Arsenal vs Villa: 4 tactical improvements from Arteta’s side

3. Arteta’s Side Pressed Villa With Constant Energy

It’s been tiresome have to rehash the same qualms each and every week over Arteta’s reluctance to instruct his side to press the opposition. Noticeable in this team is that they’re fully behind the manager – whether fans are or not – and they will follow him into battle relaying every detail he has on the pitch.

What he says goes. Often that is to the team’s detriment, but on this occasion it was clear that the orders were to pin Villa back, win the ball high and force unstructured play. As has been said numerous times, Arsenal have near ideal players to adopt this approach: high energy sprinters, electric in transition and bursting full of youthful exuberance.

The intensity with which Arsenal pressed and counter-pressed was the most enjoyable aspect of the entire performance. Hunting in packs when possession was lost, each Villa player was immediately surrounded by three or four Arsenal bodies. Dean Smith said after the game that his side were physically dominated and he hit the nail on the head.

Even in the dying stages of the second half there was a moment where Leon Bailey received the ball on the touchline and Gabriel had come across to fill the gap left by Nuno Tavares, who had also ran back to cover alongside Smith Rowe. It was joyous.

Crucial to how Arsenal pinned Villa back was in the use of the full-backs, with Takehiro Tomiyasu’s involvement notably different to usual. He was given greater license to press with Tavares, an innovative tactical decision to force Villa’s back three into a back five. Matty Cash and Matt Targett were repeatedly forced to cover their centre-backs.

There was no out-ball for Smith’s men and losing all their threat in wide areas allowed Arsenal to keep their own full-backs higher up the pitch and sustain pressure for extended periods of time.

Continued…