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Arsenal left it late against Manchester City as they came back from an Erling Haaland goal to equalise in injury time. But thanks to a shocking tactical tweak from Pep Guardiola, moving Man City to a 5-4-1 / 5-5-0, Arteta's men looked like they'd never find a way through. Adam Clery shows but why and how Man City did this, and how Gabriel Martinelli's dramatic goal was the least that Arsenal deserved.
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00:00Right, hello everybody, welcome to the Adam Cleary Football Channel, and we've just got so much to get through here,
00:05I'm not even going to really bother with an introduction, right?
00:08Arsenal-Man City, on one side, a team who set up in a way that allowed them to dominate the
00:13game, but could not break Manchester City down,
00:16and on the other, a team that ended the match as defensive as we have ever seen Pep Guardiola, but
00:22then all just switched off in the 92nd minute.
00:25And I don't know what this was like for normal people to watch, right, but this one-one was Internet
00:31Tactic Nerd Christmas, so let's unwrap our presents.
00:39Now just dead, dead quick, before we get started here, channel memberships, okay, we have launched those, they're the part
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01:11as I say,
01:11but the link is in the description if you're already excited about that idea, but now let's just get on
01:17with this.
01:18So, you're starting lineups, right, and for Manchester City, the only surprises were that there were no surprises,
01:25but over here, if the Arsenal fans I personally know were anything to go off as soon as this came
01:31out,
01:31there was immediately a bit of a feeling that Arteta was possibly playing it a bit too safe.
01:37But the early exchanges probably played out as Arteta would have wanted, City pressed them high,
01:42sometimes in a 4-4-2 like this, with Silva trying to rush the defenders, but sometimes just in a
01:484-5-1,
01:49with Foden going out wide from his central position to try and stop Balls into the midfield.
01:54But that didn't really, like, do anything.
01:56I thought Arsenal kept playing both over and through Man City quite well,
02:01and kept finding players, in particular Marino and Trossard, in pockets to get at the back line.
02:07But, of course, the problem with that, and this was just sort of apparent right from the first minute,
02:12was that neither Marino nor Trossard were going to be capable of opening Man City up.
02:18They couldn't find Vicky Ocaraz, they couldn't take any City players out of the game,
02:22and all Arsenal really had going forward in that first half was Nani Madueke,
02:27who I think, and maybe this is an entirely separate video somewhere down the line,
02:32has been brilliant for Arsenal, but brilliant in, like, an individual sense.
02:39He will skin people, he'll get in behind, he'll open things up,
02:42but doesn't seem to link well with any of the lads who end up playing around him.
02:47So he sort of gets in these 2v1, 1v1 situations, does really well,
02:52and then very rarely do you see anything sort of come from it.
02:55So, for me, the story of Arsenal's first half was that the link-up play was working really well
03:00with Marino and Trossard, but that wasn't doing anything,
03:04and Madueke was doing things, but wasn't linking up well with the players around him.
03:09So, you don't get any big chances, you don't get any goals.
03:13In fact, their first chance wasn't even until the 32nd minute,
03:17and the best opening they had was Madueke in this position,
03:21which you are so, so unlikely to actually score from.
03:25Therefore, the game plan for Arsenal clearly not working in that first half,
03:30but do you know whose game plan was working?
03:35This season, Pep Guardiola wants Manchester City to be different.
03:39He wants them to be less obsessed with having the ball at the back,
03:42hence just slinging Donnarumma in.
03:44He wants them to be better at going from back to front really quickly,
03:47and hitting teams in transition.
03:50And I know, like, 95% of you won't be, but if you are unfamiliar with that term,
03:54it basically just means whenever the ball changes hands, or feet, right,
03:59as soon as you get it back, no matter where you get it back on the pitch,
04:02you are set up to attack really, really quickly
04:05before the opposition can get themselves back in their defensive shape,
04:10before they can get organised.
04:11And that's why they've gone from having the most possession every single season
04:17in the Premier League since Pep Guardiola took over,
04:20to, like, what are they currently?
04:22Eighth? Ninth in the table for possession?
04:25They're not really interested anymore in these, like, uninterrupted sequences
04:29of 30, 40, 50, 60 passes.
04:32There's no point hanging on to the ball when nothing's happening,
04:35when you can get the ball and make something happen.
04:39And that's the first goal.
04:41Arsenal are trying to counter-press really aggressively,
04:44which gives Gabriel the idea that he needs to stop Haaland turning.
04:47And if you were to freeze time itself and ask Mikel Arteta,
04:53are you happy with this exact situation, do you know what he'd say?
04:58He'd say, yes, I am.
05:01And who are you?
05:02They're hunting in packs.
05:03Haaland's touch is loose.
05:04The centre-back jumps.
05:06You're man-for-man here.
05:07And you've got Saliba covering.
05:08This situation is honestly, theoretically, fine.
05:13But what I am not seeing Erling Haaland get enough credit for this morning, my friends,
05:17is taking all five of these players out of the game with one pass
05:22and then keeping all five of those players out of the game
05:25by being better than they are in, say it with me, transition.
05:31When this all starts, he's in line with these three Arsenal players.
05:34They've all got a fair chance of staying with him.
05:37But when they get into the final third, it is three versus two.
05:41They have gone in a matter of seconds from this to this.
05:46And so that was Pep Guardiola's game plan.
05:49He's happy as little Larry.
05:50Both his defensive structure and his attacking plan are working
05:54and he gets in a half-time with a 1-0 lead.
05:57And I'm going to show you graphically what that sort of meant
06:01and then how it changed.
06:03And just quickly, keep in mind, those possession stats
06:06that everyone was tugging themselves off over during the game,
06:09the lowest Guardiola's ever had, right?
06:11They were practically the same in both halves.
06:1468% for Arsenal in the first half, 67% in the second half,
06:18and only nine passes difference between the two.
06:21And yet, in that first half, their passing looked like this.
06:27And yes, that is a complete mess and totally indecipherable, right?
06:30But just stick with me.
06:32It's all the successful passes in the first half.
06:34And yes, totally impossible to pick out anything specifically.
06:37But we just get rid of all this lot, right?
06:39We'll clear these away.
06:41Look at where the gaps are.
06:44You can start to see the little spaces between the lines
06:46as you move up the field.
06:47And by the time you get into City's final third,
06:49there's lots of spaces.
06:51That is what you would expect from a team seeing that much of the ball.
06:55Of course you have it at the back.
06:56You recycle it.
06:56You hold on to it.
06:57It gets harder and harder to do things the further up you go, right?
07:00But just lock this in your head.
07:03And this, I'll do it really suddenly so it looks more dramatic, right?
07:07Is how that changed in the second half.
07:10Notice that the highest concentration of passes has gone from being here
07:13to being 30 or 40 yards further up the pitch.
07:18How did that happen?
07:19Why did that happen?
07:21Did that make a difference in the game?
07:23Well, I'll show you.
07:25I'll show you.
07:26And yes.
07:26First off, Arteta didn't wait.
07:29Like, Marino had Arsenal's highest number of touches in the opposition half
07:32and made their only real chance.
07:34And Madweke, as we said, was the only player really getting in behind
07:38and doing anything.
07:39And yet, he hooked the pair of them.
07:42Now, that sounds absolutely insane, obviously.
07:44But by bringing Saka on instead of Madweke,
07:46you've got someone who does link up really well with the players around him.
07:50And as City get deeper and deeper and leave less and less space in behind,
07:53there's less point having someone who's trying to get into the space behind.
07:57And in Eza, unlike Marino, who when they find him between the lines,
08:00will keep his back to goal and try to bring others into play,
08:03you've got someone who will turn, who will take a man on,
08:06who will open the opposition up,
08:07who can find a pass when you need one,
08:11as we will see.
08:12And while they didn't exactly carve Man City open,
08:16the chances started to arrive.
08:18One in the 48th minute.
08:19There was one in the 50th minute.
08:21There was one in the 52nd minute.
08:23One in the 56th minute.
08:25One in the 60th minute.
08:27And then, Pep Guardiola takes one hard look at the situation and says,
08:34Nah, f*** this.
08:36I've seen hundreds of managers try and do a prison yard low block on me over the years.
08:44I think it's time I had a go.
08:47For quite possibly the very first time in his career,
08:49Pep Guardiola makes a team go to a back five
08:53that is deeper than the last 15 minutes of Shutter Island.
08:58And people are seemingly baffled by this.
09:01Why would a manager who has the biggest love on for possession in the history of the Premier League
09:06pull one out from the Neil Warnock big book of bad blocks?
09:10Well, I'll tell you why, right?
09:12And this might shock you, okay?
09:14Pep Guardiola did this because he was already doing this.
09:21This is Man City prior to the changes, right?
09:24And that is already a 5-4-1.
09:28Jurian Timbers pushed into the attacking line.
09:29So that's forced Doku all the way back here.
09:32Saka's come infield and has dragged O'Reilly narrow.
09:35And Silva has had to leave Haaland to stop any space into Eze.
09:39I think, honestly, right?
09:41Pep Guardiola's looked at this situation and thought,
09:441-0 up, 30 minutes to go, away from home.
09:47We can't get any control of the game back.
09:49We're almost certainly not going to be allowed out of this shape for the remainder of the match.
09:54So we might as well just set it up properly.
09:57And now Man City have this exact shape, except now look at the personnel in it.
10:02Three proper centre-backs in the middle, two proper defensive midfielders in the centre,
10:08two central midfielders on the flanks to make it even more solid,
10:11and the most energetic, pacey, exciting ball carrier you have at the very top end
10:18to drag you up the pitch if you do manage to get it back.
10:21So yeah, I get that this looks about as weird a fit for Pep Guardiola as long, luxurious hair probably
10:28would,
10:28but it's simply a reflection of the dominance Arsenal were having on the game.
10:33This is him reacting to that, not his brain falling out.
10:37And to be fair to him, this did work like a charm right up until it didn't.
10:44So Man City having this many get-big-lads on the pitch and leaving no room in front of the
10:48goalkeeper
10:49changes Arsenal's pass map to this.
10:52And this is from pretty much the moment Nico Gonzalez comes on,
10:55they take Haaland off and they go properly into this shape.
10:58Now, in case it's not immediately clear, right,
11:01the red lines here are the unsuccessful passes and crosses,
11:06which means as soon as City went into this shape,
11:09Arsenal did not have one single box entry.
11:15Every single pass was cut out, every single cross was headed away.
11:19Like, genuinely, in that entire last 30 minutes of the match,
11:23up until the thing happens, right,
11:25Arsenal had this header from Calafiore,
11:28whatever the hell this was from Calafiore,
11:31and that is it.
11:33It is not an exaggeration to say that up until the 92nd minute,
11:36Pep Guardiola was doing a job on Arsenal.
11:40And just that is the problem, my dear, dear friends,
11:43was making such a drastic change to who you are and what you do.
11:47It is unlikely that that many players can stay focused
11:50and keep making the right decisions all the way until the end of the game
11:54and into injury time.
11:56They just forget what all their jobs are.
12:00They've left zero space in behind for half an hour,
12:02but when a bit of possession naturally pushes them up the pitch,
12:07they forget how to reset properly when they lose the ball.
12:11And I know that Jamie Carragher and Micah Richards
12:13had like a 10-minute long argument on Sky
12:15about whether or not the two centre-backs
12:17should have dropped sooner or later here.
12:19But the problem, right, for me,
12:21is not actually an individual mistake.
12:24It is a series of collective ones.
12:27There's not actually anything going on back here,
12:29which is necessarily a problem if the players here put pressure on the ball.
12:35Like, you just cannot, especially this late in the game,
12:37be both high as a defensive line and passive as a forward line.
12:43It just doesn't work that way.
12:44Like, Eze gets on the ball here, who can pick a pass,
12:47who's been brought on specifically to make things happen,
12:50and not one of these Man City players so much as even motions towards him.
12:56They don't even try and rush him.
12:57But I would, just like to quickly stress before we finish the video,
13:00that for all people are talking about City making a defensive mistake here,
13:05it isn't just about that.
13:07Like, yeah, okay, Savinho isn't even looking at Eze when he clips it forward.
13:10Ake goes with the run despite being wrong side.
13:13And if he doesn't, I think we end up with like a six or seven-minute long VAR check
13:17that possibly rules this out.
13:20And Donnarumma just has no business being here either.
13:24Like, Martinelli is going away from the goal with a player harassing him.
13:29He doesn't actually have an opening or a chance or a shot
13:31unless the ball is bouncing and the goalkeeper is like 15 yards out of his goal.
13:38And the thing is, that's all true.
13:39But these are not mistakes that it is easy to punish.
13:43That is an unbelievably weighted pass.
13:48And it's an absolutely top-level finish.
13:51And you would argue, I would anyway, that Arsenal absolutely deserved at least a point
13:55for how much dominance they had in this game.
14:00Like, if you're Man City, you're probably asking yourself now, like,
14:02well, why did we have to get that defensive?
14:05Why couldn't we wrestle any control back of this game?
14:08And obviously, if they got to the final whistle and not conceded,
14:11it would probably be applauding Guardiola and saying how adaptable he was.
14:14But this was coming.
14:16But on the other hand, if you're Arsenal, you're probably looking at that second half
14:19going, yeah, okay, we didn't rip Man City open.
14:21But look what we did to them.
14:24Look how far back we forced them.
14:25Look how much better we were than they were with the XI that started the second half.
14:31So why didn't we start with that?
14:33And they're interesting questions for which there are even more interesting answers
14:37that we will no doubt be addressing in future videos.
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15:20Until next time, it's dead pretty.
15:22Isn't it?
15:23That's been it from me here and Manchester City and Arsenal and 1-1.
15:27And who's stopping Liverpool?
15:30Because it isn't me.
15:31Goodbye.
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