- 4 minutes ago
Mikel Arteta has evolved his Arsenal side, making one of the best teams in the country even better. We break down the key tactical changes, from Myles Lewis-Skelly's crucial midfield role to Riccardo Calafiori's 'false full-back' position, and how it's unlocking players like Martin Ødegaard.
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00:00This is massive.
00:01Arteta's new look attack has made the best team in the country look even better.
00:08But how's he done it? What has Big Mick done this time?
00:11Well, I'm Jacob Oswald, 442's resident tactician,
00:14and this is how the best just got a hell of a lot better.
00:23In the summer, there was a lot of discourse around Myles Lewis Skelly.
00:27Will he stay? Will he go? Is it time for him to move on?
00:29Well, let me tell you, he's staying, and not only is he staying,
00:33ladies and gentlemen, Myles Lewis Skelly is a key cog in Arteta's Arsenal this season.
00:39Here, Arsenal are in a really sticky situation.
00:42Palma is in close proximity to the ball, and if it's set for Calafiore,
00:46then you expect the Chelsea players to converge and turn it over high.
00:49The only safe solution, really, is to hook it down the line.
00:53Or, this little magician can receive on the half-turn,
00:56step across Palma with that half-turn, and begin to not only progress Arsenal up the pitch,
01:01but if we just skip a frame or two, look at where the Chelsea attention is.
01:05Four players ahead of the ball are fully occupied by Skelly,
01:09meaning Tzolos and Odegaard can be on the outside of Chelsea's midfield block,
01:13and get beyond it two passes later.
01:16And all of a sudden, Arsenal are 3v2 on the halfway line.
01:20And that is sensational, but if we've watched Myles Lewis Skelly for the years that we have done,
01:24then you know that that's what he's all about.
01:27And Arteta building that midfield of Skelly, Rice and Odegaard gives them such a nice balance,
01:33and he's giving Martin Odegaard serious freedom to operate how he needs to be operating.
01:39Rice here is almost the third centre-half, and Lewis Skelly operating through the middle
01:43are sort of the anchor players of this midfield.
01:45They have more fixed zones than someone like Odegaard, who has shifted to this right-hand side here,
01:51creating that overload and splitting the Chelsea centre-halves on the back line.
01:55Which is why, to me, we're seeing Odegaard have some of the best performances he's put out in a long
01:59old while,
02:00especially after his poor run last season.
02:03But ultimately, as good as I think Odegaard has been, and you know, when he's getting beyond the opposition's midfield
02:08line,
02:08being able to receive on the half-turn and make those incisive passes, that's him at his best.
02:13But it's not possible without Myles Lewis Skelly, his presence through the middle,
02:17his driving runs to occupy opposition defenders.
02:20And he, as we've seen, has been key to unlocking Odegaard's.
02:25However, Myles Lewis Skelly isn't alone in this, because we've got the false full-back, Ricardo Calafiori.
02:34Now, by false full-back, I don't mean he's lying to her.
02:37He's not telling little porkies about where he's supposed to be playing.
02:41No.
02:41What I mean is, look at where he is here.
02:43And this isn't brand new for Arsenal, but Calafiori this season seems to be taking it to a new extreme.
02:48He's actually the only box presence Arsenal have in this phase of play right now.
02:52And he's got a sort of supporting network of three behind him to allow him to do that.
02:57Which is common practice for this 2026-27 Arsenal side.
03:01Myles Lewis Skelly and Calafiori seem to rotationally operate around one another.
03:06And I think Lewis Skelly's position is a real reference point for Calafiori to know what he's supposed to do
03:11at certain times.
03:12Against Chelsea, you constantly saw them engaging with one another.
03:16Quick pop one-twos and go to get Calafiori in behind.
03:19Which is another interesting dynamic that affects Arteta's side in all thirds of the pitch.
03:24Because we know Arsenal want to overload that right-hand side.
03:2851% of their first half attacks came down that right-hand side against Chelsea.
03:32Doing this allows for quick combinations.
03:34Then, as Havertz did for his goal, counter movement back in front of the opposition defence to cut out and
03:41shoot.
03:41But it also leaves gaps in the opposition's defence, which Calafiori is key to exploiting.
03:47But that can also open channel space both on the inside and outside of Arsenal's rest defence.
03:52So, having someone who broke into the Arsenal first team by playing as a left-back, in my opinion,
03:59gives you not only the flying Italian who gets into the final third, has a brilliant shot on him,
04:04looks really handsome when he does it.
04:06But also, gives you this sort of hole filler in my Lewis Skelly.
04:10Now, on paper, I'm well aware that may seem like the basics.
04:13A midfielder who's sort of a plug-and-play, you know, can drop out in different areas of the pitch.
04:18And a full-back getting into the final thirds.
04:20But, this sort of rotational, fluid movement isn't just limited to those sort of players.
04:25Arteta now has his whole team moving relatively freely within his structure.
04:31Sort of like planets orbiting the sun.
04:34And Arteta's the sun, I suppose.
04:39Kai Havertz!
04:41Kai Havertz, to me, feels ready-made.
04:44And the perfect fit for this sort of rotational, fluid movement Arsenal side.
04:48Because, he's never really been a certain type of striker.
04:52He's scored one-on-ones, but he isn't a channel running forward.
04:55He's scored headers, but he isn't a box-dominant pulcher.
04:59And, yeah, he is a really good playmaker who plays that sort of second-strike and number-10 sort of
05:04role.
05:05But, he's not an out-and-out false-nine type, is he?
05:08So, this position is perfect for the German.
05:11He begins the move as the furthest forward Arsenal player.
05:13And, a Chelsea centre-half is man-to-man with him.
05:16Now, with a midfielder giving up to play a pass, Jokeres last season would have probably hit the channel here.
05:22Sucking in this centre-back and hoping for the ball to go wide before eventually finding him in the box.
05:27Instead, Havertz does nothing.
05:29He doesn't follow the ball line and actually drops below it.
05:33That's important because this centre-half is still worried about him.
05:36And, this winger doesn't want to drop into the back line because they're wary of Havertz arriving on the edge
05:40of the box.
05:41So, Bukayo Saka can make that diagonal run through and get shot off.
05:46Which is obviously something that Tozolos for the pass and the ability to create that separation will get credit for.
05:51And, Bukayo Saka will get a lot of credit for that move and the speed in which he gets his
05:55shot off.
05:56But, Arsenal don't create that chance without Kai Havertz.
06:01Because, Chelsea really struggled to find the marking patterns when Havertz was moving.
06:05Because, he never once made sort of the same movement twice in a row.
06:08He might pin one of their centre-halves.
06:11Then, he'd maybe peel onto the further centre-half away from the ball.
06:14Then, he'd come into feet and try and receive it.
06:16He was constantly moving.
06:18There's a reason he ranks second for sprints so far in the Premier League this season.
06:22Because, genuinely, from what I've seen from Kai Havertz so far,
06:26the bloke hasn't stopped this season.
06:29And, the same thing was shown against Aston Villa.
06:31And, in my books, that largely comes down to IQ.
06:33Because, in this 3v2, Kai Havertz has every right to demand Saka plays this ball in front of him into
06:39his path.
06:40So, he can get onto it, face and go, get his own shot off.
06:43Instead, you see he takes a little glance and sees that the two centre-halves are both marking him.
06:48And, Ebrecht Yeze is on that far side, completely unmarked, arriving at the box.
06:53So, he actually pulls out of that back line, goes to go around Kai Havertz,
06:57which drags the centre-half with him just enough, keeps the attention just enough,
07:02that, as he can get into the box still unmarked.
07:05Open up that back post cross, and it's a nice situation for Arsenal to be in.
07:10Which is a bit of a changer, compared to some of the things that we saw from Arsenal last season.
07:14Specifically, some of the things that we saw from Victor Jokeres last season.
07:17This Swede was Arsenal's top scorer by a considerable distance last season.
07:21And, he did the job he was supposed to do, which was score goals, win them the title.
07:26But, even in pre-season, when Arsenal turned Real Betis round here,
07:31you sort of see this area where there's this player arriving at the box,
07:34who has a nice space, a nice area to get across his marker.
07:37And, instead of Jokeres going on the outside to pull this centre-half away from the ball,
07:41he wants to get into the box. His natural instincts are to attack the space in the box,
07:45to try and get onto it, get his own shot off.
07:48And, in the end, he ends up jamming up the box a little bit.
07:50It becomes a little bit more difficult for Arsenal to get a clear-cut chance.
07:53But, that's his job. That's fine. That's what Jokeres was supposed to do.
07:56And, I think now, without the pressure of trying to win the Premier League,
07:59like having to get it done over the line,
08:02Arsenal are able to potentially go in with Kai Havertz as the main man.
08:06Not only the main man, but the star man, because he brings so much more than just the goals.
08:12And, he'll still get you.
08:14Hey, he'll still get you ten goals, won't he?
08:17And, for this Arsenal side, that'll be big.
08:19Those fluid rotations in that front line, Havertz coming deep, Saka going beyond.
08:23It's beautiful to watch.
08:25And, it's sort of the opposite of what everyone's criticised Arsenal for.
08:28That's what people have wanted Arsenal to sort of do.
08:30And, now they've got the pressure off them, they can.
08:32And, they've still got the best out-of-possession gaffer in Europe.
08:38That is terrifying.
08:40But, it is much needed for this Arsenal side.
08:42A side who, I think, as much as they got the job done, all credit to them.
08:46At times last season, they got a little bit predictable.
08:48And, how sustainable the way they ended that season could really be, I'm not 100% sure.
08:53Now, I know against Chelsea, they weren't unpredictable, really.
08:56These wide 4v4s, with Odegaard arriving into that little pocket, were rinsed.
09:01Understandably, though, they were great, they were good to watch.
09:03They hurt Chelsea every single time down that right-hand side.
09:06And, it does just feel, as sort of a vibe, that almost like a weight has been lifted off that
09:12really solid foundation that they've already got.
09:15So, we should all be deeply, deeply scared.
09:19Arsenal are entering an era of dominance, I feel like.
09:22And, they are constantly evolving with the tactical matter in the Premier League.
09:25Low possession, quick dynamics, rotations.
09:28Tiki-taka's dead, and Arsenal are the ones who are putting it in its grave.
09:32And, we're going to be here for the whole journey of Mikel Arteta's dominance in the Premier League.
09:37So, drop a like and subscribe, stick around for a bit, and we'll see you all next week.
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09:42.
09:42.
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