Arsenal: 3 tactical changes in recent performances

Arsenal are winning matches when earlier in the season they weren’t. That invariably means something has improved, or changed. If there is anything to garner from Mikel Arteta’s time as manager, it’s that he’s partial to a tweak or two.

Lining up in a mass of different formations, with a plethora of different stylistic approaches performed by a wide ranging group of players, Arteta has tried near enough everything to unearth a winning formula.

He’s enjoyed mixed results with his experimentation.

Events at Villarreal immediately spring to mind, just as the more successful back three ploys en route to lifting the FA Cup produced the best results of all.

Arsenal: 3 tactical changes Mikel Arteta has been making in recent Premier League performances as Gunners occupy top four spot

On this current mini-run of wins we’ve seen Arsenal field close to the same side five matches running in the Premier League. Only in the 5-0 win over Norwich was the lineup tinkered with, and and that was the enforced change at right-back.

Some tactical differences have been noticeable across previous weeks too. Arteta has a history of sticking to one approach until the opposition suss it out and then it’s onto the next ploy. The Alexandre Lacazette and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang front two was a fitting example.

It will be interesting to see how long this one sticks for. At present it’s producing some of the most enjoyable football in his tenure, with the players building strong relationships on the pitch and fluidity in attack producing thoroughly enjoyable goal numbers.

The tactical differences have also made for interesting viewing, with three in particular standing out.

1. Return of the 4-3-3?

The return of the 4-3-3? It certainly looks a lot like it, anyway.

Most notable is when Aaron Ramsdale has the ball at a goal-kick and the team get into shape. It’s about as defined of a 4-3-3 as you can get with a clear ‘V’ shape in midfield, with Granit Xhaka further forward almost as a No. 8 with Odegaard on the right side.

While it was against a poor Norwich side, Xhaka even ran beyond Lacazette with the occasional surging run towards the box. It’s almost unheard of. But it is working.

The combinations Arsenal build down the left with Kieran Tierney and Gabriel Martinelli is aided by Xhaka’s presence, and the Swiss rotates with Tierney on who will advance down that flank. It’s been a complaint previously that Xhaka drifting off to the left detracts from the midfield, and stylistically it isn’t preferable, but for now it’s helping solidify the flanks with passing options so there is no knocking it.

Xhaka moving out to cover left-back is nothing new, but operating, as least positionally, as a No. 8 is an intriguing ploy from the manager possibly designed to cater to his lack of mobility in central areas and to allow the defenders and Partey to assume the majority of deep progression.

Partey looks very much to have been handed the keys to the No. 6 role and no great changes to that appear on the horizon.

Xhaka has been playing very well in the position and his defensive awareness high up the pitch has been key in Arsenal sustaining attacks for longer. That latter part is key.

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