Arsenal: 4 big positives from 1-0 Aston Villa win

3. Tactical Intelligence

Arteta sets out his tactical plan for every game, one that the players aim to follow to the best of their ability. It’s the manager’s job to spot weakness in the opposition and build a gameplan accordingly.

However, he can’t directly change matters in-game. The opposition will alter their approach, tweak a few aspects and then it is majorly on the players to respond.

They way this team thinks about the game is incredibly impressive as they spot the nuances in the opposition shape and use their own football brains to decipher how best to solve it. In the first half, for example, John McGinn was playing a crucial role in helping Villa play their way out of trouble.

It was him picking up the ball and acting as a pressure valve, a trait Arsenal picked up on. Suddenly he was having more bodies around him and less time to bridge the defence and attack, resulting in Arsenal sustaining their spells of danger for longer.

Then in the second half when Matty Cash started to make driving runs infield as he was having little joy on the exterior, Granit Xhaka dropped off a few yards to form more of a double pivot to block those central spaces.

This is a group of players who are excellently coached. They’re always thinking, always on their toes and always willing to react to certain situations with a confidence that they’re making the right decision.

Villa Park was an excellent example of that.

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