Arsenal: 4 things we have to see vs Aston Villa

4. Be More Aggressive & Press the Opposition

There is no excuse on the planet for Arsenal only being able to sustain periods of pressure for a maximum of ten minutes. No reasonable supporter is demanding full throttle pressing from the first to the last minute, but they are crying out for a side who struggle to create chances through picture perfect play to seek new routes to goal.

Arteta has a wealth of players suited to broken, unstructured play who can not only press and counter-press efficiently, but also be quick in transitional play. Someone like Pepe would thrive in those situations with grass to run into and his path to goal not blocked off by an entire starting lineup as he stands with chalk on his boots.

There is a metric known as PPDA (passes allowed per defensive action), which is used to measure the quantity of pressing a team does or does not engage in. In short, PPDA is essentially the number of passes a team will allow to be completed before attempting a defensive action. So, a lower PPDA indicates a stronger press, and vice versa.

A peek at the graph below is harrowing.

Arsenal don’t have to be an all-out pressing team. But to avoid utilising this approach more when there are key attacking members of the squad who would benefit greatly from trying to win the ball back high up the pitch – as well as having players who can win the ball back high up the pitch is a huge oversight.

Having two athletic midfielders in Sambi and Partey who are adept at tackling dribblers would also be a nudge in the direction of pressing more, but alas, the manager seems to think otherwise.

Arsenal struggle to create chances. Higher pressing is one of the best ways to create chances. What if it was McArthur and Luka Milivojević who were getting the ball pinched off them on Monday? Arsenal have forwards who would put those chances away.

Instead, it’s pass, pass, pass, corner, and relinquish possession (sort of hyperbolic, but not really).