How do Arsenal take the NEXT STEP? - 2024/25 Tactical Analysis & ways to IMPROVE

Just as you thought the Declan Rice red card debacle was a bad enough way to stew over the international break, there we all are, harmlessly opening our phones onto Twitter or X to what can only be described as nothing other than a war scene. But, even though it looks like our Captain Martin Odegaard is out of the North London Derby this weekend, alongside our whole preferred midfield three, is it that bad? No, seriously, ask yourselves, turn off social media, take a break, at least after this video, because today we're going to try and take stock of Arsenal's start to the season, with the key message being, let's try and control what we can control. Because, as a fan, I share the exact same exasperation as you when a referee decides to take a moment of complete inconsequence and blow any semblance of consistency or rational thinking out of the water, or when a player gets injured innocuously in an international. Arsenal deserve to be three wins out of three in the Premier League, we've played well enough to be so, but, casting our eyes back over the start, there are certainly some inefficiencies to iron out, and hopefully, by giving you that perspective, analysing our build-up, our left-hand side dynamics, and giving some tangible solutions for us to improve, we can create a discussion on Arsenal social media that centres around how we move forward into a future that is still so bright. Welcome back to the Harvey Gratian YouTube channel, I really hope you enjoy this one. Before we start with the build-up dynamics though, some of this discussion following and the analysis is going to include players out of the North London Derby, but again, we have to keep a whole season in mind here, and an individual Spurs preview will be on its way very shortly. Anyway, this here has been the most utilised shape so far this season for Arsenal, and in Arteta fashion, let's go from back to front. In pre-season, a lot of the time, we positioned our centre-backs really aggressively high and wide, and in this image here, you see the authority this gives a presence like Jorginho or Zinchenko to measure from deep as a result. Yet, here in this season, we've seen a narrower and actually very flat back three, and our possession as a result feels full of these constant little readjustments to try and create new angles, trying to subtly break through a press and find the pivot ahead of Thomas Partey and Jurjen Timber who moves inside from left-back. The two main modifications we've had from this nominal shape is Erdegaard swinging into these types of areas to create a very right-side tilted 3-3 or Partey dropping into a back four, but it's fair to say that our on-ball stuff so far has been much more constrained than we initially expected, or at least I initially expected. Erdegaard, instead of being that touch-heavy, build-up lieutenant, has been tasked with wrestling himself free from the shadows as opposed to being permanently in the limelight. He's trying to exploit space with clever movements instead of being that passing equilibrium for the team. He's been higher than expected, especially with Thomas Partey playing. Jurjen Timber has been the Ghanaian's partner, and you can point to as many or as few reasons as you want as to why he's had a lower quantity of touches, again, as we would expect it so far, whether that be his injury layoff, someone who isn't quite yet used to dominating the build-up from the left-hand side, or his natural instincts of still being this roamer at heart, someone who, in their own words, likes to give the team energy. And there's more on this word energy coming up. Now, Timber's more rigid set nature in the pivot is one of the reasons why Declan Rice is finding himself kept out in the other No. 8. In a role that feels placeholder-y for Mikel Merino, yes, but one that, as you guys know, he's not getting the maximum out of what Declan Rice can be as a left centre-mid or a left pivot player. For this version of Arsenal in the build-up, it feels in-between, I've mentioned that before, a non-final form that is temporary, and like Timber, you can pick your poison for why this may be. Availabilities are one, but the nature of presses we've faced are another. The intentions of the 4-2-4 presses and mid-blocks that are jumpy, twitchy, trigger-based, like Villa and Brighton, will be on the screen now, if you'd like to pause. And our more subtle solutions, solutions that my analysis against Aston Villa highlighted were absolutely key to swinging the game, by the way, are on the screen now. Against Wolves, we lined up differently, and we faced a different press. Once again, we didn't see that tight, interconnected midfield 3 we saw in pre-season, our 8 remained higher, but our midfield took on this slanted, staggered shape, with Zinchenko outside the block, Partey, as he has been all season, to be fair, more aggressively positioned inside the block to try and accelerate play, and Odegaard again offset higher. But back to that word, energy. For a Timber or a Calafiori, as I'm going to get onto, I want them to be able to add this energy to our build-up, to our on-ball stuff. When Timber, for example, has moved on top of Partey, or has drifted into new lanes to receive, or has invited a collapse before breaking out of a press, these moments are where we've come alive in this season so far. For this to happen, the build-up definitely needs to be more fortified. We need to find that consistent 3-3 base more, where Odegaard is maximised by getting more touches, running the build-up, letting Timber have those moments of breaking. This also links to Declan Rice, who may be a placeholder in the current role for someone like a Mourinho, but remember the pendulums of last season, how the build-up could rock from side to side, depending on which 8 dropped deeper, giving Odegaard as well the chance to float to the left. We had developed this very fluid, very flexible build-up, with lots of rotations looking to create dynamic advantages, creating spaces for players to break into, baiting an opposite position before bursting high. You know, this is what we've spent a large portion of our pre-season and last season commenting on, on the channel. Against Wolves, the initial signs were that this would continue, even if Odegaard did stay higher. Again, maybe it's the presses we've faced, maybe it's the personnel available, but again, we feel a bit in-between at the moment. For now, it looks like Declan Rice will be forced to continue in that left centre mid, a role he can excel in if he's allowed to drop and carry the team up the pitch with him, to fortify the build-up, to tap into his passing range, to not be fixed into that high left pocket between the lines, and then arriving high. This has knock-on effects, of course, for the positioning of the left back, and we're going to talk about the specific personnel later when we analyse the left-hand side in detail. But for Durian Timber, for example, we can have him interchanging high and low with Rice, or the left centre mid, as he did on the right-hand side, in that Everton cameo last season with Martin Odegaard, or with Ethan Ranieri for the under-21s. A big part of Timber's usage is the energy he gives us in the build-up. That unpredictability carries his press-breaking, his naturally free-roaming nature, and this transfers to the middle and final thirds. Let him interact with each other, create space for them, get on the spin, offer us a different kind of threat between the lines and higher up the pitch. Calafiore suits these interchanges with the centre mid too, as I've emphasised with Calafiore right from the scouting report. The big thing for him is dynamic arrivals. Let him arrive into midfield, combine with others, be that third-man outlet on the way out, and when things are more settled in the final third, let him do that free-roaming role that Zinchenko does really well, when he becomes that outside runner, when play is moving really quickly, let him move around freely and create holes for players like Sterling to bob and weave into. So, you use Calafiore and Timber differently, but allowing Declan Rice deeper and the left-back higher, as we've done before, has huge benefits, in my opinion, for the balance of this team. You get something like this, deeper, you'll feel more fortified, with more options, but also the key option of being more dynamic. Erdegaard is going to have more touches, the left-back can offer inside when necessary, but we are adding the option of Rice interchanging with the left-back, keeping the numbers in attack high with those darty, creative movements from Calafiore, or getting Timber in the pocket more on the spin. This is in the deep and middle thirds, but in the final thirds, you'll really start to see how Rice, in this position, also benefits us out of possession. I'm not going to spend long on this, especially because we've already covered how Morgan Rodgers took advantage of the space we afforded to him on the turnover when we played Aston Villa, with Rice often the highest player in the team, making those bursty and unfortunately underused underlaps, and then he has to try and make his way and march his way back into the pivot to help out a really vulnerable Thomas Partey. Versus Brighton, though, Partey didn't necessarily struggle because of the turnovers, but how his positioning was manipulated. Again, we're not going to spend too much time, but he was definitely initially found late a couple of times, filling in for Erdegaard's movements as we shifted from a zone to a man-to-man press, but then, when Herzler changed his own build-up shape to move Hinshelwood inside, this often left Partey in between engaging with Hinshelwood and defending the centre or following João Pedro, which was his initial duties in the zone, who was given this free-roaming, between-the-lines role off Danny Welbeck. Again, it's not Partey's fault for his physical decline, but we have spoken about his decision-making and how he defends before, but if he is continued to start for now, we need to give him help and getting someone who covers turf to an elite standard in Declan Rice seems like a decent start. Now for the seemingly perennial debate about the left-hand side, and, spoiler, I don't expect our troubles here to continue for too long. The key for Arsenal's left-hand side dynamics is finding a slickness back, a fluidity that allows us to progress the ball from back-to-front or A-to-B. Last season and so far this season, there hasn't been a rhythm to our left-hand side play. Generally speaking, the good news is that in the first three games of this Premier League season, again, it's a very much non-final-form Arsenal left-hand side. So, let's look at its longer-term composition. We want that slickness, that fluidity, especially without that marquee player being signed to really dictate or transcend our dynamics. For example, for me, Havertz is always going to be best used as a centre-forward, but in that Leverkusen game in pre-season, his role in the left shadow striker and that pod on the left-hand side was a great example of how to create a left side that is almost like a constantly revolving jigsaw puzzle. For Havertz to work in that shadow striker role and be that stretching force in behind, he needs a Jesus Trossard false nine presence to give us a between-the-lines option to play through a press, also allow Havertz to move freely. This is not a low-block solution, as you can tell, but that pod against Leverkusen also worked well because we had Trossard hinging lower from the wing to be a real technical focus on that side and absolve Havertz from the responsibility of taking a lot of touches. We had Zinchenko commanding the build-up, linking together all these counter-movements, creating an end product that also saw a lot of rotations of players on the same wavelength and a balance between releasing him behind, manipulating a block or circulating cleanly. But for us, longer term, this season, Havertz, as a left shadow striker, still remains a specific tool if needed and if required. So, the left-hand side improving it, let's start with the return of left footers. Further down the line, you of course have Mourinho returning and the angles that he plays out as a left footer gives a real pace and slickness to our play but his efficiency and his touches knits together and will knit together our play so cleanly and he also gives the promise of those intuitive, quick releases in behind and that technical connection with someone like a Gabriel Martinelli will be so important for the Brazilian who needs to be in that transition, that release valve in behind, not chained to the touchline. Mourinho will also give the left winger, whoever it is, a partner in the final third and although we're not talking about a devastating overlapping option, we are going to see, again, going back to someone like a Martinelli who needs it, him inside and finishing off our attacks in settled play more, which is what you want him to do. And this improvement is bolstered by the left-footed Riccardo Calafiori. Remember how we spoke about using Timber and Calafiori differently, especially when we're talking about moving high between the lines? Well, Calafiori gives us the potential to be a runner in the final third to Rome, like I said, as Zinchenko does. Moving high and wide and here, having someone who can stand on the ball almost like a Granit Xhaka in Mourinho and wait for a pass and a lane to open up. Even though Mourinho can be aggressive in his tendencies, he still has that Spanish Naus for rhythm and that ability to know when to release. All these clips here that I'm showing you are very Granit Xhaka-esque. It's all going to be super useful for our left-hand side. It's slick, dynamic play. Mourinho here acting more as an anchor to find movers off of him. Let's speak about our deadline day arrival, Raheem Sterling, someone who can generate from a standstill, who can lock pick from the touchline better, and he adds that two-way 1v1 specialist threat. For me, a left-hand side of Mourinho, Sterling and Calafiori is one of unpredictability in Calafiori's arrivals, Sterling's take-ons and Mourinho's ability to create chaos in and around the box. It's one that gives us two left-footers and enough approximation, I think, between them to get Sterling inside enough where he can enact those infield dribbles that can generally change games and also get him slipping and sliding off the shoulder. Calafiori isn't this yet, but a big part of his development is going to be his ability to tempo set, something he has within him to do. And if you can start adding this to, or a Durian Timber growing in more influence, you get a really balanced left-hand side. There are a lot of intelligent footballers in this pod, even if it seems punchy, counter-pressy and aggressively slick. There are lots of potential combinations, though, and Rice in the left-centre is still a great option in the right environment. I think Calafiori and Rice as a complementary pair can work really well off each other. Rice swinging wide, Calafiori bursting through the middle. Remember the onus placed on our full-backs with that stretchy base of four we saw against Wolves. I like Sterling as a complement again here, someone able to hold the width and wait for arrivals and then really promote those carries again in the middle and those tight spaces. Timber still has a massive role to play in the team, whether it be from left-back or not. I just think it's key that we combine his potential presence on the left-hand side with another left-footer, with a Moreno, giving us enough on the outside. So whichever pod you compose, for example, if you bring Zinchenko back in for a low block, the answer for Arsenal needs to be that clean progression from back to front. But I think there is a real chance that later down the line this Arsenal left-hand side becomes snappy in how the ball moves, unpredictable in its methods of chance creation, tenacious in its counter-press and a much more potent force. So, look, guys, it's hard to stay level-headed when it seems like players are dropping like flies, particularly when that's deemed unfairly. And it's also extremely hard for me to say we need to wait for this Arsenal team to grow into itself this season when we are in a title race where every point counts. I truly understand that. All I hope is that this video at least gives you a bit of perspective and a path forward for this Arsenal team, one that is dealing with its transitory phase very well, or at least that would be the narrative and that would be what we're all saying if Chris Cavanagh didn't do what he did in the Brighton match. And it looks a bit samey to last season where it looks like early on it's going to be about sticking with the pace as best as we possibly can and coming into a more fine-tuned form later on. And, look, hopefully that's going to be enough. But I hope I've shown you that there are tangible ways to improve us in the now still regarding our build-up and our left-hand side dynamics even if those changes start to be implemented post-Spurs match. But that Spurs game will be its own dedicated preview coming up so stay tuned. Really hope you've enjoyed today's video. I'll catch you in the next one. See you later.