00:00Arsenal are top of the league but there's still some big problems and those problems could cost
00:04them the title. However, a certain Kai Havertz could come in and save the day. So today I'll
00:08be explaining how he can maximise Jokeres' strengths, make Arsenal sustainable in the
00:13final third and make everyone around him go up a gear. A gear that they're going to have to get
00:18into if they want to win the Premier League. Without Havertz, Jokeres is often receiving
00:25the ball in wide areas but the pass he's receiving are short balls, often from the
00:29wingers or the full backs, initiating small space play. With Havertz in the side, we see him
00:34receiving the ball further up the pitch, more central and the passes he's receiving from
00:38wingers are long balls into the box, into the spaces he's bested. Now that's a really important
00:43difference. As subtle as it may seem, having Jokeres in small space play is dragging him into
00:48zones he's simply not comfortable in. Now obviously it has its benefits. Having him link in play
00:53allows Arsenal's wingers to spin him behind and attack the space he vacates and can allow Arsenal
00:58to get out of pressure. But it means he has to go into small spaces. And now with all due
01:02respect,
01:03Victor Jokeres isn't quite a small space player is he? Like here, Jokeres is occupying both centre
01:09backs and that's great because the wingers can then dart into the 18 yard box. However, he's receiving in
01:15a small space and he's not good enough at receiving in a small space. So he plays the ball backwards
01:20and
01:20Arsenal then have to pass sideways. I mean only two Arsenal players with over 10 appearances this
01:25season have averaged more unsuccessful touches per 90 than Victor Jokeres. So having him in those
01:32sports-based scenarios increases the chance of him having to go backwards or simply being
01:37dispossessed and it often ruins Arsenal attacks. I guess Arteta's viewing of Jokeres in this sense
01:43is almost a decoy player to create space for the goal scorers that usually do play out wide for Arsenal
01:48or at least have under Arteta. However, this can all be changed with Kai Havertz and we've already
01:53seen that be changed at stages this season. Arsenal are coming out here in a 3-2. Eze has tucked
01:58in
01:58meaning that his mark has split between him and the wide man which means the midfield have to step
02:03forward and watch Eze with the ball which allows Havertz to get in between the lines and then this
02:09is where Jokeres can get into his best zones. He's no longer coming deep. Instead, he's put his centre
02:14back on his heels. He's darting behind and that centre back doesn't know whether it are Mark Havertz,
02:18whether it are Mark Jokeres, which gives Jokeres that extra yard and time to take minimal touches
02:23and shoots. Basically, Havertz coming in and replacing one of those number 8s and acting as
02:26almost more of an auxiliary number 10 allows Jokeres to get out of those uncomfortable zones which is
02:32what he's been criticised most for, playing like he's got jeans and timberland boots on. But that's
02:37always been the case with Jokeres. At Sporting, he averaged 9.5 touches per shot. Now at Arsenal,
02:43he's averaging 11.5 touches per shot. So if Arsenal can minimise the touches that Jokeres is taking
02:48facing away from goal and maximise the touches that he's taken facing goal, then they'll reap the
02:53rewards, which again, we've already seen when Kai Havertz has been fit. But Jokeres getting on the
02:58ball in these positions doesn't only hurt him and his game, it has a huge knock-on effect for the
03:04whole Arsenal attack. This season, Arsenal's Open Play XG has dropped by 9% and Bakayo Saka has suffered as
03:10a
03:10result in particular. His goal contributions have gone from averaging every 104 minutes in the Premier League and
03:15Champions League last season to now every 176 minutes in the same competitions this season.
03:21And a lot of that is down to having to come central to support Jokeres in his ball to feet
03:26play.
03:26Saka's heat map from last season shows him coming central at times, but he's doing so in the final
03:30third. Whereas this season, he's coming central before he even reaches the final third. Which means
03:36a lot of his football is being played in front of the opposition defence rather than in wide 1v1s or
03:40going in beyond that defence. Now if you have Havertz in that role in front of the opposition's
03:45defence, you allow the wingers to stay a little bit wider until they enter the final third. When
03:49you combine that with Jokeres' relentless running in behind, you have a defence who are already
03:53preoccupied, which means then wide space of the box are open for people like Maduweke,
03:58Trossard, or Bakayo Saka to get into and score goals. But it's not just about the final third,
04:05because Havertz can equally be involved in build-up. He can eliminate Jokeres doing all that dirty work
04:09and coming deep. And instead, Jokeres can run, Havertz can receive and be that facilitator. And
04:15because of his wider passing range, he can find those wingers in 1v1s, rather than having to come
04:20short to play off of Jokeres. Now popping Havertz into that team may feel like a minor change. And
04:25you may be thinking, so you're saying to me that if Havertz comes into this team, Jokeres is going
04:30to stop winding me up by doing step-overs on the halfway line, and Bakayo Saka is going to score
04:33a million
04:34goals. Now I'm not saying that, but a minor change of personnel can make a huge difference to a team.
04:40Shifting the midfield shape can have huge knock-on effects for manipulating the opposition. And as
04:44we've seen with Arsenal this season, they've been at their best when they've played against more
04:48passive presses. Leeds aren't putting much pressure on the ball here, which means that Arsenal can get
04:53five players on that last line. And as you can see with Jokeres, he's looking to stretch that back
04:57line by spinning him behind. Then we've also got Saka and Maduweke, who are 1v1 by the touchline.
05:02And that fifth player, that extra player in that last line, you can count as Ethan Lanieri,
05:07who's occupying two players there. Or you can count Declan Rice, who's also occupying two players,
05:12which means Leeds are basically man-to-man with Arsenal, which gives the wingers room to have
05:18that space to receive the ball and then run at them. Because having multiple of your players
05:23occupy multiple of the opposition's players is what creates confusion. And that confusion is where you
05:28attack it with those quick fluid rotations, which again, we're starting to see a lot more of from
05:33Arsenal in the back end of this season. For example, Saka and Maduweke here don't have to come inside to
05:38escape a man marker because their marker is split between them and another player, which gives them
05:43that extra little yard to get on the ball and then make a decision, rather than having to drift
05:48onside in search of the ball. Which is why I think Kai Havertz, as that number 10 player, makes so
05:52much
05:52sense because he has the ability to operate all over the place. He can float quite fluidly,
05:57which gives the wingers more freedom off the ball as they don't have to come inside in search of the
06:01ball. And Jokeres can do what he did best at sporting, and that's bombing it in behind rather
06:05than trying to do step overs on halfway line. Now we've talked a lot about Havertz, we've talked a lot
06:09about Juvekta Jokeres, and we've talked a lot about the wingers, but it's not just theory.
06:14Otter has already put things in place to try and change things. Against Wigan, Ebrechiesi started as the
06:20left-sided player in a double pivot, yet he found himself operating further forward between the
06:24lines, creating a line of four behind Arsenal's centre-forward. Due to Norgard slotting into the
06:29back line and Eze stepping forward, the Wigan midfield are split on who their actual target is,
06:35which means they put no real pressure on either of Eze or Norgard, which means Ebrechiesi becomes
06:41the defence's problem, pulling their attention away from Martinelli, who's on their shoulder,
06:46and he can then dart in behind on the blind side of his marker. And that role that Eze was
06:51in was
06:52something that we've also already seen from Kai Havertz, and that was just a few weeks ago.
06:56Havertz's touch map against Sunderland shows not picking up the ball in so many different areas,
07:00and his average position map shows him in line with the centre-forward, despite him playing as a
07:05right-central midfielder. Kai Havertz is an attacker at heart, that's where he really made his name in
07:10Germany, by being an attacker. So having him on the pitch brings you more attacking threat,
07:15more attacking quality, especially when someone like Morton Odegaard has been a little bit off
07:19his game this season and lacked that bravery that Arsenal have so desperately needed.
07:24Odegaard's pass map against Brentford shows a lot of negative and sideways passes,
07:29whereas you compare that to Kai Havertz against Sunderland, and there's so many forward passes.
07:33So instantly you can change things, you have someone who's maybe a little bit less risk-averse,
07:37and someone who's a little bit more willing to make the mark, make something happen,
07:41and that changes everything for Arsenal, that allows them to bring, again, more attacking
07:46quality to this team. Now unfortunately Havertz has picked up an injury, but I imagine as soon
07:50as he's back, we'll be seeing him very, very regularly for Arsenal, and causing chaos like
07:55King Kai always does. That's it from me for today, there's loads more tactical insight coming up on
07:59the channel, so make sure you do subscribe, leave a like, and let me know how many goals is Kai
08:03Havertz
08:03going to get in the back end of the season.
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