By Merlion
March 30 2023

April is a defining month where titles are won or lost. This article assesses what has Mikel Arteta done right; and what is needed to move forward from his claimed “We are only at Level 3 out of 5 levels, and a bit ahead of schedule”? Arsenal will, at least, need to be at Level 4 for this crucial April to win the 2022/23 title.

How has Mikel Arteta taken Arsenal so close to winning the title after a long 19 years wait? 

In Maarten Meijer “Erik Ten Hag – The Biography”, I saw a similarity between what Ten Hag did at Ajax, and what Mikel Arteta is doing at Arsenal – both of them are disciples of Total Football. One won titles with Ajax and the other is on the cusp of winning his maiden title as a Premier League manager. 

What is the key? 

First, he culled the post-Wenger and post-Emery squad, and brought together the right people to fit into the tactical formation he envisaged. Zinchenko and Jesus immediately instilled the squad with a winning mentality and provided much needed experience and leadership. He got lucky with Trossard who integrated into the squad seamlessly, plus an experienced Jorginho who is a competent standby for an injury-prone Partey. 

As this squad grows through the years since 2019, a harmonious and settled dressing room, Mikel Arteta gained the confidence of this young squad more easily. The team is very closely connected. Wanting to work for each other, don’t give up, keep faith, show resilience. It is a culture that Mikel Arteta keeps developing into his young squad. There is hunger in this team. That is very important to be successful as a team. All players are able to put their qualities at the service of the team. Mikel Arteta had developed the best mix in the team, where players complement and reinforce each other in the dressing room and on the field. As a player, you can have great qualities, but it is so important to have that mix as a whole. Michael Jordan put it best: “Individual wins games, but teams win championship”. 

 The second? 

Tactics.  

The turnover or transition is key. What does the team do when it wins the ball? 

Unfortunately, this season, we still have not eradicated the tendency to mindlessly play possession after the ball was won, playing around in the back where defenders and keeper pass the ball to each other too often.  

What Mikel Arteta needs to do get the team to do more on winning the ball, and the opponent is open, the players must recognize the moment and immediately play forward. Ensure most of our goals are scored within four passes after regaining possession. It is always not possible to counterattack immediately when the opponent is deploying low block, defence in good order and you have to play on possession to drag defenders out of position until they don’t line-up. 

For the team to reach Level 4 from current Level 3, Mikel Arteta has to change the mindset that possession becomes the end instead of the means. He needed to change that on the training ground, not only where the ball is, but also on the opposite side, so that you can immediately play on the counter. 

In terms of formation, Mikel Arteta had tied down to one particular shape, 4-3-3, with Partey at the base and changed to 5-3-2 during attacks. He had effectively adapted his tactics to the individuals within the team, none epitomized than Xhaka in an attacking midfielder role upfront with Odegaard. However, his team rarely stick to these rigid structures when in possession. Instead, there is a lot of positional fluidity as they look to move forward and create an overload, with the full-backs always looking to push high in order to support the attack and force the opponent back. 

The qualities of the players determine the system, not the other way around. In modern top football, it’s about what you do in possession, when you lose possession and in moments of transition. You have to be able to be flexible. 

It is Mikel Arteta extensive coaching that has improved the team on their positioning, the runs they’re expected to make to create space for each other, off-the-ball runs, that is, the movements of the players when they don’t have the ball to destroy the formation of the opponents. 

In such a fluid system, Mikel Arteta expects the three midfielders to be as much playmakers whilst going from box-to-box. He liked to play with both full-backs high up the pitch. It is the same with Gabriel and Saliba stationed at the centre-circle, who are good on the ball and have pace. Gabriel is tough on the ball and an imperious Saliba has excellent defensive timing. 

Perhaps the greatest strength of Mikel Arteta’s formation lies in the energy that is put into pressing the opponent. To reach Level 4, Arsenal must be an intensely attacked-mind, possession-based team who likes to press high up on the pitch whenever possible, forcing opponents into making mistakes close to their goal.  

This is “vertical tiki-taka”, that is, possession with a purpose, where players look to build up from the back with many passing options for the man on the ball. Loss of possession triggers an aggressive, coordinated counter-press, which, if unsuccessful, can lead to being exposed on the counterattack. The starting point is to force opponent to the side by locking them in everywhere. Opponents have been chased into their own penalty area by a winger who appeared next to the striker. That joint hunting ensured that opponents had little chance to launch effective counterattacks. 

Defending is not something for the last line and the keeper, but for the entire team. It is an interplay between all players, chasing the ball up front, understanding each other and knowing what is being asked where and when. The players do that very well. To confuse the opponent, we like to change position when we are in possession, such as the Trossard and Martinelli interchanging that pulled Crystal Palace defence apart.  

But then it is also important to get into position quickly when you lose the ball. We are exceptional vulnerable on the left flank with both Zinchenko and Xhaka caught high up on the pitch when attacks broke down. 

To reach Level 4, the team must master the art of sharp, one-touch football utilizing “maximum width”, luring defenders out of position and then exploiting the emerging space. The teams have yet to master the art to “shock and awe” opponents with quick starts and consistently scoring within 20 minutes of plays like the French Spine.

This is Level 4 Football as described by Ten Hag: 

“I constantly worked on that with the players. What is the essence of a functioning team? The key to winning is that the team has to defend well in order to be able to play attacking-style football. That requires player discipline. That is not a request, it is a demand.” 

 For the last two games against Fulham and Crystal Palace, we are faster and sharper in our passing, Zinchenko more disciplined on his defensive duties, Xhaka is regaining his sharpness, Martinelli and Trossard interchanging seamlessly, Ben White and Saka have a telegraphic understanding on the right flank and there is more to come from Odegaard, and a Jesus fast regaining his match sharpness. Improve further to that, and Arsenal will have no fear of playing any team in April and May and may well emulate our 2001/02 title winning season with a 13 consecutive wins homerun.