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Mikel Arteta has only been the manager of Arsenal for five games, but already the improvements are there for all to see. The Spaniard has won two games, drawn two and lost one, but in all those games the Gunners have shown an upturn in the quality of their performances. As a result, the atmosphere around the club is that of a much nicer tone, with players and fans alike now seeing eye to eye.
Late last year we revealed our expectations of an Arteta shaped team, the Spaniard is already living up to those requirements. It seems as though all that time as Pep Guardiola’s no.2 has done wonders for the footballing IQ of the 37-year-old. A top 4 challenge was unlikely mid-way through December, now that possibility is not as laughable.
Here are four improvements we’ve already seen from Arteta’s Arsenal.
#4 Fewer shots and chances conceded
Under Unai Emery, the most worrying trend of the team’s demise was the number of shots the team were facing per match. The Gunners were going into games against much inferior opposition and finishing with fewer shots than them, that’s appalling. This alarming trait kept the Gunners on backfoot for many a game, affording their opponents complete attacking domination.
When you face an increased amount of shots on goal, you increase the likelihood of conceding goals. Of course, Arsenal’s defence is not filled with quality, but it doesn’t help when the team is set up in a way that leaves their goal vulnerable.
In Emery’s final 5 games, Arsenal conceded on average 12.8 chances and an alarming 17.6 shots per game. On the other hand, in just three weeks, Arteta has reduced that figure to 8.6 chances and 11.8 shots on average a game. The first-time manager has reduced both figures by 37.1% and 33% respectively. If Arsenal is able to reduce the amount of pressure on their goal, that’ll lay the foundations for more dominant performances.
#3 More chances created
Chance creation is something Arsenal has notably struggled with this season. The Gunners have looked lacklustre and void of ideas for the better part of the campaign. Put quite frankly, if Pierre Emerick-Aubameyang doesn’t score, no one does. Emery’s team were constantly bailed out by the Gabonese international as he fed off scraps.
In Emery’s last five games as Arsenal manager, his team only averaged 7.2 chances a game. In his Arteta’s first-ever 5 games as a manager, the Gunners have averaged 8.2 chances a game, that’s a 13% increase. So, despite being only a couple weeks in the job, Arteta is already producing at least 1 more chance a game with the same set of players Emery had.
If the new boss can do this with players, he knows aren’t good enough for the team, imagine what he’ll do when he finally buys his own players that suit his philosophy. Arsenal can now be seen to be transitioning up the pitch at quicker rates, with chance creation at the core of their focus.
#2 Meaningful possession
Like we said earlier, Emery declared that possession was one of his philosophy’s principles. But what he forgot to do was to distinguish what type of possession, as any team in the world can keep the ball at the back.
He tried to implement this through to play out from the back, however, this was something the Spaniard couldn’t coach into the team. After a few mistakes in the build-up, Emery completely abandoned that and opted for a more cautious approach, this, in turn, led to either more turnovers or u-shaped passing. Arteta has come in and placed an increased focus on dominating the ball in short bursts with a purpose.
It could be clearly heard from his first few training sessions on Arsenal.com, the Spaniard was demanding his players to make angles for each other, thus giving the player on the ball more options. This negates the need to go long and engage in aerial duels that will probably be lost.
Since Arteta took over Arsenal, the Gunners have averaged less possession than Emery but played 30% more forward passes. Emery averaged 58.26% possession in the last 5 games and didn’t win a single one, while Arteta has averaged 50.15% and is unbeaten in 4 out of 5 games.
#1 Coordinated patterns of attacking play
Under Arsène Wenger, Arsenal was renowned for their fluid passing and easy on the eye style of attacking play, that aura has become a myth in the past few years. The previous regime’s pragmatic and conservative approach to build-up play sucked the freedom out of the players, forcing them to be rigid in the final third. In just four games, Arteta has been able to add rhythm to Arsenal’s final third play, with every player now understanding their roles in attack.
Emery’s main source of chance creation came through the flanks, he overly relied on cutbacks from fullbacks. However, when teams doubled up on the flanks, the Gunners were unable to find alternative solutions. That’s why it was so easy for teams to stop an attack with the likes of Aubameyang, Lacazette, Ozil and Pepe from scoring more than two goals a game.
Arteta’s philosophy has got Arsenal creating from all angles, especially by running most attacks through Mesut Ozil. When he receives the ball in a certain space, others make runs ahead of him at varying angles. We’re finally starting to see a free-flowing Arsenal again.
