WE ARE only three matches into the 2023-24 Premier League season so it is not time for clubs to hit the panic button yet. Fans of Arsenal and Manchester United though have enjoyed an uncomfortable start to the season with neither starting as strongly as we might have expected.
Declan Rice is already a key cog in the Arsenal teamCredit: Getty
Mikel Arteta and Erik ten Hag will go head to head on SundayCredit: Getty
It is perhaps expected that Arsenal would take a minute to really get going.
The signing of Declan Rice from West Ham, a great piece of business despite the price tag, will lead to them having to change the way that they bring the ball out from the back and the injury to Gabriel Jesus has disrupted their effectiveness in the final third.
United, on the other hand, entered the season with a sense of optimism with the club having seemingly recruited sensibly to fill gaps in their squad in terms of numbers and ability.
Narrow wins at home to Wolves and Nottingham Forest have perhaps been overshadowed by the loss away to Spurs and there is a real feeling that their coach, Erik ten Hag, has to solve their midfield.
READ MORE FOOTBALL NEWS
This coming weekend we see the two teams meet at the Emirates in a game that will define the opening stage of the season.
The international break is coming up fast and both teams will want to go into the break with another three points in the bag.
So let’s take a look at some of the key tactical points to keep an eye on.
ARSENAL’S USE OF THOMAS PARTEY
There is nothing new in football.
Most read in Football
FREE BETS – BEST BETTING OFFERS AND BONUSES NEW CUSTOMERS
Every new tactical trend or buzzword is a recreation of something that has been tried before and coaches will take ideas from other places in order to try to make their teams better.
On the back of Manchester City’s unstoppable end to last season, we have seen Mikel Arteta take elements of City’s build-up to change the way that Arsenal look when they are in possession of the ball in the first line (or the defensive line).
This is not something that is totally new to Arteta and Arsenal as last season we saw them use Oleksandr Zinchenko from the left-back position to invert into the midfield.
Last season, though, we would see Ben White make similar inside movements from right-back with both fullbacks coming inside.
We clearly see Arsenal creating a back three shape in possession with the left-back staying deeper and White and Saliba shifting across. This allows Partey to move inside to support Rice in the midfield to create a 3-2 shape in the midfield unit
The difference that we saw with City last season and this season and now with Liverpool too is that they want to create a 3-2 shape as they are building from the back.
While Thomas Partey, who played last season in midfield, comes inside from the right-back position to support Rice in midfield we then see the other three defensive players form a back three across the pitch.
This shape in the build-up has two clear intentions.
First of all, it is secure defensively if the opposition win the ball back quickly and look to counterattack.
Secondly, the 3-2 build-up shape is very difficult to press effectively without pushing a lot of players forward.
If teams do not press hard then Arsenal will be able to dominate the ball and dictate the ball and if they do then Arsenal can quickly play through the press to get their creative players on the ball in space.
This time we see a different shape in the midfield for Arsenal as Partey moves inside to play as the deepest midfielder with Rice positioned ahead of the ball between the lines of the opposition defence
With Partey moving inside while Arsenal are in possession of the ball we also see that Rice can be released slightly into more of a box-to-box role, something he did very well at West Ham.
This movement, and the ability to release Rice forward, will give Arsenal options against teams who want to sit deeper and who want to be hard to break down.
We would expect that Manchester United will press high with their midfield, as we have already seen this season, and as such Arsenal will have to hold their nerve in order to break them down and play through the press.
WILL ARSENAL IGNORE THE CENTRE?
While, as we have already discussed above, it is important for teams to secure the centre of the pitch in order to protect against counterattacks and to dominate the ball, we might well see Arsenal look to ignore the centre against United.
We still expect to see the 3-2 shape in the first stage of build-up.
It is likely that Rice, in particular, will then look to move the attack for Arsenal quickly into the wide spaces.
This will be a very deliberate tactic from Arteta in order to start the attack in a narrow shape in order to pull the defensive block from United centrally to then quickly attack into the wide areas where they can release their creative attacking players.
Declan Rice has dropped into a deeper position to receive the ball and Kai Havertz is the only Arsenal player positioned centrally but there are 5 Newcastle players in central spaces. This position taken by Rice then allows him to play past these Newcastle players with a single pass into the wide areas
Rice is not a typical deep-lying midfielder in that he does not fit as a destroyer or as a deep-lying playmaker.
Instead, he is almost both but with the ability to carry the ball forward mixed in.
As such we will likely see the English international midfielder allowed a more free role in this match in terms of allowing him to drop deep to receive the ball or move higher past the ball.
With United likely to look to press high with their entire midfield the movement and positioning of Rice will be key in terms of receiving the ball and then finding the likes of Gabriel Martinelli, Martin Odegaard, Bukayo Saka and even Kai Havertz in more advanced spaces.
Here we have a moment with Arsenal losing 1-0 to Fulham where we see Rice in possession centrally. Fulham have dropped into a deep shape and we see Rice look to find Odegaard in the wide area instead of looking to drive the attack through the centre.
Arsenal are especially strong down their left-hand side and with Rice capable of controlling the centre, with support from Partey as discussed, we will see Odegaard and Saka look to combine and dominate the left-side of the attack for Arsenal.
With United still struggling to settle on a left-back solution, Diogo Dalot played on the left side against Nottingham Forest, we will see Rice look to push the ball down the left side as often as possible.
CAN UNITED CONTROL THE CENTRE?
Make no mistake, controlling the centre of the pitch will be the key tactical battle in this match.
Arsenal have fluid options to achieve this and they have the ability to adapt their approach depending on what the opposition shows them in the early stages.
The question is whether United have the ability to control and dominate this area of the game with their current midfield personnel.
The match last weekend against Nottingham Forest saw a slight change to the midfield with Mason Mount, a new signing this season from Chelsea, suffering an injury that is likely to keep him out until after the international break.
This meant that the Danish international Christian Eriksen came back in to play alongside Casemiro and Bruno Fernandes.
Against Nottingham Forest we saw that United had a huge issue in terms of their midfield all pushing high and leaving their defensive line exposed to quick counterattacks. We see this here with all three midfielders high up the pitch allowing a quick pass over the top to outplay the press
Christian Eriksen and Casemiro are likely to line up in midfield againCredit: Getty
Casemiro is typically the deepest midfielder for United with Bruno Fernandes playing as the highest player, linking midfield and attack, and then the third midfielder, either Mount or Eriksen, is almost the link between the others.
So far this season though we have seen United being extremely aggressive in their use of the midfield with Casemiro regularly pushing into extremely high positions.
This can, of course, be effective in terms of not allowing the opposition to build cleanly from the back but it can also leave you exposed if the press gets beaten.
If United continue to use their midfield in such a chaotic and aggressive manner in this match against Arsenal then the United defence will be exposed against some extremely dangerous attacking players.
Another example of United pushing all of their midfield players into high positions and leaving themselves exposed to quick counterattacks from the opposition. The lack of structure throughout the team leaves space that the opposition can exploit and attack.
While there is likely to be value for United in terms of pressing high to prevent Arsenal from dominating the ball through the positioning of their defence and midfield they will have to do so in a more cohesive way than we have seen so far this season.
If the midfield pushes high then the defensive line and fullbacks have to be in position to cover when the press is beaten.
If the structure of the overall team for United does not support the high press then a single pass can leave the defensive line exposed against quick and decisive attacking players for Arsenal.
WHAT DOES THIS MEAN?
Given that United go into this match as the away team there is likely going to be value in them using their midfield in a more structured manner than we have seen so far this season.
If all three United midfield players push high then Arsenal will adapt their approach and find ways to outplay the press.
Read More on The Sun
If United do not create a stronger shape around that press then their defensive like are going to be in for a long 90 minutes if they are exposed to the likes of Saka and Martinelli attacking them quickly on the counterattack.
Get the September Total Football Analysis Magazine – find out who Barcelona could have replaced Dembele with, how Edson Alvarez might do as Rice’s replacement at West Ham and much much more across 25 articles and 170+ pages! For just £5.20 per month, you get this magazine, 100+ articles on the latest tactical trends and access to our huge archive of scout reports and more. More
