Why don’t Arsenal use this switching tactic any more to confuse our opponents
Surprised Arsenal don’t use this in-game tactic like before. It’s been an open secret that the Gunners have been struggling in the attack in recent weeks, this has been due to a combination of a couple of factors that were in and out of our control. Injuries haven’t been kind to us this season, suspension […] The post Why don’t Arsenal use this switching tactic any more to confuse our opponents appeared first on Just Arsenal News.
RR aka Rishi-Raj
Surprised Arsenal don’t use this in-game tactic like before.
It’s been an open secret that the Gunners have been struggling in the attack in recent weeks, this has been due to a combination of a couple of factors that were in and out of our control.
Injuries haven’t been kind to us this season, suspension too have caused us all sorts of problems and Arteta’s management of the situation should be called into question as well, given how he could have handled things better (in my opinion anyway).
What makes an attack very effective sometimes is the amount of controlled chaos and unpredictability a team can exhibit in the attacking thirds, take Carlo Ancelotti’s Madrid side from last season for example, the amount of freedom he gave and still gives to the likes of Bellingham, Vinicius and Rodrygo to express themselves made them a very good attacking unit even though they lacked a proper number 9. Now I’m not comparing this team to them in anyway, the embarrassment of riches possessed by Real Madrid is incomparable to us, but we aren’t small either.
A tactic commonly used by that Madrid team and most top clubs in Europe is the in-game rotation of wingers. This is done for many reasons to benefit a team’s attack; its unpredictability makes it a nightmare for opposition fullbacks who might have understandably prepared exclusively for their opposition winger before the game. Switching also gives a team variation in attack; more options will boost a team’s chances of scoring (in theory). Furthermore, having your wingers switching from time-to-time mid game will give them the opportunity of coming up against a weaker fullback, different players have different styles and profiles so you can understand a particular style might be harder for a fullback to defend than another.
We used to do this to great effect in 2022/23 where we had Saka and Martinelli occasionally switching flanks to take advantage of the chaos. In recent seasons however we have seemed to ditch that entirely and I’m a little bit surprised by that. It could be a fantastic asset especially for a team like us who struggle without the creativity of Ødegaard in the right half space.
I am no Mikel Arteta, I mean there’s a reason why he gets paid a lot of money to coach us, it means he’s good at his job! And what does a man who’s never managed a Sunday League game in his life have to say to a UEFA Pro License holder?
Furthermore, to execute that tactic effectively will need a lot of confidence from the team anyways which we’re currently lacking at the moment.
But with that said however, it will still be a great tactic for Arteta to employ as the season goes on.
These are my thoughts. Would this in-game tactic help our attack in any way?
BENJAMIN KENNETH
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