Arsenal: 5 tactical improvements during unbeaten run

Arsenal are looking good, aren’t they? At the very least they’re looking better than before, although considering how exceptionally dreadful they were that can be an unjust term to use.

September and October have been fun. Very fun. Embarking on an undefeated streak across both months, the idea that the season doesn’t start until the summer transfer window closes has never rang truer.

Remove those opening three matches from the history books and Arsenal would sit second in the table behind only Chelsea. If only it worked like that.

Instead the focus is on progression. Some teams require a quarter of the season to kick into gear; some teams come out of the blocks firing; some teams falter in the latter stages; and some teams are consistently good or bad throughout.

5 tactical improvements seen from Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal team during their nine-match unbeaten run in the Premier League and Carabao Cup

Nobody knows which of the above Arsenal will fall into. Ten games into a Premier League campaign is still far too soon to be coming to conclusions. What can be deciphered, however, is trends; spells of form to indicate the direction one team is heading in.

Arsenal’s trend is upwards. Any nine-game stretch without loss provides data that can calculate that, in the same way the 22-game unbeaten run under Unai Emery revealed how unsustainable or fortunate the team were, with a dip due at any point.

Reasons as for why the Gunners have taken strides towards becoming a more well-rounded unit with more positive points than negative ones has its roots in the personnel. But even though Mikel Arteta has had a better quality of player to select from, they still have to perform certain tactical roles to help maximise their output.

As this run without defeat aims to reach double figures when Watford head to the Emirates Stadium next, what improvements have been made across this spell that have transformed the outlook? A few spring to mind.

1. Capitalising on Fast Starts & High Pressing

While the difference in quality of the ‘fast starts’ Arsenal have made across Arteta’s tenure is debatable, what they aren’t are some new innovation never before attempted.

This team have sought to get their noses in front early on in matches – almost every side would like to do likewise – they’ve just been extremely poor at it.

Sometimes labelled as ‘domination’ by the manager last season when in fact it’s more closely resembled a three-year-old trying to beat up his adult brother, the amount of penetration and threat posed in many of these spells has been borderline laughable. Arsenal have been on top, but held at arms’ length.

What has been seen over the course of this run is the team capitalising on these periods. Overall they’re quicker, more dynamic, and have players making threatening runs in all directions.

Some of the openings, specifically in the three most recent home Premier League matches and the trip to Leicester, have been breathless. The energy levels are exceptional, and pivotal in their execution and effectiveness is the coordinated high pressing.

One outstanding criticism of Arteta has been his inability to coach a press: Arsenal couldn’t handle them, or inflict them. This team looks vastly more assertive out of possession and the triggers have been drilled into the players’ minds to the point where they’re near subconscious actions.

The pressing has been integral to these fast starts not only being quick and tenacious, but able to be sustained over longer periods and make Arsenal threatening even when they don’t have the ball.

Continued…