Arsenal: 3 things to improve despite unbeaten run

Arsenal have the chance to go ten matches unbeaten in all competitions when struggling Watford head to the Emirates Stadium on Sunday – and confidence is brimming.

While the previous international break was a welcome opportunity to reset the batteries and pick apart everything that had gone desperately wrong over the first three Premier League fixtures, this one arrives at a less convenient time.

The current streak is closing in on the best seen under Mikel Arteta – when Arsenal also went ten games unbeaten between January and February 2020 – although the general outlook around the club is brighter.

A host of players will be jetting off to represent their countries once more as the World Cup qualifying matches wind down, with just the one fixture to go before then.

3 things for Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal to improve despite going nine matches unbeaten ahead of Watford in the Premier League on Sunday

The simple matter of taking on Liverpool at Anfield follows that, but Arsenal can hardly be better placed to travel to Merseyside even if there is no team in world football who doesn’t fear the prospect of taking on Jurgen Klopp’s side.

Vast improvements in many quarters have seen Arsenal embark on this current unbeaten run but, despite that, nobody is under any illusions that this team is anywhere near perfect and amid this nine-game stretch there have been elements of performances that will have been looked at as areas in need of tweaking.

But they are all positive steps as opposed to outright issues. Each one is a byproduct of others. With this team it’s all about progression and as they begin to master certain components new ones will arise. Here are three things to work on.

1. Stop the Backline Sinking Too Deep

Gabriel and Benjamin White are growing into one of the success stories of the club’s recent recruitment with the pair forming what is starting to become a formidable partnership.

Even in their short time together they’ve added physicality, stability, progression and structure to the team, allowing Arsenal to push their defensive line up higher and defend leads with relative comfort.

They can be guilty of dropping too deep, though.

This isn’t entirely their doing, of course, as the team in general has found itself taking the natural route of sitting off teams a few yards too many when gaining the lead in matches. There is an almost subconscious desire to drop off, something most sides do, but there is a point where the line needs to be drawn. Quite literally, in fact.

A team growing and learning, the periods where they’ve faced sustained pressure from the likes of Palace and Leicester will act as huge learning curves to everyone. A great deal of experience is gained from managing such game states.

Finding ways to avoid those game states being as long and as arduous is the next step, much of which will come from being more confident to play higher up the pitch.

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2. Finding Ways to Control Matches Without Pressing

Arsenal do have this tendency to sit off and relinquish the majority of possession when they’ve got their noses in front, but losing the lion’s share of the ball doesn’t have to mean they can’t control matches.

How Arsenal build out from the back is crucial to this. By bringing in Aaron Ramsdale they have found variance to their build up, or at least get the ball far away from their own goal, through his excellent range of pass. Both centre-backs can do this too, but it can be too hurried.

All good sides are willing to defend deep but their intentions remain on maintaining control through possession. Possession-based teams that want to build out from the back have to press or the approach is futile, which Arsenal can be guilty of is losing their intention to do, but it’s fine to knock the ball around every now and then when you’re in front.

Pressing isn’t the be-all and end-all. It’s not the only way to impose yourself on a match. As seen against Palace, when Arsenal went one goal up their passes per sequence dropped; there was too much of a desire to go back to front in quick time.

When it’s a positive game state, just keeping the ball away from the opponent is totally fine. It needn’t be all out pressing or a low-block. There is a middle ground and Arsenal need to find that balance. Certain players help this, like Martin Odegaard did against Leicester when the team managed to find control with and without the ball, but it’s something the whole group need to work on.

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3. Pose a Threat When the Ball Isn’t Yours

Aston Villa at home in the Premier League was the best example of killing a game off even when the pressure was on. Interestingly, Arsenal have become something of a transitional team in recent weeks, finding joy in the speed with which they turn defence into attack.

A delightful pass from Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang set off Smith Rowe against Villa, and while there was a healthy slice of luck with the deflection, it was an example of being threatening without dominating.

There is still work to be done on this. The two aforementioned points play a big part: sitting too deep and being compact limits options to play through, while not being able to regain control means chances become at a premium.

But the opportunities can arrive, many of which are lost with wrong decisions in the final third. No one player is infallible when it comes to making the wrong pass in dangerous areas or rushing their choice, and the breakaways that go begging can get lost among those that are taken.

Being in a 4-4-2 shape as deep as Arsenal are, adding threat either by pressing in a 4-2-3-1 or some other ploy can be looked at to provide more options playing out.

There are crossovers in all of Arsenal’s area to improve. What is encouraging is that they’re the result of the team being good at something else. Lesson 1-2 instead of lesson 2-1, if you like.

Yet Arsenal can’t go on trying to blow teams away and sit on their lead for however long. When the early goals don’t come it changes everything. But, best of all, these are coachable aspects that can the team can work on.