I think you are completely accurate in your analysis. I have been saying the exact same thing to my friends, teammates, and anyone else who would listen. Arteta is an excellent detail-oriented manager, and we would do well to find anyone at this time who would do a better job with what he's been given. That being said, he is highly risk-averse. He has always been that way, starting from his first (or second) FA Cup-winning season. We won by limiting opportunities for our opponents and relying on Auba to do some magic when he's in the 18. While that is an effective way to play, it often does not allow us enough clear-cut opportunities, especially in a sport where a draw is just as good as a win for some teams. When we play "bigger" teams, our record is substantially better due to his approach. These teams are willing to or are pushed by fans, coaches, or their own pride to open themselves up, which enables us to get opportunities. This is not the case when playing against competent, but not traditional, "top 6 teams" like Newcastle and Aston Villa. They can sit back and soak up pressure but also have the players to punish our mistakes. This is why we struggle with these teams. On the balance of play, if you put in enough crosses and put your opponent under enough pressure, you SHOULD win more games than others. But that is not enough in this league. You need to make things happen constantly to ensure that you win. If you play on fine margins, those margins will sometimes work against you. As you stated, football is a low-scoring sport, such that getting 20 small XG opportunities still equals one big chance given to your opponent for whatever reason. One cannot control everything at all times. If Arteta insists on playing by the numbers, he must either 1 - get a more clinical striker so that those chances created actually matter or, in my opinion, the better option, 2 - coach his team to be able to identify when and where to counterattack...pick their moments. I believe that taking more risks in transition will lead to more chances overall, but most importantly, more big chances. Arsenal's rest defense is excellent in their horseshoe-shaped attack; I would not change that. I would only ask that the team is coached to choose 5-10 moments throughout the game to be aggressive in transition in hopes of creating more big chances. While this would open up our defense if we lose the ball in the attack, our defense is good enough to hold out for a moment, and our wingers are disciplined enough to get back if needed. It is a calculated risk, but I think you can get the best of both worlds by doing so. Appreciate the content btw.
We don’t have a transitional players we can’t make the best out in transitions bcs odegaard havert merino saka trossad are not transition players rice and martineli are the only 2 martineli is so wasted in his decision and final ball and rice afraid of loosing the ball he won’t use his carrying ability so he plays safe to satisfy Arteta if we want something in transition we need leo/Gordon cunha/nypon baleba/lamin camara to replace martineli odegaard and partey or merino and finally a striker sesko isak gyokers for example rice baleba cunha would be the best in transition they can carry the ball and we bought merino who can’t run let alone carry the ball we already had havert and odegaard who can’t carry Arteta is arrogant and stubborn I would loved to get nagelsman from Germany with his gegenpress and transition base football
It would be more digestible if he at least spaced out the essay into paragraphs, it's not entirely the internet's fault since this is tough to read regardless @@olsenfernandes3634
I think the biggest issue is that there is a significantly different approach Arsenal employ this season compared to last season. I would be curious to see the average position of Partey/ Rice/ Jorginho/Saliba/Gabriel - (I believe Gabriel is actually higher) compared to last 2 seasons. I think we have deviated from creating margins by forcing errors and chaos in the opposition 3rd. We are steadily pushing to limiting how much errors we cause by trying to dominate possession, which has made us significantly more prone to errors.
This is basic Game Theory (Nash Equilibrium). Arteta wants to get as close to Game Theory Optimal (GTO) as possible, any deviation is ultimately exploitable and will, in the long run, lead to worse outcomes. You are correct, Nash moves to equilibrium over a large sample size, whether a large number of moments in a single game, or over many games. Variance on a low sample size can lead to sub-optimal outcomes (draws rather than wins, losses rather than draws). Game Theory in general tends to result in mixed strategies being optimal (GTO), so you don't always have the same strategy 100% of the time, you need to mix different strategies at optimal percentages. In laymen's terms don't use the same strategy all the time or you will become predictable !
Fantastic video. This is why we need ONE maverick player. Just one. There has to be a trade off like you said with regards to predictability and control vs 'maverick'-ness. Every player we get linked with heavily sounds like the best player for our system. Just having one tweak, having a Doku-esque player, where we trust in our rock solid defence to win it back. I am super scared about signing a maverick and then he gets transformed into a system player with Mikel. And ovviously i am going to add plausible deniability clauses by saying i would love for Mikel to sign that maverick player and show us.
I agree to an extent. I guess the compromise could be that Arteta allows the maverick player to turn on the switch at a certain point in the game if we are still struggling with the system
I'll point out we have a few maverick players (Jesus and Calafiori). They're just injured. Which I suspect is a result of their maverick-ness. When you don't do something predictable, opposition teams have to disrupt by being wildly aggressive or maverick themselves. More tackles, etc. leads to more injuries. Which means you kind of can't rely on maverick players that much. And you have a catch-22 as a result.
@@nicklikethesoupOur mavericks are a CB that’s plays left back and a striker than can’t score and wants to play on the wings… you guys don’t listen to yourselves. Please tell me the other title winning teams that rely on their left back and striker, that has shown no consistent goal scoring ability, to be their maverick and lead them to PL and CLs!? Our only true maverick is Saka and unfortunately he is injured.
I love what you said about margins. I like to think of these 'margins' from a statistics perspective as random variables. There's a concept in statistics called the central limit theorem. The basic idea is that the more times you allow an random event to happen, the closer the observed outcome is to the expected outcome. For instance, as you continue flipping a coin, you would expect the average number of tails to get closer and closer to 50%. When you are the better team, you are obviously more likely to win the game. However, there is always some aspect of randomness to football. This is where we can consider the central limit theorem. On average, the better team should win. Taking on more margins will increase the predictability of your advantage (lower variance of outcome). These games we have been playing, with a low volume of chances, have much higher variance in outcome. We are still expected to win, but it is much less predictable. There is also something to be said about low scoring games being more likely to result in draws. I think we have just been unlucky this year though. We have had way more draws this year than previous years.
I totally understand this, but if this is method,surely over the years there should be emphasis on getting better 1V1 players in those areas, how does this suit a martinelli, trossard & even saka when most of there best actions are central. I love the content, you’re always able to come up with content that gets me thinking in a different perspective. Hope the channel keeps growing.
I think this explains why, after the 3-0 Zagreb win, I overheard fans on the tube say it was a "drab game"… at the time I thought they were just entitled/spoiled (and they are), but the amount of control vs chaos in our games nowadays just doesn't lend to much excitement; football fans love fast breaks, chaos, danger, risk, last ditch tackles, Hollywood saves, the cheer when we clear a ball when under a huge amount of pressure-all things to avoid in theory-it naturally lends to a better atmosphere!
Watch out last 20 games and look at how little we move between passes.... The ball is received and everyone stops. No trying to break into a pocket or spin off your man and try and break into forced space.... Literally it doesn't happen!!!! We build up it doesn't work we reset.... We build up it doesn't work we reset.... Where the fuck as the passion gone???? It's almost as if Arteta has created a FIFA team with set plays.... We only play the set plays no chance to bend the rules and go off script. What do Liverpool do that we don't??? They play in the moment and you can see it. They are playing like they are having fun and enjoying the game and they are taking risks because Slot allows them to. We look like we aren't enjoying it... I'm really struggling to get behind Odegaard at the minute because he isn't as creative a player as I think a lot of fans think he is. Break him down and he seems very one dimensional... Does the same thing time and time again. Won't hit shots from outside the box and just doesn't seem to take risks. Declan Rice is a player I get behind because he's not playing his usual game and watching him try and break the lines and make things happen is glorious to watch he's just a machine. I guess what I'm saying is we are trying to play these games like we are a computer and that's not what football is about. Football is about passion, aggression and living in the moment... Not trying to use humans like they are binary coded tools. Bring back the human element.
We don’t have a transitional players we can’t make the best out in transitions bcs odegaard havert merino saka trossad are not transition players rice and martineli are the only 2 martineli is so wasted in his decision and final ball and rice afraid of loosing the ball he won’t use his carrying ability so he plays safe to satisfy Arteta if we want something in transition we need leo/Gordon cunha/nypon baleba/lamin camara to replace martineli odegaard and partey or merino and finally a striker sesko isak gyokers for example rice baleba cunha would be the best in transition they can carry the ball and we bought merino who can’t run let alone carry the ball we already had havert and odegaard who can’t carry Arteta is arrogant and stubborn I would loved to get nagelsman from Germany with his gegenpress and transition base football
Odegaard’s creativity is directly tied to the options available to him. We miss White and Saka tremendously because they offered options to Odegaard and had Chemistry. Can’t create chances if player don’t run to spaces to receive chances
I think with the Samba music and the performance on Wednesday we saw a shift. I think Mikel realised the team need to express themselves, positive affirmation we might see more of it
That extra margin comes from having all our players fit and performing - that hasn't happened this season. Really hard to know how much of that missing spark or x factor would have been there if more of our players stayed fit.
In 2013 Bayern won the treble. Semifinal was against Barca. They won 3-0 and 4-0. Coach was the unbelievable Jupp Heynckes. But do you know what his philosophy was: structure in defensive play and offensively trust the player's creativity in the first place. He gave them so much freedom. It was like unleashing a hyperactive dog. I know we are different but we could benefit from a bit more of trust. Guardiola followed on Heynckes at Munich. With his rigidity this spirit vanished off. The team was still successful. But they've been so much better before.
I am beginning to think and believe this guy, Alex, out of all the arsenal content creators, is the one person who looks at issues on coaching from Mikel's mindset. He is spot on in his analysis of how Mikel sees analyses and approaches things. Iesp liked how he says Mikel relies on metrics and stats that show that what he is doing is right. May fail the eye, and heart, test but on paper it works.
Yeah I do think the solution is a more reliable and consistent Jesus, an agent of chaos. I understand and am aligned with Mikel’s philosophy but I think that little bit added level of spontaneousness should be an individual more so than a system change- even in the slightest. Even though the player would technically shift the system. Also, last night, for the first time, I actually thought to myself, I’d love (one day after Mikel feels like he’s finished his chapter at N5 with many major trophies under his belt of which I’m sure he’ll get), to see a less risk averse manager with some players in his squad. It was particularly after I saw Timber and thought he’s become less expressive (imo - re: flair) than what we was he arrived. Listen, by no means an Arteta Out - I think he will go on to eclipse Wenger is some ways) but I’d like a Wenger like approach (07/08) style teams. Perhaps we evolve into that under Mikel over time. But yeah, love Mikel. In Mikel we trust
Great analysis. Trying to predict everything and minimize risk is great to a certain point, however you are never gonna win anything or achieve something big if you don't trust your players and give them a certain amount of freedom going forward. This fear-driven way of playing football is not going to achieve that what he wants. I am sure he will realise it at some point, the problem is he is so stubborn that that well may be even in a couple of years. Which for me as a fan is too long. Great managers like Ancelotti, Ferguson, Mourinho all had their own tactical vision which their players hat do stick to, but they also knew when to trust their players and let them go with the flow. Trying to play out everything in your head and thinking your the main character in Beautiful mind doesn't work in a dynamic game like football.
@granitxhaka7261 Not just him. You can protest all you want, the only significant variable that's gonna make these owners splash the cash is if we don't make top 4 say 2 seasons in a row. Cause then the self sustaining that is the Arsenal brand will slow down significantly.
We don’t have a transitional players we can’t make the best out in transitions bcs odegaard havert merino saka trossad are not transition players rice and martineli are the only 2 martineli is so wasted in his decision and final ball and rice afraid of loosing the ball he won’t use his carrying ability so he plays safe to satisfy Arteta if we want something in transition we need leo/Gordon cunha/nypon baleba/lamin camara to replace martineli odegaard and partey or merino and finally a striker sesko isak gyokers for example rice baleba cunha would be the best in transition they can carry the ball and we bought merino who can’t run let alone carry the ball we already had havert and odegaard who can’t carry Arteta is arrogant and stubborn I would loved to get nagelsman from Germany with his gegenpress and transition base football
@@orlinmalouchev I understand your point but it's wrong you know why? From Kronke's perspective Arteta has made them 2.5+ billion pounds in revenue and it's why they made him the 2nd highest paid manager in Football imagine were being finessed by Kronke soo hard to pay highest ticket price for winning nothing when if we can pay soo much it pretty much means we can get anyone we want lol but more importantly at Arsenal , especially Arsenal football club the Ambition and Standards are set by either the Fans or Owners because the Fans got Wenger and Emery sacked not Kronke 👍 but yea I don't think Billionare like him care for football or arsenal but hey if we keep protest or empty stadium they might actually because this is the North London Ponzi Scheme I'm afraid and if fans don't call out the owners bs Arsenal will suffer immensely
EXACTLY!!! I've had the same concept from a slightly diff perspective; if games were 900 minutes, Mikel would win 95%+ of the time. But they're not, we only get a few chances in 90'. We won't ever win UCL with his rigid stoic moneyball philosophy, and we probably won't win the league either. It simply has no edge, no bite, and no room for any player who does.
Watching this I was thinking about Napoli's coach when they won the Seria A - Spaletti and I remember that his philosophy was somehow controlled chaos and they were really playing great great football. I also remember people saying that he is a coach that never has a good second season with a team and Napoli didn't even gave him another season after that major win although I don't think his coaching was the issue there..
I also find the Kroenke team connections and potential tactical collaboration across sports very intriguing, but I don’t think it has a big part to play in Arteta’s tactical evolution honestly. This guy was brought up in Catalonia, played in Barca’s academy, worked under Pep, and is now one of the flag bearers of Cruyff’s tactical ancestry in the new generation of managers. Over his career he’s had PLENTY of time to develop a tactical style and philosophy, and while potential outside-the-box influences from other sports are an interesting and recent one, I don’t think they can claim a significant part in Arteta’s philosophy up to this point. Tbf this is all just speculation though 🤷♂️
Wtf are you talking about? 😂😂😂 Arteta has yapped for years and years just how much he uses other sports managers tactics. It's literally something he does daily in a WhatsApp group. You see him applying this shit all across. Arteta's greatest strength is his humility to learn from everyone he comes across.
First, 0:09 Arteta is Basque, they think differently.. Yes, he came up in the Barca system, but the roots of that are Rinus Michels pressing football which was inspired by American basketball's full court press. Any good coach/manager will always be a student of the game and learn from anything he can and apply it accordingly. Arsenal's main problems are not having a consistent starting eleven, which impacts their fluidity; and less than clinical finishing on the many chances they often create. Martinelli and Saka have the capacity to be transition players if they're fed the right kind of balls, but Partey seems to be the only one who looks for that pass with any frequency and he's not going to even look for it from RB. Unfortunately, Martinelli has lost confidence and seems preoccupied with his defensive duties more than attacking and Saka is injured. We really need two new dynamic forwards, ideally ones who can play anywhere up front and are clinical finishers. The front six have become way too static, this is partly due to all the injuries and the rest on Arteta, imho. Arteta's system and approach require certain kinds of players which narrows the choices down and makes finding quality forwards that much more difficult to sign. Havertz is a good false 9, but Arteta needs a fast, killer 9 who understands his system to offer a real alternative when needed. If Martinelli had been playing with the confidence he had before, then Arteta would have had the wide attack on both sides that his system requires to flourish. This also would've reduced the load on Saka. With just slightly better finishing from all the attackers we'd also be in a very different position. We're looking at very fine margins. Football is a glorious combination of art and science, and I think Arteta needs to make a bit more room for the art. As for the Kroenkes, they need to realize that they will make even greater returns once Arsenal start winning silverware again. COYG !!!
I find his style of play so boring and anti Arsenal. If he was winning trophies I would have excused him for that but there’s nothing to show for it. They constantly pass on the wings, it’s too predictable. You always know what they are trying to do
As good as the control system is, we do give away goals to teams who only create one or two chances a game and get punished because we create very little clear cut chances ourselves.
Added to this I feel like he should encourage the players to shoot more. Also train them to really attack the goal through shots. Often our shots are weak and lack any threat to worry teams. Which was not the case previously and how we got some of those late goals to win.
We either need to: 1 Keep the same players but create more chances for them, so be prepared to play riskier diverse football 2 Continue creating the same amount of chances playing the same way but have someone much more capable and clinical at putting away those chances 3 Bring in better wide attacking players who have more capacity to create more chances from the usual areas and bring someone in who is more clinical at converting those chances.
Great analysis. And actually spot on about Mikel. But he doesn't need to change his risk-averse nature, we just need more killers. We only have Saka for individuality. If we could get someone of Saka's level on the other left, and a clinical striker, we'll be unstoppable.
I think you're right, but I think there is a potential to make this happen with personnel, without a huge take away from our current game. I'd look at the roles of players on the field. You brought up Phil Foden. A great player but not usually considered a great defensive player. I've always wondered if we could "play a man down" from the start of a game. Not saying we ask the referee for a red, PGMOL don't get any ideas, but saying perhaps we give one player on the field a "space finder" type role. The ultimate outlet if we get the ball but the player nearly never defends, just looks for attacks. Since we usually have the ball, this player won't be in positions to help if we lose the ball, but they will be in positions to potentially create additional chances. When our players make runs now, it seems one forward, one back, always controlling the field of play with counter actions to every action. But if we had one player who was just told take the game by the scruff of the neck and do as you wish. An Ozil, a Foden, a creative roaming play maker that just looks for ways to make 1-2 extra big chances a game, their only job is to try to increase the xG at all costs.
We are risk averse. The way 2022/2023 season ended for us really affected Arteta philosophically. We've been playing like this since last season. Because Arteta is scarred by the transitional (though exciting for us) game that characterized our play 2 seasons ago. He's has over corrected. Of course it doesn't help that Saka is out, and his other players are all underperforming their xG. Unlike Last season when Havertz and Trossard performed well above their xG. But this slow, deliberate, down the flanks play has been since last yr
This is all pure speculation. But I think it's some of the best thought through and presented speculation that I've ever seen. A really enjoyable watch. Is it possible that injuries have prevented the introduction of a little more chaos? I might be incorrectly recalling Arteta stating that Calaforia will bring more chaos (ala his goal for Italy in the Euros). Plus Saka does bring plenty of it. I also think Martinelli became extremely predictable after Xhaka left but I've seen more of a return to his unpredictability recently. So much so that he'll put in a great cross from the byline and no-one will be there as they weren't expecting it. So, I think you're right but I also wonder if Arteta intended for that to be part of the team this year.
Nice vid and I understand trying to figure out why the manager is doing certain things. Still not good enough. If he like the wings more than everyone else and we want to judge him on that, why didn't he sign a winger knowing those positions are critical to our attack? I also believe the over analysing and data stuff that he likes is killing the creativity of our players, they have no freedom. Football isn't played on a spreadsheet. I really appreciate this video though, its good to try and understand why the manager is making decisions.
That's y Arsenal is so predictable & you can see the frustration on the players' face from trying something they know won't work or having to do what's dictated to them even if their better options in certain. He has made good players look mediocre and ended the career of good players like Smith Rowe.
This is why I absolutely HATE xG. Especially when it's used by people who don't actually watch the matches. 3 or 4 high probability chance in a game are way better than a 20 low probability chances, especially when you don't have clinical finishers.
One wonders how much more polished Arteta would be if he got a few seasons at a lower club and faced regular tribulations before getting the chance of a lifetime with a bigger club. At times it feels like he's still a student, and that aspect of him kinda costs the team.
Tbh, I genuinely think that Arteta’s philosophy makes sense and has serious potential to dominate, especially with what you said. Our focus on controlling possession until we are in the high and wide areas lead to these three main chances of scoring: 1. Wide combination play to lead to cutbacks 2. Half-Space crosses to the back post 3. Getting a corner from having the ball that high up and suffocating the opponent Importantly, we minimise chances we concede because of that philosophy, as backed up by the stats and explained well by you. It’s just a case of executing our chances better and having finishers who can put their foot through the ball properly.
I do believe that few factor like small margin of luck was the only reason why these strategy doesnt always work that way (especially in finishing in final 3rd) Considering how other teams always tryharding themself to became arsenal anti-thesis every match
For me this means one thing: quality. If you don't have the quality you ain't gonna do anything. Not having a proper 9. Or a a proper left winger is hurting us. Also there's games where chaos is needed. Cant always rely on control
I get what your saying. But I think it does highlight an issue. Which is we need to TAKE the risk of filling the half spaces. May have got us a few more points and less draws
This risk adverse philosophy may be his greatest strength but it is also his greatest weakness. He has created a system that requires players to be robotic. Individual brilliance is not wanted by mikel. And that is the fine margin, which will mean his success is limited in the long run.
Carra-wanker isn't misunderstanding Mikel's philosophy, nor is there an assumption; he's just saying it's wrong, choice or not. ...particularly given it's in the *context* of discussion about our struggling chance creation & lacklustre open play goal scoring; we're struggling in this regard because we don't create centrally, choice or not.
Mikel: You see Raheem, what's going to happen in this game is you're going to hold on to the ball for too long, waddle around and not defend well enough, get subbed off, the fans will boo and compare you to a modern day Willian and say that they want you out of their club. Do you understand? Sterling: Yes boss. Mikel: Okay, go out there and show them what you don't have any more! Let's go!
I think the mere fact a novice manager has come into a top team and got them playing a good way proves he actually has a style of play. But also your argument that he’s got us competing doesn’t really stand with me. I’m a 30 yr old arsenal fan that hasn’t watched my team win majors but I’ve always seen us in competing positions and in or around the top half of the table. I want arteta to win mainly because of the work he’s done and he deserves it but he’s also made decisions that have cost us majorly when we needed to be accountable
I think most fans know what Arteta is trying to do. But ask yourself, when last did a team win a major trophy playing the way do and if a team won a trophy how frequently did they win the trophy with that play style. Considering Mikel is a data guy, the answer is obvious- With the exception of Tuchel's Chelsea winning the UCL, no team has ever won or dominated the the major leagues playing like that
Calafiori’s broken play to me is a sign that Arteta wants to move in that direction We have hit a wall with these players hence why we wanted Zubimendi, Sesko and Williams
I don’t understand Mikel’s transfers, smithrowe, tierney, xhaka all players we have been trying to replace with players that have some but never all the qualities of the players they’re letting go of
Arteta seems like a highly controlling manager, but that might also be grounded in his team being comparatively young these past few seasons. At some point he might decide his mainstays like Saka, Odegaard, Rice, GM6, Saliba etc are well versed enough in the tactical thinking behind the instructions that he feels he can trust them more to solve problems on their own, changing the tempo, letting go of some control to allow for more opportunities, as you explain. Arsene Wenger's invincibles were highly trusted to take charge, and most of them were experienced and intelligent enough to make it a winning strategy. This current crop could get to that level very soon I think
Just a point, but if we're looking at how Arteta discusses football risks, we need to talk about how he talks about players who bring chaos. His love of Jesus. His love of Calafiori. Etc. He wants to inject chance taking, but he wants to also educate those chances so the players recognize the timing of when to take them and when to avoid them. It's the portion of the relationism that he seems to have adopted. There's an incredibly robust system underlying everything that takes time to master and once you have mastered it, you can play with more fluidity. To make this point by analogy, if you watch an artist like Peter Han or Kim Jung-Ji on UA-cam, you'll see he does lessons on drawing using block structures to serve as the framework. When you watch him drawing live at a convention for the front of a book or something he doesn't map that structure onto the page, he just starts drawing. They have that underlying structure mapped onto the page in their mind so they're able to draw with more freedom. That freedom is ultimately what Arteta seems to be trying to do with his football. Build the structure, unleash the players. Which is why after 6 months to 1 year, players always seem to drastically improve (Trossard being the only exception really - also why potential youth are spending a year or two training with the first team before getting a debut). They're trying to get the underlying model ingrained first so they can play with freedom second. Even Havertz has matched last season's totals in half the time. We also saw it in how we went from 8th to 5th and then 5th to 2nd. There were clear evolutions in the system style that the players developed an understanding for that allowed them to play more freely within the system and also with what the opposition was providing. LOW-SCORING SPORTS Realistically, football creates more chances to score than the teams in the NFL. While the average game might have point spreads of 21-14, that's really a game of 3-2. In general, an NFL team may only create 3 chances all game unless you are counting each drive, and even then, it's only about 10 chances. Without even looking at chances created (since that number is often higher than shots), Arsenal had 18 shots against Aston Villa, 6 on target, or 31 shot creating actions and 4 goal creating actions. That's relatively comparable compared to say Tennis or Basketball. So you can learn lessons from it a bit more easily in terms of how to control the margins because they carry more weight when there are fewer margin actions. Similarly, you can use hockey and basketball to learn about dynamic movements during plays. American Football teaches about blocking and setting for routines (set pieces). Etc. It's how you use those conversations and lessons that's more important than whether the sport is comparable, which realistically, it kind of is in many respects. Especially since NFL refereeing is notoriously bad in the same vein as the PGMOL.
Arteta thinks he's some genius when the reality is keep it simple play your best players in the right position and give the players freedom to express themselves
@@tekkerz3183 Definitionally, if he did, he wouldn't be seeking out all these other people for new ideas. Also, if it was that simple, PSG would have won the UCL at least once.
WOW, 100000 WORDS TO MAKE AN EXCUSE FOR A MANAGER THAT CLEARY HAS NO STYLE. LOOK AT THE STYLE OF PLAY AT BOURNEMOUTH WITH THEIR MANAGER. ARTETA PLAYED MUSIC FROM ANFIELD IN CHANGING ROOM! THIS IS THE ACT OF A CLOWN WHO GOES FOR “INSPIRATION” OVER “INFORMATION”. THE LITTLE BIT OF SUCCESS WE HAVE HAD IS JUST DUE TO THE 700 MILLION POUND SPEND. NOT ARTETA. WAKE UP. WHAT PREMIER LEAGUE TEAM HAVE WON THE LEAGUE WITHOUT A HIGH SCORING STRIKER. CLUB GAVE ARSENAL £700 MILLION TO SPEND AND IN 5YRS HAS NOT BOUGHT A “PROVEN” STRIKER.
To conclude; Since football isnt like basketball or tennis which is a high scoring game. We should probably get more clinical and more unpredictable risk taking players to create more chances and have better finishes.. Newcastle have Isak. Even with a lower XG, they are still able to win us by 2 goals to nil. Why?? Because they have players who can finish better and take more risk..
U brought out the point Henry made that U play not to win it but not to lose it which is wrong all u have to do is play to win not to lose change the narrative
Had to subscribe mate. I don’t hear anyone else talking about this and it was bugging me why we don’t pass central and take risk as it seems the best way to break the low block. I get the wide play now but we need to take some risks sometimes or we will just have the ball, do nothing and concede anyway. Newcastle in the cup. Or you need one player like Sanchez …create random magic.
Even if you had a player like Alexis (who Mikel played with, mind you) I imagine he'd reel him in very quickly. Remember how many times Alexis used to give the ball away, but that's why we loved him, because he took risks. Just look at Saka. Such a dangerous player, yet he's under strict instructions to hug the touchline.
True. I just think like Grealish complained at Man city that he can’t be himself because of the instructions so we’ve seen a shadow of him compared to villa. But man city take more risks in centrally to break low blocks…like we did when we came back from Dubai last year. I personally like Mikel as manager. It’s just minor tweaks. The team needs releasing a little.
@myxy Can't argue with that. He's an incredible manager. Let's be honest, he knows his own players better than anyone else. Perhaps insane attacking talent might just be what's needed after all. It's not like we haven't seen him play that way before.
It's funny you mention the midfield pockets. After the Zagreb game Declan mentioned how Arteta wants the midfielders to be in those zones. There is an element of calculated risk that I think he wants. I think details like the timing of runs and vertical balls have been suffering because of how unstable our starting 11 has been this season. You yourself mentioned how much we change at left 8 from game to game. It hurts our ability to exercise the automatisms we need to be able to pull teams out on our terms. I believe more central access is a part of Arteta's vision, but implementation has been affected by injuries, fatigue, and players being hesitant to make those runs because they themselves are unsure of that aspect of their game. Only the Saka - Odegaard-White triangle has that kind of chemistry and trust. We see bits of it when Jorginho is on the pitch and Kai suddenly has a lot more willingness for vertical runs for instance. Granit Xhaka was a fantastic metronome for our free flowing play of two seasons ago. That rhythm is yet to be replicated, but I believe we will see it in time. And I still want a forward.
Arteta loves attacking through the flank so he needs good winger.. Martinelli and Trossard need to be as good as Saka then.. Or else find someone else..
Im glad someone is pointing this out been saying this for a few months now. This is why there is no point buying a brand new $80m striker if this is how we are going to play. This style needs someone who can move into the midfield and interlink with other players to get going, most out and out strikers will be stuck like Haaland, not touching the ball for a half but expected to make 50% of his shots. I think this is why we like Cunha so much. That being said, Arteta needs to find ways to bring more chaos or variability into the game. We are way too predictable and we have way too many games where our team is misfiring. We need to find ways to bring the midfield into more attacking positions, just like what we saw that with Rice and Odeegard scoring in the last match. Its all well and good to play it safe, but if you've held the ball for 10 minutes passing it from sideline to sideline, theres a point where you need to take a chance. We also need to see more shots from outside the box. I think the last part of this which will be really interesting is who we bring into the squad to change things up, having a Musiala, Wirtz or Guler would be perfect for us, but seeing as we're going in for Zubimendi I don't see that happening. Rice seems to becoming more direct and adding goals to his game but it really feels like we need an out and out attacking midfield more then we do a striker or winger at this point.
Can perfectly understand Mikel's philosophy but it's inordinately negative. He overestimates the quality of his (flawed) forwards to transcend the rote predictability of his system... and yet it's also a system that minimises opportunities for individual brilliance and risk-taking, which is necessary in certain game states. (I think it's part of the reason Martinelli's game hasn't developed in the slightest in the last two years). There's a reason we attempt few long-range shots or take additional touches when a 25-yard vista unfurls and it's likely because Arteta views any telegraphed shot outside the box as the catalyst for an opposition counter. It's percentage football on steroids and the lack of dynamism in midfield and offense does not help matters. The lack of technical quality in his side was at times nakedly apparent against Zagreb. Martinelli doesn't have the ability to consistently outmanoeuvre defenders in wide areas and Havertz just isn't sharp enough to adjust his body and feet in a single sequence when you need high-level efficiency (i.e. the crunch games). He's a decent player but a lot of his goals are first-time finishes. Arteta's management is all about contingency and unless you have a squad replete with ability to transcend it, you will get out found by elite teams who aren't afraid to let their quality do the talking. He's a good but one-dimensional manager and we won't big things under his stewardship until he figures out to loosen the reins and accommodate some specialists... and he has yet to deliver a 'shiny thing' (or meaningful final) of any description with a squad that he can categorically call his own. Also, Havertz as an 8 (in actuality, a de facto false 9 given how he plays) behind a CF has never worked against decent, balanced opposition... and yet it still rears its head from time-to-time. Arteta has had half-a-decade to augment the forward line and the sum total of his purposive investment there is Jesus and Trossard. There are legitimate question marks as to why Arteta's least ambitious and most sparse purchases have occurred in this part of the pitch.
This is an amazing comment. Arteta is doing everything to try to minimize as much risk as possible forgetting that risk breeds reward and it’s the coaches job to drill in a team when to take such risks and obviously identify (and coach) the players to execute them consistently. His model may seem sustainable on paper but Alex’s point on football being a low-scoring sport and having less margins is exactly why it’s not as sustainable as it seems.
@sperrotta91 Meaning it doesn't work and never will. Footballers do not fit into systems very well. You have to have times when the kitchen sink goes into it and you have to go for it. A concept utterly alien to SouthArtetagate. I said from day one with that Smith Rowe false 9 fiasco that we're winning nothing under Arteta. Sadly, I'm right
We don’t have a transitional players we can’t make the best out in transitions bcs odegaard havert merino saka trossad are not transition players rice and martineli are the only 2 martineli is so wasted in his decision and final ball and rice afraid of loosing the ball he won’t use his carrying ability so he plays safe to satisfy Arteta if we want something in transition we need leo/Gordon cunha/nypon baleba/lamin camara to replace martineli odegaard and partey or merino and finally a striker sesko isak gyokers for example rice baleba cunha would be the best in transition they can carry the ball and we bought merino who can’t run let alone carry the ball we already had havert and odegaard who can’t carry Arteta is arrogant and stubborn I would loved to get nagelsman from Germany with his gegenpress and transition base football
Great analysis, i describe his tactic as "afraid to lose tactics" i dont care if he stays or not. Coz i already accepted Arteta is a top four (not champion)manager at his best atm.
Over the course of a premier league season, his approach ought to have the statistically significant number of actions to be highly effective. We're becoming that highly efficient monster team. Apart from early 2024, we're missing that streak potential to blow teams off the pitch. I haven't seen it often. We win by fine margins more often than we definitely beat them on the scoreboard. We had so many late winners two seasons ago, and it was amazing to watch. However, we're lacking that control Arteta wants. We should be able to see it in each game and not just in the stats. It might bear out often in the stats over the course of a season, but we're just not dominant like he wants us to be.
Agree on the unpredictability idea. Mikel’s current plan is now easy for the opposition to defend, and as they improve their defending, the no. of chances we create reduces. What we’ve said all-season is that Mikel’s plan therefore requires an exceptional striker who can score from 80% of the chances that we create. Brighton, Newcastle, United, Villa, even D Zagreb - we DID create chances, but didn’t have the player/s to take them. This is the flaw in Mikel’s plan.
What this means is that we need magic, which exits in the gray area between the boundary of chaos and order. I agree. Its long been known that sports have intangibles - heart, belief, players playing way above their normal levels, team cohesion at almost telepathic levels...all that doesn't come from data. I suspect Mikel will struggle for silverware in competitions where the variability of the human players far exceeds the regimented data-driven style. Golden state warriors does not become a dynasty without Steph's outrageous 3 point shooting percentage, the "riskiest" way to score in all of basketball.
Net result is that Arsenal is too predictable and the opposition just sits back and defends the final actions that lead to goals. Looks like we now play to get corner kicks and hope to score from set-pieces that for the most part the opposition has learnt to defend against. You can see the frustration on the players' faces after games and must being biting their tongues not to complain. It makes very technically gifted players look mediocre and ended the career of Smith Rowe. Hope players don't start to leave out of frustration.
Someone who hates risk wouldnt spend 65m and 250k a week on a player thats been horrible for 3 years when there was better targets that were more suited to what we needed.
And that horrible player has the highest xG chain in the team and will be our top scorer this season. What a shit player, especially how hard he works and how available he is. So shit.
@kamazooliy You expect a striker to score more, though, just because they're closest to goal - particularly when they play the most minutes. If you really want to make that point, you'll need to draw up a coefficient to equalise goal scoring across positions, to see who's really contributing & at what rate.
@@kamazooliy i never said he was shit so idk why your playing that card. Hes a good player and i would be happy with him if he was a impact sub coming off the bench on 150k a week max.
Great analysis on the balance between control and unpredictability and the opportunity difference between high scoring and low scoring sports. It rings true as a model that describes our approach and its flaws.
I like the idea of unpredictability, but it also the idea of Mikel being predictable that saw us spank just about everyone we met in the last 18 or so games last season. And we were good too.
I'm not a big fan of the way we build our attackers solely thru the wings. I know its supposed to stretch the pitch and provide security but it ends up leaving our wingers isolated in 2 or 3 vs 1...which results in them putting in a hopeful cross. Our players should be capable of building thru the middle, breaking defensive lines with thru balls and being composed enough to make pivotal passes during counter attacks
@kunimitsune177 it's the internet...how old are u that u still don't know how slang and short form words work. Also I love how u added nothing of substance except for some self absolved literary correction
interesting outfit choice with the turtleneck under the button up shirt
Saves on heating costs ?
Not talked about enough
Was gonna say this😂😂😂
I can't tell if it's posh or not. I'm American I barely know what that means but turtleneck feels posh
Incredible drip
I think you are completely accurate in your analysis. I have been saying the exact same thing to my friends, teammates, and anyone else who would listen. Arteta is an excellent detail-oriented manager, and we would do well to find anyone at this time who would do a better job with what he's been given. That being said, he is highly risk-averse. He has always been that way, starting from his first (or second) FA Cup-winning season. We won by limiting opportunities for our opponents and relying on Auba to do some magic when he's in the 18. While that is an effective way to play, it often does not allow us enough clear-cut opportunities, especially in a sport where a draw is just as good as a win for some teams. When we play "bigger" teams, our record is substantially better due to his approach. These teams are willing to or are pushed by fans, coaches, or their own pride to open themselves up, which enables us to get opportunities. This is not the case when playing against competent, but not traditional, "top 6 teams" like Newcastle and Aston Villa. They can sit back and soak up pressure but also have the players to punish our mistakes. This is why we struggle with these teams. On the balance of play, if you put in enough crosses and put your opponent under enough pressure, you SHOULD win more games than others. But that is not enough in this league. You need to make things happen constantly to ensure that you win. If you play on fine margins, those margins will sometimes work against you. As you stated, football is a low-scoring sport, such that getting 20 small XG opportunities still equals one big chance given to your opponent for whatever reason. One cannot control everything at all times. If Arteta insists on playing by the numbers, he must either 1 - get a more clinical striker so that those chances created actually matter or, in my opinion, the better option, 2 - coach his team to be able to identify when and where to counterattack...pick their moments. I believe that taking more risks in transition will lead to more chances overall, but most importantly, more big chances. Arsenal's rest defense is excellent in their horseshoe-shaped attack; I would not change that. I would only ask that the team is coached to choose 5-10 moments throughout the game to be aggressive in transition in hopes of creating more big chances. While this would open up our defense if we lose the ball in the attack, our defense is good enough to hold out for a moment, and our wingers are disciplined enough to get back if needed. It is a calculated risk, but I think you can get the best of both worlds by doing so. Appreciate the content btw.
Modern internet has ruined me because I can't even be asked to read this
We don’t have a transitional players we can’t make the best out in transitions bcs odegaard havert merino saka trossad are not transition players rice and martineli are the only 2 martineli is so wasted in his decision and final ball and rice afraid of loosing the ball he won’t use his carrying ability so he plays safe to satisfy Arteta if we want something in transition we need leo/Gordon cunha/nypon baleba/lamin camara to replace martineli odegaard and partey or merino and finally a striker sesko isak gyokers for example rice baleba cunha would be the best in transition they can carry the ball and we bought merino who can’t run let alone carry the ball we already had havert and odegaard who can’t carry Arteta is arrogant and stubborn I would loved to get nagelsman from Germany with his gegenpress and transition base football
It would be more digestible if he at least spaced out the essay into paragraphs, it's not entirely the internet's fault since this is tough to read regardless
@@olsenfernandes3634
Apparently you can't be assed to spell either@@olsenfernandes3634
I think the biggest issue is that there is a significantly different approach Arsenal employ this season compared to last season.
I would be curious to see the average position of Partey/ Rice/ Jorginho/Saliba/Gabriel - (I believe Gabriel is actually higher) compared to last 2 seasons.
I think we have deviated from creating margins by forcing errors and chaos in the opposition 3rd.
We are steadily pushing to limiting how much errors we cause by trying to dominate possession, which has made us significantly more prone to errors.
This is basic Game Theory (Nash Equilibrium). Arteta wants to get as close to Game Theory Optimal (GTO) as possible, any deviation is ultimately exploitable and will, in the long run, lead to worse outcomes. You are correct, Nash moves to equilibrium over a large sample size, whether a large number of moments in a single game, or over many games. Variance on a low sample size can lead to sub-optimal outcomes (draws rather than wins, losses rather than draws). Game Theory in general tends to result in mixed strategies being optimal (GTO), so you don't always have the same strategy 100% of the time, you need to mix different strategies at optimal percentages. In laymen's terms don't use the same strategy all the time or you will become predictable !
Love this comment 👌🏽!!
The galaxy brain take was absolutely mind blowing ! You're an outlier of an analyst my friend! Kudos to you. More power to you!
this brother is a mastermind...we need to give him time...❤
Another 5 years? Another 700 mil?
shut up artetasexual
My is that a YK dp
@@boshankers12 probably another 3 year and 3/4 hundred mill
@@durk88 a billion, 8 years and we might win the league cup perhaps?
Fantastic video. This is why we need ONE maverick player. Just one. There has to be a trade off like you said with regards to predictability and control vs 'maverick'-ness. Every player we get linked with heavily sounds like the best player for our system. Just having one tweak, having a Doku-esque player, where we trust in our rock solid defence to win it back. I am super scared about signing a maverick and then he gets transformed into a system player with Mikel. And ovviously i am going to add plausible deniability clauses by saying i would love for Mikel to sign that maverick player and show us.
I agree to an extent. I guess the compromise could be that Arteta allows the maverick player to turn on the switch at a certain point in the game if we are still struggling with the system
I'll point out we have a few maverick players (Jesus and Calafiori). They're just injured. Which I suspect is a result of their maverick-ness. When you don't do something predictable, opposition teams have to disrupt by being wildly aggressive or maverick themselves. More tackles, etc. leads to more injuries. Which means you kind of can't rely on maverick players that much. And you have a catch-22 as a result.
Zinchenko is a maverick player as well. but fans don't always enjoy it😅😅
@@nicklikethesoupOur mavericks are a CB that’s plays left back and a striker than can’t score and wants to play on the wings… you guys don’t listen to yourselves. Please tell me the other title winning teams that rely on their left back and striker, that has shown no consistent goal scoring ability, to be their maverick and lead them to PL and CLs!?
Our only true maverick is Saka and unfortunately he is injured.
@@Kobble8Any idea if and when that's going to happen?
Thanks
I love what you said about margins. I like to think of these 'margins' from a statistics perspective as random variables. There's a concept in statistics called the central limit theorem. The basic idea is that the more times you allow an random event to happen, the closer the observed outcome is to the expected outcome. For instance, as you continue flipping a coin, you would expect the average number of tails to get closer and closer to 50%.
When you are the better team, you are obviously more likely to win the game. However, there is always some aspect of randomness to football. This is where we can consider the central limit theorem. On average, the better team should win. Taking on more margins will increase the predictability of your advantage (lower variance of outcome). These games we have been playing, with a low volume of chances, have much higher variance in outcome. We are still expected to win, but it is much less predictable.
There is also something to be said about low scoring games being more likely to result in draws. I think we have just been unlucky this year though. We have had way more draws this year than previous years.
Great video.. and picked up perfectly that Mikel is intentional mate
Thank you so much for making these videos. Brightens my day every time. Top notch analysis.
This sums it up. Absolutely fascinating. The best football video ive seen in a while on UA-cam. Kudos!!!
He hates risk... except when it comes to signing injury prone players
I totally understand this, but if this is method,surely over the years there should be emphasis on getting better 1V1 players in those areas, how does this suit a martinelli, trossard & even saka when most of there best actions are central.
I love the content, you’re always able to come up with content that gets me thinking in a different perspective. Hope the channel keeps growing.
I think this explains why, after the 3-0 Zagreb win, I overheard fans on the tube say it was a "drab game"… at the time I thought they were just entitled/spoiled (and they are), but the amount of control vs chaos in our games nowadays just doesn't lend to much excitement; football fans love fast breaks, chaos, danger, risk, last ditch tackles, Hollywood saves, the cheer when we clear a ball when under a huge amount of pressure-all things to avoid in theory-it naturally lends to a better atmosphere!
Awesome analysis and video. Really appreciate how you can make a video analysis with such insight and quality, with so many funny bits.
I don't know how all your videos could be so amazing!!!
Love the content man but the turtleneck shirt combo is a bit of a mental one
Watch out last 20 games and look at how little we move between passes.... The ball is received and everyone stops.
No trying to break into a pocket or spin off your man and try and break into forced space.... Literally it doesn't happen!!!!
We build up it doesn't work we reset.... We build up it doesn't work we reset....
Where the fuck as the passion gone????
It's almost as if Arteta has created a FIFA team with set plays.... We only play the set plays no chance to bend the rules and go off script.
What do Liverpool do that we don't???
They play in the moment and you can see it. They are playing like they are having fun and enjoying the game and they are taking risks because Slot allows them to.
We look like we aren't enjoying it... I'm really struggling to get behind Odegaard at the minute because he isn't as creative a player as I think a lot of fans think he is.
Break him down and he seems very one dimensional... Does the same thing time and time again. Won't hit shots from outside the box and just doesn't seem to take risks.
Declan Rice is a player I get behind because he's not playing his usual game and watching him try and break the lines and make things happen is glorious to watch he's just a machine.
I guess what I'm saying is we are trying to play these games like we are a computer and that's not what football is about. Football is about passion, aggression and living in the moment... Not trying to use humans like they are binary coded tools.
Bring back the human element.
*set pieces
There are no plays in football.
We don’t have a transitional players we can’t make the best out in transitions bcs odegaard havert merino saka trossad are not transition players rice and martineli are the only 2 martineli is so wasted in his decision and final ball and rice afraid of loosing the ball he won’t use his carrying ability so he plays safe to satisfy Arteta if we want something in transition we need leo/Gordon cunha/nypon baleba/lamin camara to replace martineli odegaard and partey or merino and finally a striker sesko isak gyokers for example rice baleba cunha would be the best in transition they can carry the ball and we bought merino who can’t run let alone carry the ball we already had havert and odegaard who can’t carry Arteta is arrogant and stubborn I would loved to get nagelsman from Germany with his gegenpress and transition base football
@@zakiabdi8467respectfully, use punctuation. I can't read what you've just said because it's all one damn sentence... add commas😂
Odegaard’s creativity is directly tied to the options available to him.
We miss White and Saka tremendously because they offered options to Odegaard and had Chemistry.
Can’t create chances if player don’t run to spaces to receive chances
I think with the Samba music and the performance on Wednesday we saw a shift. I think Mikel realised the team need to express themselves, positive affirmation we might see more of it
That extra margin comes from having all our players fit and performing - that hasn't happened this season. Really hard to know how much of that missing spark or x factor would have been there if more of our players stayed fit.
Yes, thank you , exactly!!!
Hi Alex 👋, I hope all is good 👋 👦 ☺️ 👍 😊 🙏. I agree with your comments about Mikal Arteta coaching. Have a good day Alex 😂. Arsenal rocks 🏆 🙏 🤲 🪨 🎸 😀.
In 2013 Bayern won the treble. Semifinal was against Barca. They won 3-0 and 4-0. Coach was the unbelievable Jupp Heynckes. But do you know what his philosophy was: structure in defensive play and offensively trust the player's creativity in the first place. He gave them so much freedom. It was like unleashing a hyperactive dog.
I know we are different but we could benefit from a bit more of trust. Guardiola followed on Heynckes at Munich. With his rigidity this spirit vanished off. The team was still successful. But they've been so much better before.
I am beginning to think and believe this guy, Alex, out of all the arsenal content creators, is the one person who looks at issues on coaching from Mikel's mindset. He is spot on in his analysis of how Mikel sees analyses and approaches things. Iesp liked how he says Mikel relies on metrics and stats that show that what he is doing is right. May fail the eye, and heart, test but on paper it works.
Yeah I do think the solution is a more reliable and consistent Jesus, an agent of chaos. I understand and am aligned with Mikel’s philosophy but I think that little bit added level of spontaneousness should be an individual more so than a system change- even in the slightest. Even though the player would technically shift the system.
Also, last night, for the first time, I actually thought to myself, I’d love (one day after Mikel feels like he’s finished his chapter at N5 with many major trophies under his belt of which I’m sure he’ll get), to see a less risk averse manager with some players in his squad. It was particularly after I saw Timber and thought he’s become less expressive (imo - re: flair) than what we was he arrived. Listen, by no means an Arteta Out - I think he will go on to eclipse Wenger is some ways) but I’d like a Wenger like approach (07/08) style teams. Perhaps we evolve into that under Mikel over time. But yeah, love Mikel. In Mikel we trust
Great analysis. Trying to predict everything and minimize risk is great to a certain point, however you are never gonna win anything or achieve something big if you don't trust your players and give them a certain amount of freedom going forward. This fear-driven way of playing football is not going to achieve that what he wants. I am sure he will realise it at some point, the problem is he is so stubborn that that well may be even in a couple of years. Which for me as a fan is too long. Great managers like Ancelotti, Ferguson, Mourinho all had their own tactical vision which their players hat do stick to, but they also knew when to trust their players and let them go with the flow. Trying to play out everything in your head and thinking your the main character in Beautiful mind doesn't work in a dynamic game like football.
I fear we will lose Saliba if we don't protest against Kronke's lack of Ambition and Standards for Arsenal
@granitxhaka7261 Not just him. You can protest all you want, the only significant variable that's gonna make these owners splash the cash is if we don't make top 4 say 2 seasons in a row. Cause then the self sustaining that is the Arsenal brand will slow down significantly.
*cash mashine
We don’t have a transitional players we can’t make the best out in transitions bcs odegaard havert merino saka trossad are not transition players rice and martineli are the only 2 martineli is so wasted in his decision and final ball and rice afraid of loosing the ball he won’t use his carrying ability so he plays safe to satisfy Arteta if we want something in transition we need leo/Gordon cunha/nypon baleba/lamin camara to replace martineli odegaard and partey or merino and finally a striker sesko isak gyokers for example rice baleba cunha would be the best in transition they can carry the ball and we bought merino who can’t run let alone carry the ball we already had havert and odegaard who can’t carry Arteta is arrogant and stubborn I would loved to get nagelsman from Germany with his gegenpress and transition base football
@@orlinmalouchev I understand your point but it's wrong you know why? From Kronke's perspective Arteta has made them 2.5+ billion pounds in revenue and it's why they made him the 2nd highest paid manager in Football imagine were being finessed by Kronke soo hard to pay highest ticket price for winning nothing when if we can pay soo much it pretty much means we can get anyone we want lol but more importantly at Arsenal , especially Arsenal football club the Ambition and Standards are set by either the Fans or Owners because the Fans got Wenger and Emery sacked not Kronke 👍 but yea I don't think Billionare like him care for football or arsenal but hey if we keep protest or empty stadium they might actually because this is the North London Ponzi Scheme I'm afraid and if fans don't call out the owners bs Arsenal will suffer immensely
Haven't seen a surf shark ad in a while, Damn bro didn't only fall off, he literally drowned
EXACTLY!!! I've had the same concept from a slightly diff perspective; if games were 900 minutes, Mikel would win 95%+ of the time. But they're not, we only get a few chances in 90'. We won't ever win UCL with his rigid stoic moneyball philosophy, and we probably won't win the league either. It simply has no edge, no bite, and no room for any player who does.
bloody brilliant yet again
Watching this I was thinking about Napoli's coach when they won the Seria A - Spaletti and I remember that his philosophy was somehow controlled chaos and they were really playing great great football. I also remember people saying that he is a coach that never has a good second season with a team and Napoli didn't even gave him another season after that major win although I don't think his coaching was the issue there..
I also find the Kroenke team connections and potential tactical collaboration across sports very intriguing, but I don’t think it has a big part to play in Arteta’s tactical evolution honestly. This guy was brought up in Catalonia, played in Barca’s academy, worked under Pep, and is now one of the flag bearers of Cruyff’s tactical ancestry in the new generation of managers. Over his career he’s had PLENTY of time to develop a tactical style and philosophy, and while potential outside-the-box influences from other sports are an interesting and recent one, I don’t think they can claim a significant part in Arteta’s philosophy up to this point. Tbf this is all just speculation though 🤷♂️
Wtf are you talking about? 😂😂😂 Arteta has yapped for years and years just how much he uses other sports managers tactics. It's literally something he does daily in a WhatsApp group. You see him applying this shit all across. Arteta's greatest strength is his humility to learn from everyone he comes across.
First, 0:09 Arteta is Basque, they think differently.. Yes, he came up in the Barca system, but the roots of that are Rinus Michels pressing football which was inspired by American basketball's full court press.
Any good coach/manager will always be a student of the game and learn from anything he can and apply it accordingly.
Arsenal's main problems are not having a consistent starting eleven, which impacts their fluidity; and less than clinical finishing on the many chances they often create.
Martinelli and Saka have the capacity to be transition players if they're fed the right kind of balls, but Partey seems to be the only one who looks for that pass with any frequency and he's not going to even look for it from RB. Unfortunately, Martinelli has lost confidence and seems preoccupied with his defensive duties more than attacking and Saka is injured.
We really need two new dynamic forwards, ideally ones who can play anywhere up front and are clinical finishers. The front six have become way too static, this is partly due to all the injuries and the rest on Arteta, imho.
Arteta's system and approach require certain kinds of players which narrows the choices down and makes finding quality forwards that much more difficult to sign.
Havertz is a good false 9, but Arteta needs a fast, killer 9 who understands his system to offer a real alternative when needed.
If Martinelli had been playing with the confidence he had before, then Arteta would have had the wide attack on both sides that his system requires to flourish. This also would've reduced the load on Saka. With just slightly better finishing from all the attackers we'd also be in a very different position.
We're looking at very fine margins.
Football is a glorious combination of art and science, and I think Arteta needs to make a bit more room for the art.
As for the Kroenkes, they need to realize that they will make even greater returns once Arsenal start winning silverware again.
COYG !!!
That intro, Bro! 😂
I find his style of play so boring and anti Arsenal. If he was winning trophies I would have excused him for that but there’s nothing to show for it. They constantly pass on the wings, it’s too predictable. You always know what they are trying to do
As good as the control system is, we do give away goals to teams who only create one or two chances a game and get punished because we create very little clear cut chances ourselves.
100,000,000 views in 4 minutes bro might not have fallen off
Added to this I feel like he should encourage the players to shoot more. Also train them to really attack the goal through shots. Often our shots are weak and lack any threat to worry teams. Which was not the case previously and how we got some of those late goals to win.
We either need to:
1 Keep the same players but create more chances for them, so be prepared to play riskier diverse football
2 Continue creating the same amount of chances playing the same way but have someone much more capable and clinical at putting away those chances
3 Bring in better wide attacking players who have more capacity to create more chances from the usual areas and bring someone in who is more clinical at converting those chances.
Great analysis. And actually spot on about Mikel. But he doesn't need to change his risk-averse nature, we just need more killers.
We only have Saka for individuality. If we could get someone of Saka's level on the other left, and a clinical striker, we'll be unstoppable.
Excellent analysis 👍🏾
I love your work
man used the wii tennis game 🤣🤣🤣🤣 I'm weak 😂
The thinking Gooners vlog. Excellent!
Can we talk about how we're among the worst counter-attacking teams
I think you're right, but I think there is a potential to make this happen with personnel, without a huge take away from our current game.
I'd look at the roles of players on the field. You brought up Phil Foden. A great player but not usually considered a great defensive player. I've always wondered if we could "play a man down" from the start of a game. Not saying we ask the referee for a red, PGMOL don't get any ideas, but saying perhaps we give one player on the field a "space finder" type role. The ultimate outlet if we get the ball but the player nearly never defends, just looks for attacks. Since we usually have the ball, this player won't be in positions to help if we lose the ball, but they will be in positions to potentially create additional chances. When our players make runs now, it seems one forward, one back, always controlling the field of play with counter actions to every action. But if we had one player who was just told take the game by the scruff of the neck and do as you wish. An Ozil, a Foden, a creative roaming play maker that just looks for ways to make 1-2 extra big chances a game, their only job is to try to increase the xG at all costs.
We are risk averse. The way 2022/2023 season ended for us really affected Arteta philosophically. We've been playing like this since last season. Because Arteta is scarred by the transitional (though exciting for us) game that characterized our play 2 seasons ago. He's has over corrected. Of course it doesn't help that Saka is out, and his other players are all underperforming their xG. Unlike Last season when Havertz and Trossard performed well above their xG. But this slow, deliberate, down the flanks play has been since last yr
The perm, the roll neck, this is the intelligentsia.
This is all pure speculation. But I think it's some of the best thought through and presented speculation that I've ever seen. A really enjoyable watch. Is it possible that injuries have prevented the introduction of a little more chaos? I might be incorrectly recalling Arteta stating that Calaforia will bring more chaos (ala his goal for Italy in the Euros). Plus Saka does bring plenty of it. I also think Martinelli became extremely predictable after Xhaka left but I've seen more of a return to his unpredictability recently. So much so that he'll put in a great cross from the byline and no-one will be there as they weren't expecting it. So, I think you're right but I also wonder if Arteta intended for that to be part of the team this year.
We need to give the opposition more of the ball. I now it’s a lot more complex. But we need to go backwards to go forwards.
Nice vid and I understand trying to figure out why the manager is doing certain things. Still not good enough. If he like the wings more than everyone else and we want to judge him on that, why didn't he sign a winger knowing those positions are critical to our attack? I also believe the over analysing and data stuff that he likes is killing the creativity of our players, they have no freedom. Football isn't played on a spreadsheet. I really appreciate this video though, its good to try and understand why the manager is making decisions.
Good to understand the excuses his fanboys will male*
@Contextualiser16-tn8nd
Asterisk first you rube; you've just indicated an addendum to come🤦🏻♂️
That's y Arsenal is so predictable & you can see the frustration on the players' face from trying something they know won't work or having to do what's dictated to them even if their better options in certain. He has made good players look mediocre and ended the career of good players like Smith Rowe.
This is why I absolutely HATE xG. Especially when it's used by people who don't actually watch the matches. 3 or 4 high probability chance in a game are way better than a 20 low probability chances, especially when you don't have clinical finishers.
One wonders how much more polished Arteta would be if he got a few seasons at a lower club and faced regular tribulations before getting the chance of a lifetime with a bigger club.
At times it feels like he's still a student, and that aspect of him kinda costs the team.
He IS still a student
I agree with this view
Tbh, I genuinely think that Arteta’s philosophy makes sense and has serious potential to dominate, especially with what you said. Our focus on controlling possession until we are in the high and wide areas lead to these three main chances of scoring:
1. Wide combination play to lead to cutbacks
2. Half-Space crosses to the back post
3. Getting a corner from having the ball that high up and suffocating the opponent
Importantly, we minimise chances we concede because of that philosophy, as backed up by the stats and explained well by you. It’s just a case of executing our chances better and having finishers who can put their foot through the ball properly.
Boring football and over coached. We aren’t even a big threat in attack
I do believe that few factor like small margin of luck was the only reason why these strategy doesnt always work that way (especially in finishing in final 3rd)
Considering how other teams always tryharding themself to became arsenal anti-thesis every match
How many EPL clubs have you coached before?
Roughly...
For me this means one thing: quality. If you don't have the quality you ain't gonna do anything. Not having a proper 9. Or a a proper left winger is hurting us. Also there's games where chaos is needed. Cant always rely on control
I get what your saying. But I think it does highlight an issue. Which is we need to TAKE the risk of filling the half spaces. May have got us a few more points and less draws
Very interesting opinion.
This risk adverse philosophy may be his greatest strength but it is also his greatest weakness. He has created a system that requires players to be robotic. Individual brilliance is not wanted by mikel. And that is the fine margin, which will mean his success is limited in the long run.
Great Video.
Carra-wanker isn't misunderstanding Mikel's philosophy, nor is there an assumption; he's just saying it's wrong, choice or not.
...particularly given it's in the *context* of discussion about our struggling chance creation & lacklustre open play goal scoring; we're struggling in this regard because we don't create centrally, choice or not.
Arteta is obssessed with solidity first. If you lose possession out wide you stand a better chance of not being vulnerable to quick counter.
Cuhna & Gyokeres could help I thk they play centrely with gyo playing both wings cuhna attacking the centre
Lovely analysis ❤️
But how many cutbacks have we scored tho
Mikel: You see Raheem, what's going to happen in this game is you're going to hold on to the ball for too long, waddle around and not defend well enough, get subbed off, the fans will boo and compare you to a modern day Willian and say that they want you out of their club. Do you understand?
Sterling: Yes boss.
Mikel: Okay, go out there and show them what you don't have any more! Let's go!
I think the mere fact a novice manager has come into a top team and got them playing a good way proves he actually has a style of play. But also your argument that he’s got us competing doesn’t really stand with me. I’m a 30 yr old arsenal fan that hasn’t watched my team win majors but I’ve always seen us in competing positions and in or around the top half of the table. I want arteta to win mainly because of the work he’s done and he deserves it but he’s also made decisions that have cost us majorly when we needed to be accountable
damn...almost had me at 1:56 i miss sharky
I think most fans know what Arteta is trying to do. But ask yourself, when last did a team win a major trophy playing the way do and if a team won a trophy how frequently did they win the trophy with that play style. Considering Mikel is a data guy, the answer is obvious- With the exception of Tuchel's Chelsea winning the UCL, no team has ever won or dominated the the major leagues playing like that
You can the players are instructed not to shoot from low percentage angles
Calafiori’s broken play to me is a sign that Arteta wants to move in that direction
We have hit a wall with these players hence why we wanted Zubimendi, Sesko and Williams
I don’t understand Mikel’s transfers, smithrowe, tierney, xhaka all players we have been trying to replace with players that have some but never all the qualities of the players they’re letting go of
Arteta seems like a highly controlling manager, but that might also be grounded in his team being comparatively young these past few seasons. At some point he might decide his mainstays like Saka, Odegaard, Rice, GM6, Saliba etc are well versed enough in the tactical thinking behind the instructions that he feels he can trust them more to solve problems on their own, changing the tempo, letting go of some control to allow for more opportunities, as you explain. Arsene Wenger's invincibles were highly trusted to take charge, and most of them were experienced and intelligent enough to make it a winning strategy. This current crop could get to that level very soon I think
I like arteta but we need tangible success which is is trophies no more excuses arteta has been given the time and money
High-quality chance creation doesn't mean anything if you don't have a killer upfront.
Just a point, but if we're looking at how Arteta discusses football risks, we need to talk about how he talks about players who bring chaos. His love of Jesus. His love of Calafiori. Etc. He wants to inject chance taking, but he wants to also educate those chances so the players recognize the timing of when to take them and when to avoid them. It's the portion of the relationism that he seems to have adopted. There's an incredibly robust system underlying everything that takes time to master and once you have mastered it, you can play with more fluidity.
To make this point by analogy, if you watch an artist like Peter Han or Kim Jung-Ji on UA-cam, you'll see he does lessons on drawing using block structures to serve as the framework. When you watch him drawing live at a convention for the front of a book or something he doesn't map that structure onto the page, he just starts drawing. They have that underlying structure mapped onto the page in their mind so they're able to draw with more freedom.
That freedom is ultimately what Arteta seems to be trying to do with his football. Build the structure, unleash the players. Which is why after 6 months to 1 year, players always seem to drastically improve (Trossard being the only exception really - also why potential youth are spending a year or two training with the first team before getting a debut). They're trying to get the underlying model ingrained first so they can play with freedom second. Even Havertz has matched last season's totals in half the time. We also saw it in how we went from 8th to 5th and then 5th to 2nd. There were clear evolutions in the system style that the players developed an understanding for that allowed them to play more freely within the system and also with what the opposition was providing.
LOW-SCORING SPORTS
Realistically, football creates more chances to score than the teams in the NFL. While the average game might have point spreads of 21-14, that's really a game of 3-2. In general, an NFL team may only create 3 chances all game unless you are counting each drive, and even then, it's only about 10 chances. Without even looking at chances created (since that number is often higher than shots), Arsenal had 18 shots against Aston Villa, 6 on target, or 31 shot creating actions and 4 goal creating actions. That's relatively comparable compared to say Tennis or Basketball. So you can learn lessons from it a bit more easily in terms of how to control the margins because they carry more weight when there are fewer margin actions.
Similarly, you can use hockey and basketball to learn about dynamic movements during plays. American Football teaches about blocking and setting for routines (set pieces). Etc. It's how you use those conversations and lessons that's more important than whether the sport is comparable, which realistically, it kind of is in many respects. Especially since NFL refereeing is notoriously bad in the same vein as the PGMOL.
Very well intellectually said
Arteta thinks he's some genius when the reality is keep it simple play your best players in the right position and give the players freedom to express themselves
@@tekkerz3183 Definitionally, if he did, he wouldn't be seeking out all these other people for new ideas. Also, if it was that simple, PSG would have won the UCL at least once.
😂
WOW, 100000 WORDS TO MAKE AN EXCUSE FOR A MANAGER THAT CLEARY HAS NO STYLE. LOOK AT THE STYLE OF PLAY AT BOURNEMOUTH WITH THEIR MANAGER.
ARTETA PLAYED MUSIC FROM ANFIELD IN CHANGING ROOM! THIS IS THE ACT OF A CLOWN WHO GOES FOR “INSPIRATION” OVER “INFORMATION”.
THE LITTLE BIT OF SUCCESS WE HAVE HAD IS JUST DUE TO THE 700 MILLION POUND SPEND. NOT ARTETA. WAKE UP.
WHAT PREMIER LEAGUE TEAM HAVE WON THE LEAGUE WITHOUT A HIGH SCORING STRIKER. CLUB GAVE ARSENAL £700 MILLION TO SPEND AND IN 5YRS HAS NOT BOUGHT A “PROVEN” STRIKER.
What's all this genius intricacies leading to??
To conclude; Since football isnt like basketball or tennis which is a high scoring game. We should probably get more clinical and more unpredictable risk taking players to create more chances and have better finishes.. Newcastle have Isak. Even with a lower XG, they are still able to win us by 2 goals to nil. Why?? Because they have players who can finish better and take more risk..
U brought out the point Henry made that U play not to win it but not to lose it which is wrong all u have to do is play to win not to lose change the narrative
Cracking content .. up the arse
Had to subscribe mate. I don’t hear anyone else talking about this and it was bugging me why we don’t pass central and take risk as it seems the best way to break the low block. I get the wide play now but we need to take some risks sometimes or we will just have the ball, do nothing and concede anyway. Newcastle in the cup. Or you need one player like Sanchez …create random magic.
Even if you had a player like Alexis (who Mikel played with, mind you) I imagine he'd reel him in very quickly. Remember how many times Alexis used to give the ball away, but that's why we loved him, because he took risks.
Just look at Saka. Such a dangerous player, yet he's under strict instructions to hug the touchline.
True. I just think like Grealish complained at Man city that he can’t be himself because of the instructions so we’ve seen a shadow of him compared to villa. But man city take more risks in centrally to break low blocks…like we did when we came back from Dubai last year. I personally like Mikel as manager. It’s just minor tweaks. The team needs releasing a little.
@myxy Can't argue with that. He's an incredible manager. Let's be honest, he knows his own players better than anyone else. Perhaps insane attacking talent might just be what's needed after all. It's not like we haven't seen him play that way before.
You have done more than enough ALEX
Me double tapping after vpn 😅
The outfit choice is outrageous Alex.
focus on the substance rather than appearance, who cares
@@bobrossantichrisst Just a funny comment, don't read into it too much my guy,
It's funny you mention the midfield pockets. After the Zagreb game Declan mentioned how Arteta wants the midfielders to be in those zones. There is an element of calculated risk that I think he wants. I think details like the timing of runs and vertical balls have been suffering because of how unstable our starting 11 has been this season. You yourself mentioned how much we change at left 8 from game to game. It hurts our ability to exercise the automatisms we need to be able to pull teams out on our terms. I believe more central access is a part of Arteta's vision, but implementation has been affected by injuries, fatigue, and players being hesitant to make those runs because they themselves are unsure of that aspect of their game. Only the Saka - Odegaard-White triangle has that kind of chemistry and trust. We see bits of it when Jorginho is on the pitch and Kai suddenly has a lot more willingness for vertical runs for instance. Granit Xhaka was a fantastic metronome for our free flowing play of two seasons ago. That rhythm is yet to be replicated, but I believe we will see it in time. And I still want a forward.
No risk No goal
Arteta loves attacking through the flank so he needs good winger.. Martinelli and Trossard need to be as good as Saka then.. Or else find someone else..
Im glad someone is pointing this out been saying this for a few months now. This is why there is no point buying a brand new $80m striker if this is how we are going to play. This style needs someone who can move into the midfield and interlink with other players to get going, most out and out strikers will be stuck like Haaland, not touching the ball for a half but expected to make 50% of his shots. I think this is why we like Cunha so much.
That being said, Arteta needs to find ways to bring more chaos or variability into the game. We are way too predictable and we have way too many games where our team is misfiring. We need to find ways to bring the midfield into more attacking positions, just like what we saw that with Rice and Odeegard scoring in the last match. Its all well and good to play it safe, but if you've held the ball for 10 minutes passing it from sideline to sideline, theres a point where you need to take a chance. We also need to see more shots from outside the box.
I think the last part of this which will be really interesting is who we bring into the squad to change things up, having a Musiala, Wirtz or Guler would be perfect for us, but seeing as we're going in for Zubimendi I don't see that happening. Rice seems to becoming more direct and adding goals to his game but it really feels like we need an out and out attacking midfield more then we do a striker or winger at this point.
$?🤢
Stick to baseball
Can perfectly understand Mikel's philosophy but it's inordinately negative. He overestimates the quality of his (flawed) forwards to transcend the rote predictability of his system... and yet it's also a system that minimises opportunities for individual brilliance and risk-taking, which is necessary in certain game states. (I think it's part of the reason Martinelli's game hasn't developed in the slightest in the last two years). There's a reason we attempt few long-range shots or take additional touches when a 25-yard vista unfurls and it's likely because Arteta views any telegraphed shot outside the box as the catalyst for an opposition counter. It's percentage football on steroids and the lack of dynamism in midfield and offense does not help matters. The lack of technical quality in his side was at times nakedly apparent against Zagreb. Martinelli doesn't have the ability to consistently outmanoeuvre defenders in wide areas and Havertz just isn't sharp enough to adjust his body and feet in a single sequence when you need high-level efficiency (i.e. the crunch games). He's a decent player but a lot of his goals are first-time finishes. Arteta's management is all about contingency and unless you have a squad replete with ability to transcend it, you will get out found by elite teams who aren't afraid to let their quality do the talking. He's a good but one-dimensional manager and we won't big things under his stewardship until he figures out to loosen the reins and accommodate some specialists... and he has yet to deliver a 'shiny thing' (or meaningful final) of any description with a squad that he can categorically call his own. Also, Havertz as an 8 (in actuality, a de facto false 9 given how he plays) behind a CF has never worked against decent, balanced opposition... and yet it still rears its head from time-to-time. Arteta has had half-a-decade to augment the forward line and the sum total of his purposive investment there is Jesus and Trossard. There are legitimate question marks as to why Arteta's least ambitious and most sparse purchases have occurred in this part of the pitch.
This is an amazing comment. Arteta is doing everything to try to minimize as much risk as possible forgetting that risk breeds reward and it’s the coaches job to drill in a team when to take such risks and obviously identify (and coach) the players to execute them consistently. His model may seem sustainable on paper but Alex’s point on football being a low-scoring sport and having less margins is exactly why it’s not as sustainable as it seems.
@sperrotta91 Meaning it doesn't work and never will. Footballers do not fit into systems very well. You have to have times when the kitchen sink goes into it and you have to go for it. A concept utterly alien to SouthArtetagate. I said from day one with that Smith Rowe false 9 fiasco that we're winning nothing under Arteta.
Sadly, I'm right
We don’t have a transitional players we can’t make the best out in transitions bcs odegaard havert merino saka trossad are not transition players rice and martineli are the only 2 martineli is so wasted in his decision and final ball and rice afraid of loosing the ball he won’t use his carrying ability so he plays safe to satisfy Arteta if we want something in transition we need leo/Gordon cunha/nypon baleba/lamin camara to replace martineli odegaard and partey or merino and finally a striker sesko isak gyokers for example rice baleba cunha would be the best in transition they can carry the ball and we bought merino who can’t run let alone carry the ball we already had havert and odegaard who can’t carry Arteta is arrogant and stubborn I would loved to get nagelsman from Germany with his gegenpress and transition base football
Great analysis, i describe his tactic as "afraid to lose tactics" i dont care if he stays or not. Coz i already accepted Arteta is a top four (not champion)manager at his best atm.
Over the course of a premier league season, his approach ought to have the statistically significant number of actions to be highly effective. We're becoming that highly efficient monster team. Apart from early 2024, we're missing that streak potential to blow teams off the pitch. I haven't seen it often. We win by fine margins more often than we definitely beat them on the scoreboard. We had so many late winners two seasons ago, and it was amazing to watch. However, we're lacking that control Arteta wants. We should be able to see it in each game and not just in the stats. It might bear out often in the stats over the course of a season, but we're just not dominant like he wants us to be.
We need a protest against Kronke and a better manager too if we ever want to win a Major again
Agree on the unpredictability idea. Mikel’s current plan is now easy for the opposition to defend, and as they improve their defending, the no. of chances we create reduces. What we’ve said all-season is that Mikel’s plan therefore requires an exceptional striker who can score from 80% of the chances that we create. Brighton, Newcastle, United, Villa, even D Zagreb - we DID create chances, but didn’t have the player/s to take them. This is the flaw in Mikel’s plan.
What this means is that we need magic, which exits in the gray area between the boundary of chaos and order. I agree. Its long been known that sports have intangibles - heart, belief, players playing way above their normal levels, team cohesion at almost telepathic levels...all that doesn't come from data. I suspect Mikel will struggle for silverware in competitions where the variability of the human players far exceeds the regimented data-driven style. Golden state warriors does not become a dynasty without Steph's outrageous 3 point shooting percentage, the "riskiest" way to score in all of basketball.
Remember the Wenger days when we prayed for a Makelele-like player? Now every player is a Makelele-like player
Bro you’re just amazing man
How can you say Mikel hates taking risk when he signed Jesus and harvertz
Brilliant!
Net result is that Arsenal is too predictable and the opposition just sits back and defends the final actions that lead to goals. Looks like we now play to get corner kicks and hope to score from set-pieces that for the most part the opposition has learnt to defend against. You can see the frustration on the players' faces after games and must being biting their tongues not to complain. It makes very technically gifted players look mediocre and ended the career of Smith Rowe. Hope players don't start to leave out of frustration.
Excellent video and analysis. And correct too
Someone who hates risk wouldnt spend 65m and 250k a week on a player thats been horrible for 3 years when there was better targets that were more suited to what we needed.
And that horrible player has the highest xG chain in the team and will be our top scorer this season. What a shit player, especially how hard he works and how available he is. So shit.
@kamazooliy
You expect a striker to score more, though, just because they're closest to goal - particularly when they play the most minutes.
If you really want to make that point, you'll need to draw up a coefficient to equalise goal scoring across positions, to see who's really contributing & at what rate.
@@kamazooliy i never said he was shit so idk why your playing that card. Hes a good player and i would be happy with him if he was a impact sub coming off the bench on 150k a week max.
Great analysis on the balance between control and unpredictability and the opportunity difference between high scoring and low scoring sports. It rings true as a model that describes our approach and its flaws.
I like the idea of unpredictability, but it also the idea of Mikel being predictable that saw us spank just about everyone we met in the last 18 or so games last season. And we were good too.
Yet you got spanked when it mattered
0:45 great curtis shaw impression
I'm not a big fan of the way we build our attackers solely thru the wings. I know its supposed to stretch the pitch and provide security but it ends up leaving our wingers isolated in 2 or 3 vs 1...which results in them putting in a hopeful cross.
Our players should be capable of building thru the middle, breaking defensive lines with thru balls and being composed enough to make pivotal passes during counter attacks
*THROUGH
Stay in school, kid.
@kunimitsune177 it's the internet...how old are u that u still don't know how slang and short form words work. Also I love how u added nothing of substance except for some self absolved literary correction
He also loves to bottle the league