A wasted week (A Coach’s Perspective) [ARS 01 WHA]

An Arsenal blog from a coach’s perspective 

Have no fear. I’m not going to scream and shout. I would hope that you read this because I offer solutions and some unique analysis. Never wanted to do a match report and most certainly don’t ever want to try to get readers by being Awesome McTerrible even though those that go extreme are certainly more popular.

I was super relaxed about the game today. For one of the only times this season, Arteta and his staff were given a full week to prepare for a football match. He and every other manager and player rightly have complained about the lack of opportunity to recover and the lack of opportunity to prepare. Alongside the officiating in the Premier League, this issue goes head to head with that issue for most important need of change.

I’m also understanding that just because you get a week off and you’ve recently been at a warm weather training camp, football stays in your legs and the players are likely hitting high fatigue before they get a second wind. I’m not even sure if getting a second wind is even a thing when it comes to fatigued muscles.

Anyhow, I was rather relaxed because at last we had an opportunity to have four or five training sessions to prepare.

Arteta said he was angry after the game and I wonder if what he’s not telling us is that he feels like those training sessions were wasted. To be fair to him, he always seems to be introspective rather than blame, which is far more helpful to everybody around him.

Even though the level is hugely different, I can empathize.There have been many occasions where given the opportunity to prepare my team and having that many days to do it, I’ve overthought the situation or simply choose the wrong topics to address. Also, understanding that it is rather easy for me sitting here to retrospectively suggest that the wrong topics were chosen, but what was so evident today was that nobody played particularly well and nothing that we did was different or better.

Whatever it is, something went very wrong.

That was part one of the story.

Part two is concern that we are throwing away opportunities to win silverware with an extremely good team because there is one major issue that has never really changed since Michael Arteta took over.

This issue is the ability to create simpler chances against a mid or low block.

I don’t think it’s a philosophical issue because even though we all have different ideas about how we should attempt to put the ball in the net, I don’t think we could argue that Arteta has never found a way to capitalize on these utterly dominant home games and convert it into multiple four, five and six goal spreads on at least a once a month basis. It seems like every elite team does this. Whether it be Real Madrid, Bayern Munich, PSG, Manchester City, Liverpool or Barcelona, they all thrash somebody at least once a month and often more. For the most part, they are all playing against low blocks too.

If it were me there are a few things that I would have done a while ago and most certainly reiterated this week in order to at least dispatch West Ham.

1. The first thing that I would do is suggest that we get a better balance between controlling games and taking risk. I have great admiration for how Arsenal have become arguably the best off the ball team in Europe and most certainly one of the best defensive teams. This takes care of half the problems in the game. I think that our coaches have looked at how lesser teams score in these games and analyzed that it is almost always through transition. So logically if you can stop them from even getting the ball then they can’t transition. We are extremely good at this, but also at the expense of being overly safe. I feel like you can tell during these home games that there is too much safe passing and I think it is directly linked to players being afraid of disappointing the coach by losing the ball and getting transitioned on. I think that the message from the coaches needs to offer a different and braver stance, as having over 20 shots at home where none of them were simple chances, is a rather large problem. The coaching staff have to recognize that the balance is off if they are playing West Ham at home and are creating zero simple chances to score.
2. When Arsenal get the ball in almost any attacking sequence, do you have a pretty good idea of what they’re going to do? I do. I know that we watch our team more than our opponents do but with increased staffing and so much access to footage, our opponents know plenty enough to nullify us. If you are willing to work hard, block shots, and shift left and right for 95 minutes then you might be able to get a result against Arsenal. There is something very wrong with that. Arsenal fans should have a really good idea of which Premier League keeper is the best shot stopper as there should be shots raining down when we play, especially at home. I don’t know about you, but I couldn’t answer that question. There are just too many games where we do not stretch the goalkeeper for the whole 95 minutes like Areola/Freddie Mercury experienced today. Much like the defensive block, the goalkeeper is having it too easy and is rarely surprised by us. My best evidence for this is when you watch a highlight reel of Martin Ødegaard’s entire career. He is more capable than almost any player in world football of being unpredictable and creating in any situation. Too often at Arsenal he presses repeat. The only moment of unpredictability in the game was his back heel, which created a goalscoring opportunity for Ben White. The only one though. In that moment, you saw the benefit of unpredictability because he fooled their entire defense, and it created the best chance in the game. If I was coaching him, I would never look at his passing completion stats and tell him to ignore them, also. I would challenge him to do between five and ten moments of unpredictability in every game and applaud every one where he chose the right moment, regardless of the outcome. This is also a football problem as flair and unpredictability were far more evident in the game when most of us were young. I’ve always hoped that the next evolution of the game would bring this back and it might well do this to Arsenal if somebody shows up in the Premier League and proves that it works. Something like Mbappé, Vinicius Jr. or perhaps when Estevao starts playing at Chelsea.
3. Arsenal need to fall in love with gaps. You can close your eyes and imagine any of our wingers looking like they are going to cross and half the time they don’t because they don’t see the player in the perfect position or heading to the perfect position. I admire that Arsenal play a high percentage style. It’s one of the reasons that I adore my team. It’s gone to an extreme level though, and our crosses are asking for literal perfection. Because we have a elite players, you see perfection because it’s achievable. Nwaneri’s cross against Leicester was that, but if it wasn’t perfect, then there was no opportunity. A good example of what I’m talking about is West Ham‘s goal. Even though the ball was perfectly hit for Bowen, it was also hit in the ‘golden gap.’ This is the gap between goalkeeper and the first zonal defender. Again, we can look recently and remember Trossard‘s early cross for Merino‘s second goal. Such a non-Arsenal goal and so sad to have to say that. He crossed it early before the defence had a chance to set up and the finish was textbook perfection. When you hit the ball in this gap, then you cause multiple problems vs looking for literal perfection. The defence is not set. The defence is not facing the way that they want to, they are facing their own goal. Talking about their own goal, you have now open the possibility for an actual own goal. When you ask wingers to focus on the gap rather than trying to locate a player then you make their life significantly easier. Especially if you choose the gap I’m talking about because it is almost always available. You will also create luck if you hit this gap. I know this is almost against Arsenal‘s religion, but it is part of the game. When you hit the gap between the goalkeeper and the first defender then there will often be a second ball that will just fall at the feet of one of your players within 8 yards of the goal. You will also have created panic. Too many teams are coming to the Emirates and feeling fairly comfortable with as little as 30% possession and 4 or 5 breakaways safe in the knowledge that they know exactly what Arsenal are likely to do.
4. The other gap that needs to be exploited is the gap between their retreating defenders and tracking midfielders. As I said the other week, if in doubt pass it to the grass, and if your players are drilled well enough, one of them will be able to get there first and capitalize.
5. The third gap is a cut back to the edge of the box. There is an argument that this is actually an easier finish than hitting it closer to the goal where there are so many opportunities for defenders to get their first and the crowd is thick. I would’ve used Califiori in that first half at the edge of the box and that would’ve been one of my tactics for the week. He thundered a fantastic shot from the edge of the box, but only had one opportunity.
6. We have a tactic to overload at the back post, which is fine and good. That’s one strategy but it seems like the only one. All of these other suggestions I’ve made only happen as a last resort. It’s similar to watching us at corners. Nicholas Jover needs a lot of credit for what he’s done, but it’s not exactly difficult to know what we are going to do.
7. If you strip all the high-level thinking away and just look at the final third as a game of possession without goals. It would look like a near impossible drill as you are outnumbered almost 2 to 1. That’s unless you had imagination, unpredictability and the element of surprise as every choice made, that the opponent knew that you were going to make, would find your next teammate receiving the ball in a similar one versus two situation and very shortly it would fall apart and break down. It’s why the very best attackers that have ever played the game have all had unpredictability. Their movement was unpredictable and dynamic like RVP or they had individual brilliance like Henry or perhaps an overflowing bucket of tricks like Ronaldinho. We have some of these pieces, but even the best of Arsenal‘s attack is still somewhat predictable.
8. When there are three centre backs playing low, plus the rest of the battalion, the simplest way to cause havoc is to go around the outside of the block. With both of our wingers being inverted that opportunity is given by an overlapping full back. Timber should have been encouraged to do this and we had to wait for Ben White to show up before it happened. This would’ve been a really good game for Tierney to play in for the same reason.
9. The absence of utilizing the one touch shot and one touch pass is odd. For such a technical and high-level team we are so rarely using one touch anywhere on the field. It makes no sense as especially in the final third, it gives the defensive block half of the time to set up positionally and to block your pass or shot.
10. As we cycle around the horseshoe so frequently, why are we not attempting to dink the ball over a block as they step forward? If you dink the ball diagonally for a wide forward who is checking out and back in, the angle discourages the goalkeeper coming. City at their best a few years ago utilized this repeatedly.
11. I don’t see any combinations on the top of the box, either. Maybe that’s not fair. It’s just rare, but if it doesn’t produce a shot, it will often result in a 50-50 chase for a close ball and a potential penalty kick.
12. I’ve left the most frustrating one for last. West Ham played a mid block in the first half. Our kryptonite. Why though? It’s the same reason. We ignore the simple goal for risk of losing possession. Under Arteta you could have a 1 minute compilation each season of goals scored by players running behind the mid block and going one on one or providing a tap in as we go 2 on 1. It would only be 1 minute though and that would include replays. In order to do this we would have to play quicker, utilize the one touch and be willing to lose possession. There is a high level thought that initially sounds mad but Klopp would often give the other team the ball, so Liverpool could win it back and capitalize in the broken play. Arsenal should be happier with perhaps less shots but a far higher XG. Instead of having an extra 10 shots with 0.2 XG at best, perhaps we should turn those 10 shots into 3 chances with an XG of 0.7 or better. Most of these opponents are afraid to be given the ball. Even teams like Spurs don’t really want even 50% possession. They want to play in open space exclusively as they don’t trust themselves. If we are so good out of possession then why are we so fearful of being out of possession. 

This is all I’ve had time for tonight. Sorry. I can only hope that by the time you read this that City have decided that they are the City of previous years and got 3 points.

I still don’t think the title is done regardless as I think it’s as likely that Liverpool have a loss one weekend and we win. I don’t want to be extreme and act like we can’t score a goal. We can. It’s just hard for a fan to take when their team is undefeated in 16 games against the top six teams, yet keep struggling against teams that we should be dispatching within 60 minutes.

In the meantime, I’m applying to be Albert’s airpods. I’d whisper all these sweet nothings into his ear so he could scribble my suggestions on his IPad for the boss. Nobody else has ever thought of being an Airpod except me.