chelsea it would be a surprise for Arteta to revert to a 3-4-3 system given he has more players available to him. Opting for that shape would help nullify wide areas where City can play in compact areas.

Thus, if it’s the 4-2-3-1, the same mistakes of seeing Xhaka drop into defence to create a back five that leaves Sambi horribly exposed in a barren midfield can’t happen again. Whatever pressing style Arsenal opt for has to be coordinated better in order to limit the need for Xhaka to form that back five when the ball hasn’t yet reached the edge of the penalty box.

Everything needs to be near perfect, really.

5. Ensuring Martin Odegaard Isn’t Isolated in Possession

Everyone is aware of what Odegaard can and already has brought to this team, and if Arsenal are to utilise his qualities to their maximum on Saturday then they need to ensure he has the options around him.

Able to turn in possession with the vision to see attacking first time passes, he is a facilitator that can release the creative burden on the wide players and widen the scope for threat in others.

Is he too ahead of the curve, though? Arteta certainly eluded to this following the EFL Cup win, stating that the Norwegian ‘needs’ something from his teammates.

"“He’s really comfortable in those areas. He loves drifting into that right-side pocket, coming deep,” he told Arsenal Media. “He glides players together. He attracts players. He’s really confident on the ball. He can take the ball anywhere on the pitch and he gives us that continuity.” “He needs freedom to play and he needs players around him to follow and understand him, the front players as well, because the moment he has some time on the ball he’s a real threat.”"

The manager’s comments are interesting. Despite playing together for six months, the side had spent all summer without Odegaard and with him returning fully fit and raring to go, the hint is towards the current crop not quite appreciating just about much ability Odegaard has.

Such quality in control and positioning is crying out for both runners beyond and options either side to be proactive to what the 22-year-old does. Given he can turn, hold and attract others, the movements of those around either in behind or to play neat central triangles will see Odegaard’s craft best utilised.

It seems Arteta feels more can come from Odegaard if his teammates are signing from the same hymn sheet. That’s clear enough, but seemingly hasn’t happened yet.