Why Arteta's Rotation Will Define Arsenal's Season- What The 4-0 Win vs PSV Means…

We've all been frustrated when William Saliba went off injured in the 20th minute against Sporting Lisbon last season. We've been discontented when we've had a lack of cover in that central centre-back or defensive midfield region. Well, now things are different, but it's up to Mikel Arteta to show us Arsenal fans that he has changed as well. Welcome back to the Harvey Gratian YouTube channel. I'm so glad you found us or are joining us once again. And today we've got a bit of a different video where we're not praising Mikel Arteta, nor necessarily are we critiquing him. But we are evaluating how Arteta can use rotation to elevate Arsenal as a football side, not just have it as a get-out-of-jail card. And I know you guys will be asking for PSV and Everton analyses individually. That will come as a more larger-scale explanation video about Arsenal as a side, hopefully delineating every single question, concern or praise you can lump onto Arsenal at the moment. So that's in the works. But a more important question we need to answer in today's video, one of rotation, let's start with minutely analysing the current Arsenal squad. Now Arteta has said that he wants two quality players in each position in the squad. And this thorough depth that we have now, or certainly have more than previous years, has been done in two ways. First of all, bringing in specific profiles for certain roles, whether that is sort of the pillar, coordinator, central centre-back in that back three axis, the conservative outside centre-back, the inverted full-back, or in midfield, the primary controllers, the all-phase central midfielders, specific angle players, or sort of those lock-pick players and killers. And up front, you can bring in specific big-space weapons or out-balls or low-block finishers. But the other way you can squad-build is bringing in sort of compound players who can do more than one thing. The centre-back, for example, who can play on the outside and in a pair in the middle without being impacted by the side we invert from. Players able to invert and do the more conservative centre-back role, or in Urien Timbers' case, provide depth across every single position in a nominal back four. And I will link the video to where I really discuss the impact of Urien Timbers' injury in the eye in the top of the screen right now. Alternatively, you can have the Declan Rises who of course can control a game, devastate in the transition, be whether that in the six or that secondary controller in that all-phase left-hand side of number eight, or that sweeping forward role that Gabriel Jesus can do, and the natural sort of associative play of someone like a Leandro Trosa. So there's multiple ways to build a squad, and compound players are able to start regardless of the approach taken at the start of the game, because they can do multiple roles and multiple things. Whether we require those sort of space monsters in big Champions League ties, or switch approach versus Manchester City to be able to hurt them in transition, and frustrate them with the ball. Developing those sort of intricate patterns of play, waiting for an opposition to make the first move, that patient build-up that we've seen most recently for Arsenal. But always with a purpose, that metronomic pass after pass waiting for an opening. And some players have this sort of fundamentalist profile within them that's yet to be found, and this is a bit that I'm going to get on to with rotation later in the video. For example, I'm going to briefly step on Kai Havertz. This sort of compound profile, it's only present really in Kai Havertz from the centre-forward, where he can be that out-ball against an aggressive man-to-man press, facilitate that instant progression, and sort of jumping over the second phase of play that we've done certainly in the first three games of this Premier League season. But also, link play better from the centre-forward than most, act as that ram-deuter I've so often mentioned when we need to be more patient in the games, often utilising that 3-1-6, overloading the last line of play against low blocks, where Havertz can attack the box from deep, create an invade space, etc. And Martin Odegaard also has this multi-role within him that hasn't necessarily been tapped into as of yet, not just that right-handed shadow striker or number ten. He can be that left centre-mid, that more multi-purposed and present in the second phase, with that more dynamic option in filling his shoes in the right-hand side. And look, this option, potentially Smith Rowe in that more dynamic right-hand-sided interior role was something in one of my very earliest videos that I was very keen to push, and this was at the end of last season when I began my YouTube channel. But, at the moment, as a precursor to my next video, and to follow on from the videos prior to this, this season Arsenal have largely been playing our pass-after-pass football with a transitional-based set-up, that big space set-up with two shadow strikers, that wide free man, mostly on the left-hand side. And this is especially when we've inverted Thomas Partey from right back into midfield. Things have slightly changed over the last two games. Again, that's for another video. But it's about learning both of these approaches. And if this is to work, it has to be bullet-proof, both these approaches have to be bullet-proof in all situations, with players confident, players tried and tested. And this is why rotation, not just for the sake of it, but for Arsenal's evolution and elevation is essential. And I think the lack of mobility and flexibility we have seen in terms of the players deployed in the final third, and in our attack at times, from the eights to the shadow strikers to the whole front three, is something starkly different than we've seen in the defence. And, you know, is this Mikel Arteta potentially building from the back? Let's look into sort of our immobility right now in our rotation in the attacking thirds in terms of the profiles and the jobs specific players do. But we'll start with this building from the back, in a way. It's still true that especially in Jürgen Timber's absence, and sort of that want of confidence at Arsenal that Tommy Assu needs to get, we still lack the true central centre-back Saliba replacement in that back three axis in possession. Or, now, in Timber's and Partey's absence, that ability to sort of flip dynamics from the left to the right in terms of who, which full-back inverts into midfield. And, you know, our balance of being able to balance technicality with athleticism is certainly better with Jürgen Timber in the squad. But hopefully we can get through to January and then make the right decisions to address these issues if they are still problems. But we have seen the profiles in the squad flip, depending on which side we bias this season. And this gets on to the mobility we've seen at the back, not necessarily up front. For example, Gabriel not playing that left centre-back, left-back hybrid role when we've inverted from the right, because this would force him to defend as left-back and to play as left-back if we're ever forced into a nominal back four. And instead, Jürgen Timber, Takehiro Tommy Assu, Jakob Kivio are all better, more optimal options there. And these flips between Zinchenko and Timber, from the left to the right, whether Timber plays on the left or the right, will be important, as I've already aired, going forward for Arsenal. As we've already seen, Declan Rice is comfortable in that left-unsided half-space when we invert. But interestingly, most of his good attacking work for Arsenal has actually come on the right-hand side when he started in that six, and Zinchenko is inverting the pivot alongside him. And this disregards his switches of play. We've seen his first-time passes, often against the momentum of blocks. His intricate combinations actually much higher up in the pitch, with Oerdegaard and Nketiah, who himself has a right-hand-sided bias in his play. These have been penetrative combinations, and he also always has that springiness to cover behind him if he does promote, and we are caught out in possession. And this freedom and flexibility and depth, being able to rotate in this back 50% of our team, if you will, has seen us dominate the field tilt in our games this season. But up front, this is probably the lack of rotation is why we haven't seen the prolific chance creation that we have seen last year, because we are adopting these two contrasting styles, and it does require more teasing out, more testing. So it's time to rotate up front, not just in the actual players we use, but the positions that they regularly pick up. And it's about being bold, and it's in Arteta's nature to be bold, to be creative, to be innovative. And I think with a fortunate Champions League draw, we can really take advantage and make our attack and goal scoring just as flexible as the back half of the team. And this is where the long-term adaptability will come from, and we will see the obliterations of opposition defences. What do I mean? Well, I want to first talk about Martinelli's injury. That is a blow, because he's our main sort of explosive weapon that is used, as I've already said, as that wide, free man on the left-hand side. Martinelli in this role can take advantage of the space in behind opponents who set up aggressively against us from goal kicks. This uses as well our newfound ascendancy in switching of play, particularly Declan Rice, but also what we've seen from Gabriel, from Ben White, and from Zinchenko. And potentially, his injury may just kick-start Arteta into rotating more encompassingly. Jesus, for example, can play across the front line, and as a nominal dribbler, there's not many better in terms of close control, carrying, directness, how relentless he is, as he never backs down, and the chaos he can create. And in this regard, he can be that creator from wide, with his associative play, his positional awareness, ability to create something out of nothing, and leave Saka to sort of flip the dynamics, and leave Saka to conquer those big spaces. Or, with Saka being such a good creator as well, switch the roles again, Jesus can become that Martinelli free man, stretch the opposition in behind, and his movement helps either role, and sort of embraces the chaos that he can bring to any football team. This is an Arsenal team not moving on from Gabriel Jesus, that's the key thing, not moving on from him, but needing to evolve him in his value, in his usefulness. And that's something that I think is down to Michel Arteta now, let me know if you agree, Arsenal fans. Now I think Eddie Nketi, of course, can be used on the left as well, as that outlet type, that Martinelli sort of runner type. But with Jesus's, I think, dribbling supremacy, we are not just having a more intense Abameyang in Nketi on that left wing, we're having a player who literally terrifies the best of the wide defenders, you know, those impassable brick walls. And of course, this may provide room for Kai Havertz in the centre forward. As I've said from the beginning, Kai Havertz is at his best when being utilised in a 3-1-6 shape, against low blocks, where he can play anywhere because of those ramdoita natural instincts, or as a centre forward who has learned the environment that he plays and operates within. And part of this is probably why he's being used at left interior, to some extent, learning how to play at every single new angle, because of course, he's much more biased to the right-hand side at the moment, as we've seen over this time at Chelsea and at Leverkusen. And I hope it's sort of making him learn the encompassing role of having to operate at all angles from the centre forward. But as I said, he can also play in a ramdoita in a 3-1-6, not really as much of a deliberate position, but taking up pockets of space, attacking the box from deep, as we've already covered in many videos. And these individual choices and selections have knock-on effects. Who fills the gaps behind them? Who balances either side? Who connects the thirds, and who connects well, has good relationships with others? And this is where we'll start to see maybe the second-phase presence in the left-centre mid, and in the Champions League, maybe a left-hand side of Jesus, Havertz and Vieira all at once, and these new combinations that imply what style we look to employ before each match. And this is why, for me, it was clear that we would flip back to, not quite our old dynamics, but similar to our old dynamics against Manchester United, even though we sort of kept with the two-shadow-striker system. This was more an availability reason than anything else. It's a team at the moment, Arsenal as a team are effectively between two styles, but only rotation can get the best out of them. We have these pseudo-centre-backs and inverted-full-backs, these multi-faceted players across our defence and deep midfield. We have this potential in our front line, in our attack as well, but we just haven't used it yet. I, myself, and loads of us have praised how natural our interchanges and rotations on the pitch are, within our fluid rigidity, the positional play that Arteta employs. Let's take advantage of it with what we have at our disposal in the final third. We've seen glimpses, for example, of Odegaard operating in the left-hand-sided half-space, whether it's a reverse pass in a tight space, or a first-time behind-the-lines ball in deeper areas. His positional awareness lends itself to clever pressing, of course, which means out of possession he can be deeper in that pivot with Declan Rice in our press. But we haven't seen it yet, so how would we know, simply? We've seen hints of Kai Havertz and how his body operates when he's angled more towards that right-hand-sided, when he's played at the tip of a diamond, and seen how valuable Jesus is as an asset on either wings, as is Vieira when he has the whole pitch opened up for him. Imagine having Jesus able to start without necessarily having him play in the centre-forward, loading the pitch full of killers in – Vieira, Zinchenko, Saka, Martinelli, Havertz. These are made for the big nights and the big Champions League nights in particular, and having options within you to change, kill the game with possession and intricately break down sides with Odegaard, Vieira, Rice, Saka, Nelson, whoever. Change between these two contrasting styles is really the optimal solution, and what I hope now, Arteta building from the back, moving to the front now, is going to look to do and take advantage of, specifically in this Champions League group stage. And for this, we need practice ultimately, we need to test it on the pitch and create those on-pitch connections and relationships, like in a way we're trying to force from Havertz playing him a bit deeper. I mean, look, give Havertz a team of sort of killers around him and just see the output that he creates. It's a top environment for him, and we just need to see the process evolve, I think, a bit more. So, this is what we're trying to create, but it cannot just be done with a settled 11 or settled 12, 13, 14 players. We need to try players in different roles as well, and if it fails, so be it, but do you really think in the long term a side you can reliably play two different setups seamlessly with 6, 7, 8 players who know their roles and each will fail? And this is exclusively talking about the attack in the final third. It's about recognising the types of games and being fully prepared, I think, to knock teams over with a truckload of goals, that brutal, sort of merciless, ruthless streak that will come when we are prepared constantly for the uncomfortable, and preparation brings familiarity, and familiarity brings experience. It's not just about having one way forward, it's not even about just having these two competing systems, but numerous players who know their roles in both, and when to be patient, and then when to be maybe more ruthless. Maybe we have too many players to actually do this reliably, with sort of Smithrow, Nelson, and one of Trossada and Ketia almost guaranteed to be missing out on minutes significantly, but that's for another video. So rotation isn't just squad management, it's part of our evolution, and it's making whichever approach we take optimal over time. Not just having sort of the one player for each role, where there might be a hidden goal man certainly sitting on the bench right now. These are the solutions that will, I think, make sides truly terrified of us. Not just when all the conditions are optimal, and we're at our perfect best. So that's the video, I really hope you guys have enjoyed, it's kind of a more stream of consciousness from me, and where I think Arteta can probably take Arsenal to a next level, and why rotation is going to be so important. It's not just for the sake of it, in these Europa League games that we are just giving minutes to the squad members who need it, they're pieces of deadwood. It's a really, it's a more encompassing thing and a more complete process now that needs to be in these next steps that Arteta and Arsenal decide as they evolve, because at the moment there's some combinations, there's some untapped potential, either in the starting eleven or on the bench, that we haven't truly seen act on the pitch yet. But that's all from me, I only asked you to like, comment and subscribe right at the end of the video, because hopefully that means you've found it really informative. That is all from me, like I said, I've got a more tactical and in-depth, complete guide if you will, to these two different styles, the methodical pass after pass Arsenal, and the more space invadering, instant sort of space conquering Arsenal side, the instant progression Arsenal, and the fast paced Arsenal. So that's what I've got coming up, I really hope you've enjoyed this video, I'll catch you in the next one, see you later.