Arsenal Are The BEST Team In The WORLD At This...

Arsenal are the best out-of-possession side in world football right now. But why? Well in today's video I'm going to look at, I'm going to break down Arteta's hybrid man-to-man slash zonal press, why it is so integral to Arsenal's success. We're also going to have a look at the players within it that draw everything together and compare Arsenal out-of-possession to Manchester City. Welcome back to the Harvey Grayson YouTube channel, I'm so glad you found us or are joining us again. I know it's been a while but I'm going to start this video with looking at sort of our different options and our fluidity out-of-possession. In particular our hybrid man-to-man or zonal press and sort of how we can flip off the ball between a 4-1-4-1 or a 4-4-2 and it's how we flip this switch that is so impressive. For the man-to-man press, this is essential for any top side really. If the bridge in quality between two sides is certainly dramatic, a man-to-man press can suffocate a side that don't have the technical quality or the bravery or maybe the experience quite yet to play through it. In terms of Arsenal's structure for the man-to-man press, of course it differs according to different build-ups in each side but largely when the opposition centre-back split, the centre-forward aggressively presses the goalkeeper whilst shadow marking the spare man that they've now left behind and if the ball is played to the opposition six to try and sort of bounce it to find their own free man, the press is backed up by Arsenal's wingers who invert, meaning the ball side full-backs can then support and push through and back up the press and that leaves one of Gabriel or Saliba, whoever the centre-backs are, to support the team out of possession out wide and sort of pick up that opposition winger. This season we've seen Odegaard often sort of do a dual role in this press, not just in terms of roles which I'll get on to but for example he's tasked with pressing the opposition left centre-back whilst shadow marking that additional pivot man behind him and this man-to-man structure is of course implemented to a top level by Mikel Arteta but he's also able to flip and adapt it depending on the opposition. Against City when we opted to go man-to-man and we'll get on to when we didn't a bit later but Nketiah and Odegaard were splitting onto the Manchester City centre-backs, remembering their sort of 2-3 build-up shape that Pep Guardiola tried to implement against us. Odegaard also was shadow marking Kovacic in the six as well who was pretty static so it allowed Odegaard to do this to a high level. Rice pushed through to Bernardo Silver at the base of their midfield, Trossard followed Rico Lewis and Jesus also followed Guardiola who was left sort of to overlap and give City that width on the left-hand side and that was also why Odegaard was tasked shadow marking Kovacic. The man-to-man structure against Spurs for example was fiercely done and in the first half sort of I think Tottenham Hotspur's lack of confidence to get on the half turn was directly combated with a brutally intense press and unusually for Arsenal this season sort of pressing Spurs like we saw against Manchester United to their right-hand side and this was probably because Kulishevsky was that out ball on the right-hand side not Brennan Johnson or Son who has a natural left-hand sided bias but as I've already covered on the channel we couldn't really compile and compound, make that press that was so good count on the day for Arsenal because we had a lack of maturity on the ball there and this allowed Spurs to grow into the game and pick up a well-deserved point. I'm going to look quickly now at the profiles in our man-to-man press because that's also what helps it draw it together as such a relentless man-to-man press. A lot of my discussion around Odegaard this season has been how we increase his zone of influence but let's ignore that for now and commend his ability off the ball which is really second to none. In terms of stats he's applied the most pressures out of anyone in the Premier League this season and of course a lot of these come as he's pushing through into a front shadow marking again that opposition six and pressing the centre back but well over a hundred of these pressures well over 250 in total have come in the middle third of the pitch and this shows how he's able to also play in a pivot in our 4-4-2 shape out of possession or in that two behind the centre forward in our 4-1-4-1 angles that he presses that are so intelligent he has sort of no marking bias for example he often fills in at right mid when of course when Jesus followed Gavadiol into a back five out of possession against Man City he filled in there often and he's just an all-rounder off the ball he cuts passing lanes very well and this is also just off a tangent why I think he'd be able to make that switch to the deeper sort of left centre mid role then going to Martinelli and to also Jesus we have I think two of the biggest terriers in the Premier League and I think greatest frontline defenders around especially Jesus in terms of the longevity he's had in his career hopefully sort of his knee injuries don't impact that as he goes on too much in Saka we have a winger with a midfielder's brain and I think although he's been caught down the byline far too much for my liking in his time at Arsenal so far his front foot pressing is once again clever in its angles and has formed a really nice partnership with White on the right hand side and then of course Kai Havertz whether a centre forward or two behind the centre forward or in that pivot his dual winning has been a massive upgrade actually on Granit Xhaka obviously that's not what we paid 65 million for but to stick with his out of possession and what he gives us out of possession as a player he's tripled the amount of interceptions per 90 than Granit Xhaka he's almost five times his number of tackles of course he's dribbled past considerably less and he's one of the best aerial winners aerial duel winners in terms of centre forwards on the planet you know what I do love about Kai in particular is his out of possession work and his willingness to I think always duel sort of relentlessly he always works to cut off passing lanes to close down players intelligently I think he uses his frame very wisely out of possession it needs to use it more wisely in possession ironically so the man-to-man press in every game is absolutely essential however the best technical sides will have the confidence to play through a press like this and beat it at times also the real big physical athletic sides will embrace sort of the nature of the high turnovers and try to make it a game of turnovers and chaotic similarly some teams have very good duel winners not only in the tackle but I mean more in the offensive transition so we'll like the idea of baiting a man-to-man press to exploit sort of target areas we saw this Sterling for Chelsea against Arsenal and if you're over aggressive or sort of one-dimensional and only have that man-to-man press teams can gain a lot of territory against you by going long or going over the top and also wearing you out and this is where I think Arsenal have taken the biggest step forward this season that ability to utilize the man-to-man press in tandem with a compact and aggressive when needed zone a hybrid sort of 4-4-2 4-1-4-1 and that also isn't afraid to drop even deeper into this proper 4-4-2 low block this hybrid sort of out of possession shape was used to a great purpose against Manchester City and also showcased the zonal side of it brilliantly against Manchester United you know let's take sort of a shape starting in that 4-1-4-1 for Arsenal this can very easily form a front two but the wingers can invert the full backs can then push on and versus Manchester City the trigger to sort of change to man-to-man was Odegaard who left sort of this shape to form a front two meaning at times the shape can look more like a 4-1-3-2 and this was also Martinelli's trigger to leave his sort of passive position on the left and press and sort of invert onto Manchester City's right centre back which was Kyle Walker at times or also Ruben Diaz and Odegaard I think leading this press is absolutely key and sort of him as the orchestrator out of possession is very integral for Arsenal in this shape of course the six is left to sort of defend the spaces in between the lines and it's why actually Madison was so quiet in Arsenal's in the first half against Tottenham for Arsenal and obviously he came alive in the second half but Rice was not afraid to and he's never afraid to leave sort of his back line protection to back up the press and go with the 3-10 that so many teams employ nowadays picking up spaces and to follow Madison because of course there's a lot of rotations a lot of fluidity within that sort of 2-3 or 3-3 build up for Postacoglou and this allowed Arsenal by Madison really getting pinned he was the only Tottenham player who wanted to get on the half turn in that first half and made Spurs really get pinned in by Arsenal you know I would say though when we are in this 4-1-3-2 or 4-1-4-1 shape this space in between the lines sort of marshaled by that number six has been if you can pinpoint a weakness can be a weakness in Arsenal it's not in Arsenal's press if teams have the courage to bypass it and I mean this sort of space in between the lines Pep Guardiola had a lot of joy against Arsenal at the Eti had when they won 4-1 last April and I've spoken about this game a lot improvisationally on this channel but the the success Guardiola had with KDB playing off the shoulder of Haaland when Arsenal did go man-to-man with party sort of actually pushing through from that one in the in the middle in between the midfield and defensive lines to match up with City's block as they sort of built in that 4-2-4 shape this left Kevin similarly Cole Palmer's goal in the Community Shield came from this party getting baited in by Phil Foden him turning exploiting the spaces in the line this almost happened at the Emirates with Foden turning Jorginho earlier this season him picking up a yellow but of course across sort of the whole generalised game Ben White man marked in that sort of mid-block Phil Foden and Saliba and Gabriel won those chaotic transitionary duels with Haaland meaning Alvarez didn't see much of the ball playing in that right half space in between the lines in that KDB role but what was best about our performance against Manchester City and this season is our 4-4-2 compact shape out of possession it's an absolute staple for us and it's not just how compact it is the players within it but also how humble we are this is the how humble we are as a side to drop back into this setup and to set up the deep defense when our counter pressing fails and also the speed with which we do this let's take the pivot in that against Manchester City in Jorginho and Rice. Rice of course springy and snappy into the tackle Arteta always gives his players reliable zones to operate within and gets the right profiles to be able to dominate them and Rice sort of the destroyer long but also rapid legs that also allows him to track the underlaps that City are so good at and mean that Saliba and Gabriel don't have to leave their positions as centre back in the in the box and aren't drawn out and of course Jorginho in that pivot as well has always been one of the best readers of space defensively and you sort of have to be with his other physical deficiencies and this makes it very hard for opponents to access us centrally and there was a distinct lack of verticality in City's play against us Foden often dropping outside of the block to receive the ball and this is a player who loves to get on the half turn in the in the small spaces remember and United this was very similar compactness but just in a more aggressive zone I mean United had over 50 percent of the possession in the first half but were completely pinned in and Onana's quality on the ball and bravery to wait for Enchetia at the final moment to bounce it off the number six to find that free man meant Arsenal were happy standing off into sort of this zone that we've been speaking of that hybrid block shape and at times this meant Havertz retreating into that number six and actually allowing Declan Rice to punch through as almost a number eight out of possession Erdegaard sort of sat on Ericsson we were ready to invert and have that trigger to go on to United's outside centre-backs and what this implies is that Arsenal are very comfortable I think plugging the varying gaps of their block sort of marking different having different players to mark different spaces to what they're always used to Havertz, Erdegaard, Rice and I think with that have a consistency in the relentlessness of our presses and this allows us to sort of funnel sides into different quadrants and sections of the pitch for example Erdegaard and Havertz can both be the two behind the centre-forward either moving in front to create a front through or dropping back to form a pivot with the number six I mean going back to the Manchester United game our press meant that Martinelli did not necessarily invert onto Varane or Aaron Wan-Bissaka he sort of stayed in that more passive position on the left-hand side of midfield but this was because Arteta in this compact block knew sort of central progression was going to be really hard for Manchester United and encouraged them to play out to their right-hand side with Varane and Wan-Bissaka as the free man and then remember that flip where we go to Man Man it was Nketiah shadow marking the free man closing down Onana and again really pinning Manchester United in in the similar areas that we pinned in Spurs in that deep right-hand side area and like I said this hybrid press and out-of-possession shape really gives Arsenal the ability to adapt to an opposition if we have to limit the transitional threat of teams and not sort of afford them the ability to take hold of territory against us we can drop into a more zonal a zonal shape you know we now as a side have the ability to control games not just with the ball but through space management as well and I think partner this with a real calmness on the ball this is how you shut out sort of a side and imposing atmospheres and it's the reason Arsenal I think are so good away from home the humility not to always have that never lose a moment attitude and transmit a calmness I think to the side and I want to touch on this changeability a bit more in terms of which sides we decide to press because to be honest mostly this season it's been a cut from left to right but as I've said this is always circumstantial but Manchester City for example just like the community shield with a kanji sort of holding the width really for Manchester City on the left hand side he saw lots of the ball as we were forcing Manchester City to play through him and in the Premier League Guardiola and Kovacic that left hand side Guardiola being able and allowed to overlap as a free man at times with Jesus maybe not always dropping into a back five to track him and white man marking phone in the mid-block this is sort of the sacrifice that you have to pay against the Pep Guardiola side and this was to negate City's in between the lines plays and sort of push City out to the left hand side with I think a less dynamic and more static side than Guardiola is used to but part of it is what we want to do on the ball as well if we want to isolate Martinelli on the left hand side we can push the opposition to our right hand side of course and then open up when we get the ball the bodies of Erdegaard, Havertz, Saka and another reason of it is definitely because I think at times we're more confident defending the right hand side of channels, Rice covering space there on his stronger foot, Jorginho is also more comfortable being orientated that way, White versus Zinchenko sort of 1v1 and both Saliba and Gabriel byline support is really top notch but I think Saliba is certainly more calm and I want to touch on Arsenal's transitional defence because obviously our field tilt has been right at the top in terms of dominance of territory this season we've seen a lot of the ball and we've needed to be very good in the transition defending to be able to regain that ball in the counter press and start to circulate and pin sides in dominate games you know we now have a squad I think of physical monsters natural duel winners who naturally erode that ascendancy that any team on the planet can have on the arsenals and the cities by sort of winning those moments and it doesn't matter which structure is but take our 3-2-5 on the ball where the key zones are always occupied reliably meaning distances between players when we are when we lose the ball are reliable and also small which is why sort of a turnover ends with us counter pressing the heck out of it again creating a double turnover and circulating the ball once more and sucking the life out of teams becoming inevitable not just in terms of scoring but also off the ball that sort of depleting feeling you give a side that they're never going to score they're not going to have a chance against you and this we have in abundance and with the potential art at a blueprint I think of wanting four suedo center backs in the starting lineup and maybe if dependency on zinchenko continues to drop we could play kivy or timber as that nominal left back in a back four again see you see a side able to press at any angle drop back but also win their duels on the pitch at any sort of point and not have a variable weakness but i think this is interesting now let's compare arsenal defensively in terms of the back line to manchester city for manchester city you have john stones rico lewis nathan ake ruben diaz manuela kanji cavadio and kyle walker and for arsenal zinchenko saliba gabrielle tommy asu kivy or timber and white and i mean you can also even drop deckland rice as i mean there's out and out inverted fullbacks on the list of course you have multiple players you can do that but out and out zinchenko timber and rico lewis these are the guys that sort of control their bodies really well are soft to contact absorb it they turn on a dime they're composed they're intelligent in midfield areas they take ownership for the team with timber probably being the most athletic out of the three now in the inverted fullback arsenal certainly have more depth with tommy asu and kivio able to do that as well as a lot of these options being able to do the outside center back role as well i think 1v1 defending wise you cannot separate arsenal manchester city and although arsenal probably still lack a kyle walker in terms of being able to shut up a wing and possessing unbelievable raw speed at the same time and the ability to attack on top of that of course though kyle walker is just a totally unique profile just like saliba is for arsenal and between tommy asu and ben white bar that real raw speed we probably make up for that in sort of our own specialized profiles that make up sort of the whole package that walker brings altogether both teams can flip dynamics from either side but artette is certainly happier doing this from the left or the right in terms of inverting a fullback but of course pepkin and likes to promote john stones from center back with rodry in midfield to create his 3-2 shape so i think it's very close but i'd say the the reason the teams are split and arsenal probably have a bit of ascendancy now on manchester city is how loose and limber we've been in comparison to manchester city in artetta's time you know i've had criticisms of artetta's flexibility um up front in terms of playing players in different roles but you cannot you cannot have this argument defensively um with our setup and we also have players yet to reach their sort of ceiling physically um and they're fine margins of course but i think technically we can certainly rival as well manchester city in terms of depth and ability at the back and like i said arsenal aside yet to reach their physical speak peaks they're still so young and this lends itself to the difference i think between arsenal and manchester city youth is the one thing and also they of course both arsenal and city do utilize this hybrid man to zone press um and with pep guardiola as a manager of course city do not but i think it come the difference between um and why i put arsenal is the best out of position side in the world now is artetta's natural tendency to i think prioritize this side of the game slightly more to pep but most of all in the personnel um and this is really nitpicking but rodry and rice are called different types of players out of possession um and on the ball especially actually in terms of how they look to break blocks down in particular and i think the depth and relentlessness and maybe potential longevity that arsenal have um in their sort of man man press in comparison to city um possibly is slightly higher as well but yeah in my opinion um out of possession arsenal certainly are on par and maybe have even surpassed city right now um but the difference is still in the attack and that's still um a bridge that needs to be um plugged and i've been sort of outspoken on the lack of passer on the left hand side for arsenal um and the central access not being optimal this season sort of trying to learn different modes of attacking different ways of attacking space and some people say artetta's approach this season has been boring but look he is going for total control and for me there's a natural excitement in being so confident in a side plugging space and defending their box because it endows weight on what we do going forward then and it also means if we can find sort of this balance and symmetry in ourselves between defending and going forward um then this is a potential really title winning team and hopefully we uh like we've said all season find that click at some point going forward that's sort of uh the last piece really for artetta as he's trying to take this uh team to a new stage of development but i really hope you've enjoyed the video um it may be a slightly different type of one more uh thought provoking and sort of my um perception of things looking at the whole season but that is it for the video i really hope you've enjoyed i only ask you to like comment and subscribe right at the end of the video because hopefully that means you've enjoyed it but that is all from me i'll catch you in the next one see you later