Arsenal Column

29.1K posts

Arsenal Column

@ArsenalColumn

Former personal zipper(er) to Arsène Wenger therefore privy to certain inside tactical information.

London, England Joined Nisan 2009

986 Following37.9K Followers

Arsenal Column@ArsenalColumn·2d

Doing just enough is enough for Arsenal from now, until the end of the season. It has been enough for much of the season. I could complain about the midfield not playing ahead of the ball more, but that's not Arsenal; they wait, they probe, they stutter - they just need moments

markstats bot@markstatsbot

Sporting 0 : 1 Arsenal ▪ xG: 1.17 - 0.85 ▪ xThreat: 0.66 - 0.95 ▪ Possession: 44.7% - 55.3% ▪ Field Tilt: 29.3% - 70.7% ▪ Def Action Height: 38.1 - 57.3 Donations ko-fi.com/markstats

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Arsenal Column@ArsenalColumn·3d

Arteta wants like-for-like in every position (x2 players), but doesn't have it in central midfield. Rice, Zubu, Ode, Eze - by design mainly and habits - play unusual, patterns so when teams like S'oton, City, bring something different, see a change in midfield, we labour more

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Arsenal Column@ArsenalColumn·4d

"Arsenal is an unusual team...Arteta has built an extreme model of systems play and controlled movement. Sequences in and out of possession are minutely planned and grooved. The ideal is sustained intensity, constant positional cover, attacks that follow an overwhelming pattern.'

Barney Ronay@barneyronay

Arsenal. They’ll be fine. No one has to be a fraud or a bottler here. And the tension is … interesting theguardian.com/football/2026/…

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Arsenal Column@ArsenalColumn·23 Mar

Examples of where we could have been more brave, try to force City out from their shape, but cup final means less risks are taken. Once City were set however, it didn't allow the team to do their rotations, and going long became too predictable x.com/i/status/20357…

Nino12x@011Lloyd

@Nino12x

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Arsenal Column@ArsenalColumn·22 Mar

Man City pressing with a front 4, stopping Arsenal building out to FBs or CMs. We've tended to get around that this season - especially as we build less with a full back in a back three, more flat 4 - by rotating Zubimendi, Rice particularly to the backline. Forced to go direct

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Arsenal Column@ArsenalColumn·23 Mar

Game also exposed Arsenal's lack of skill, close control - probably why Trossard stayed on for so long, when Martinelli, to stretch City, made more sense. The team relies on getting their patterns of play correct. Was surprised we didn't try getting the FBs central or something

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Arsenal Column@ArsenalColumn·23 Mar

The thing about Kepa taking so long with the ball at his feet; Arsenal didn't figure out the rotations they usually do and then fell back to defending too readily. Also, no surprise goals came down their left, because Pep wanted Cherki/Silva to overload x.com/i/status/20357…

Sky Sports Football@SkyFootball

"Kepa's lost it, AND O'REILLY HAS STOLEN!" Manchester City take the lead at Wembley! 👊

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Arsenal Column@ArsenalColumn·18 Mar

Less touches tonight v Bayer Leverkusen, more right-sided than in the previous two games (particularly in the build-up), but each time Eze has got the ball in attacking positions, he's shown character, imparted impetus to moves. Delightful to watch

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Arsenal Column@ArsenalColumn·15 Mar

Another more dominant display from Eze. He seems to understand the space better, showing more character. Two interesting things v Everton 1) Arteta genuinely changed the midfield to go for win 2) zubimendi rotating into forward spaces more..will we go for different profile 6?

Arsenal Column@ArsenalColumn

Eze made the most passes he has when he's played no.10, as Arteta tweaked the midfield - to try and draw the oppo out of the mid block - that allowed to get on his favoured left more. But that painstaking meticulousness to get the ball in those positions sort of summed up Arsenal

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Arsenal Column retweeted

Jed Davies@TPiMBW·16 Mar

“Menotti’s legacy is understanding the midfield not as a place of transit but as where a team is defined.” — Matías Manna Great Interview - contemporary football has become standardised and predictable, everyone imitating the same two or three coaches, and the antidote is rooted identity. For Argentina, that means la nuestra: short passing, creativity, relational play. Not copying Europe: tiempoar.com.ar/ta_article/mat…

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Arsenal Column@ArsenalColumn·15 Mar

@Dezildezzzz Arteta talked about the man marking recently so suggests a way to counteract some of that, open up more space behind (given also the effect it has had on Eze). It might have been you who mentioned about not necessarily signing a 6, but a 6/8, which is sort of how this becoming

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Dezildez@Dezildezzzz·15 Mar

@ArsenalColumn Recently Zubi has been rotating a lot more, a bit like we see with Neves at PSG. I would prefer he stayed deeper to support the 1st phase, unsure of the reason for the change, especially as it gives Rice more build up responsibility.

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Arsenal Column@ArsenalColumn·14 Mar

Beto scores for Arsenal

Arsenal@Arsenal

VIKTORRRRRRRRRRRRR!!!!! 🇸🇪 He pops up to score a MASSIVE goal for The Arsenal!!!! 🔴 1-0 🔵 (90)

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Arsenal Column@ArsenalColumn·12 Mar

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Arsenal Column retweeted

Barney Ronay@barneyronay·10 Mar

The Ajax of Cruyff. The Barcelona of Messi. The Arsenal of Zubimendi. 19 games from mount rushmore. Can the internet cope? theguardian.com/football/2026/…

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Arsenal Column@ArsenalColumn·2 Mar

In Jan, Rosenior said Arsenal were the "best pressing team in Europe." Arsenal tend to bias the right side, so he probably tried to overload them there, and take advantage of no Odegaard who K.Andrews says: "he times the release from 10 out to CBs really well, the angle he goes"

Michael Cox@Zonal_Marking

I liked Chelsea's use of Fernandez and Palmer to overload Zubimendi yesterday. Also thought Arsenal adjusted pretty well. Obviously none of this was related to the actual scoring, as only set-piece goals are allowed. nytimes.com/athletic/70805…

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Arsenal Column@ArsenalColumn·22 Şub

Spurs also suffered same issues of vertical compactness last time which I think helped Gyokeres' game in particular. They struggled to cover the width of the pitch, which allowed spaces between the wing-back and RCB that Wolves, using a back 5, didn't give x.com/i/status/19926…

Arsenal Column@ArsenalColumn

Tottenham have struggled with vertical compactness, seeing Arsenal, especially down the right, and Timber and Saka rotating, exploiting the space to the side of the double pivot. Both first-half goals have come from working it down that side, and punish from the edge of the box

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Arsenal Column@ArsenalColumn·22 Şub

The solution to Saka playing centrally, is not necessarily to use him as no10, but to actually give him more opportunities to move inside (he balanced that also by making runs behind). Arteta using the full-backs, less in the half-spaces, Timber RCB, Hincapie overlapping, helps

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Arsenal Column@ArsenalColumn·8 Şub

It's good to also see Arteta use a shadow striker, or a no.10 who can become a striker, which other teams have been using for a while. Arteta said it allowed the team to counteract Sunderland's back three (similar to v Leeds). Curiously possession down in both games (49% and 50%)

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Arsenal Column@ArsenalColumn·8 Şub

I wonder how much the inclusion of Havertz (instead of Odegaard, Eze in the 8/10 position) forced Rice, Zubimendi, to naturally become more like a double-pivot. Certainly, we saw less bias down the right, using the left more equally (Calafiori?), and it seemed to unlock Trossard