Can Mikel Arteta address his poor record against Sean Dyche?

Two weeks is a long time in football.

It was a fortnight ago that Everton succumbed to their latest dismal defeat against West Ham and faith in the beleaguered Frank Lampard fell to an all-time low- developments which fuelled optimism amongst Arsenal fans ahead of our trip to Merseyside this weekend.

However, the axe has since fallen at Finch Farm and a very different proposition now awaits us as new boss Sean Dyche will take charge for Saturday’s lunchtime kick-off. The Gunners have risen to challenges throughout the campaign and will always remain focused on themselves, but past struggles with ‘Dycheball’ suggest this appointment is nevertheless ill-timed and Mikel Arteta might need to produce something special to maintain our five-point advantage at the top.

Three draws and one loss in five previous exchanges highlight Arteta’s poor record against the former Burnley manager and capture the enormity of his upcoming Goodison Park assignment, where the return of a disciplined 4-4-2 formation in front of a reinvigorated Toffees crowd could pose problems for Arsenal’s typically free-flowing offensive patterns.

Everton vs Arsenal: can Mikel Arteta claim just his second win in six Premier League matches against Sean Dyche on Saturday? 

Explanations for such troubles can perhaps be found via brief tactical analysis and Dyche’s natural proclivity for low defensive blocks. As demonstrated over a decade-long reign in Lancashire, he generally encourages his players to sit deep and adopt a narrow, compact approach that tests both opposition physicality and their ability to create chances- tasks we have often failed emphatically.

Despite its various merits, the system can invite pressure and leaves participants vulnerable in wide areas- weaknesses Arteta has tried to exploit in past Dyche encounters. The boss previously instructed his strikers to drop deep and combine around the box while also engineering overloads on the wing, but an unsuited squad lacking in quality frequently resulted in slow passages of play and would allow Burnley to easily shift from side-to-side- leading to very little chance creation.

There is reason to believe fortunes will improve on this occasion as excellent transfer business means we now have more in-tune personnel and greater tactical flexibility at our disposal. The recent integration of world-class talents including Zinchenko and Saliba provides a stronger platform for sustained pressure and also facilitates advanced positioning for our midfield 8s, a licence that has recently seen Odegaard flourish.

These amendments enable Arsenal to attack in greater numbers and create goal-scoring opportunities more readily down the middle, thereby reducing our previous reliance on width (which remains a fruitful avenue) and helping us to unlock even the most stubborn of defences.

Arteta’s poor record against Dyche is compounded by a similarly bad return at Goodison Park, where he is still winless after two managerial visits, and that simply must change if we are to stay ahead of Man City in the title race.

However, the current team is far better than those previous iterations and our impressive league form- coupled with the hosts’ long winless run- indicates that a good result may finally come this weekend.