How Arteta’s short-termism could help to protect Arsenal’s future
By James McNicholasReverting to a back three, reintroducing Mohamed Elneny and starting Rob Holding — these changes weren’t made in the name of experimentation, but pragmatism. It might have felt retrograde, but Mikel Arteta deemed it necessary. At this stage of the season, results are what matter most.
For much of the campaign, Arteta and Arsenal have been laying out a blueprint for the future. Transfer strategy and even team selection have been governed by a long-term plan. That strategy has shown some promise, but Arteta’s decisions in this 4-2 win over Chelsea suggest he recognises that this is the time to set aside that approach.
The priorities have shifted. The focus now is much more short-term. After this hugely important victory, the next six matches will determine whether or not Arsenal finish in the top four. Philosophy can be parked in favour of efficiency. It is about getting the job done.
Arteta spoke after the game about his instinct that, after three consecutive defeats, change was essential. “I have the intuition because I see them train every day, and I thought this game and this moment needed a different game and a different energy around the team,” he explained.
Arsenal have had the youngest team in the Premier League this season, but through the centre of the side, the manager opted for seniority. Rob Holding has largely been a back-up this season, with Arteta preferring to bed in the fresh partnership of Gabriel and Ben White. This was just Holding’s fifth Premier League start of 2021-22.
Yet Holding is clearly a player Arteta trusts. He has come on in the latter stages of games to help see out crucial wins against Wolves and Aston Villa. On this occasion, Arteta chose to go with him from the start, and was rewarded with five out of six duels won, four clearances and two shots blocked. When Arsenal have their backs to the wall, Holding stands strong.
Elneny has played even less than Holding. This was his first league start since the defeat to Manchester United on December 2. He hasn’t played a single minute of club football since New Year’s Day. The Egypt international’s contract is due to expire at the end of the season, and Arsenal have largely preferred to award spare minutes to the potential of Albert Sambi Lokonga.
But like Holding, Elneny is held in high regard by Arteta. With Arsenal desperate for a result at Stamford Bridge, the Arsenal manager opted for the 29-year-old’s experience and cool-headedness. In the absence of Thomas Partey, Elneny and Granit Xhaka gave Arsenal a midfield platform from which to build.
Arteta had faith that these squad players were ready to step up. “If you see the training session that we had on Sunday after the defeat,” he began. “If you see Mo Elneny, Rob Holding, Nicolas Pepe, how they trained — I think it’s the reason we won. I said to them before the game, ‘To good people, good things happen guys’, and we have some really really good people in that dressing room.”
Then there is the system. Over the past 18 months, Arteta has moved away from deploying three at the back, evolving towards a more adventurous 4-3-3 set-up. That is reportedly the grand design that underpins Arteta’s plans.
At Stamford Bridge, he went back to using three centre-halves, with Bukayo Saka dropping back as a makeshift right wing-back. The shape was fluid — Arsenal set up differently in different phases of the game, with White sometimes dropping out to play as a full-back and Saka pushing higher. Nevertheless, when Chelsea poured forward, Arsenal had a clear line of five across the defence. For the sake of their future, Arteta’s Arsenal have turned back to their past.
Amid Arsenal’s focus on long-term squad building, Alexandre Lacazette has largely remained an exception. Arteta has continued to select him despite the fact that his contract expires at the end of the season, presumably out of a sense of necessity. His late recovery from COVID-19 meant he started this game on the bench, and in his stead, Eddie Nketiah produced a memorable two-goal display. In his post-match press conference, Arteta appeared to admit he should have introduced the 22-year-old sooner: “If there is one player that I have been unfair with, I think it is him. He has given me every right to do something different, so if Eddie hasn’t played more, it’s my fault and because as a manager I have missed something or I haven’t had the courage to play him more, and today he showed me again how wrong I was.”
Nketiah’s own future appears to lie elsewhere — his contract also expires in June and there has been no progress on an extension. That will not count against him anymore. Nketiah joins Elneny, Holding and the tweaked formation in mounting a strong case for inclusion for the visit of Manchester United on Saturday.
This result reignited Arsenal’s hopes of a top-four place. The significance of the prize should not be understated: Champions League qualification would bring with it great financial reward and increase the chance of luring more top talent to the Emirates Stadium. If Arsenal achieve their short-term goal of making the top four, it could bring significant long-term benefits.
https://theathletic.com/3262730/2022/04/20/how-artetas-short-termism-could-help-to-protect-arsenals-future/
How Arteta’s short-termism could help to protect Arsenal’s future
By James McNicholasReverting to a back three, reintroducing Mohamed Elneny and starting Rob Holding — these changes weren’t made in the name of experimentation, but pragmatism. It might have felt retrograde, but Mikel Arteta deemed it necessary. At this stage of the season, results are what matter most.
For much of the campaign, Arteta and Arsenal have been laying out a blueprint for the future. Transfer strategy and even team selection have been governed by a long-term plan. That strategy has shown some promise, but Arteta’s decisions in this 4-2 win over Chelsea suggest he recognises that this is the time to set aside that approach.
The priorities have shifted. The focus now is much more short-term. After this hugely important victory, the next six matches will determine whether or not Arsenal finish in the top four. Philosophy can be parked in favour of efficiency. It is about getting the job done.
Arteta spoke after the game about his instinct that, after three consecutive defeats, change was essential. “I have the intuition because I see them train every day, and I thought this game and this moment needed a different game and a different energy around the team,” he explained.
Arsenal have had the youngest team in the Premier League this season, but through the centre of the side, the manager opted for seniority. Rob Holding has largely been a back-up this season, with Arteta preferring to bed in the fresh partnership of Gabriel and Ben White. This was just Holding’s fifth Premier League start of 2021-22.
Yet Holding is clearly a player Arteta trusts. He has come on in the latter stages of games to help see out crucial wins against Wolves and Aston Villa. On this occasion, Arteta chose to go with him from the start, and was rewarded with five out of six duels won, four clearances and two shots blocked. When Arsenal have their backs to the wall, Holding stands strong.
Elneny has played even less than Holding. This was his first league start since the defeat to Manchester United on December 2. He hasn’t played a single minute of club football since New Year’s Day. The Egypt international’s contract is due to expire at the end of the season, and Arsenal have largely preferred to award spare minutes to the potential of Albert Sambi Lokonga.
But like Holding, Elneny is held in high regard by Arteta. With Arsenal desperate for a result at Stamford Bridge, the Arsenal manager opted for the 29-year-old’s experience and cool-headedness. In the absence of Thomas Partey, Elneny and Granit Xhaka gave Arsenal a midfield platform from which to build.
Arteta had faith that these squad players were ready to step up. “If you see the training session that we had on Sunday after the defeat,” he began. “If you see Mo Elneny, Rob Holding, Nicolas Pepe, how they trained — I think it’s the reason we won. I said to them before the game, ‘To good people, good things happen guys’, and we have some really really good people in that dressing room.”
Then there is the system. Over the past 18 months, Arteta has moved away from deploying three at the back, evolving towards a more adventurous 4-3-3 set-up. That is reportedly the grand design that underpins Arteta’s plans.
At Stamford Bridge, he went back to using three centre-halves, with Bukayo Saka dropping back as a makeshift right wing-back. The shape was fluid — Arsenal set up differently in different phases of the game, with White sometimes dropping out to play as a full-back and Saka pushing higher. Nevertheless, when Chelsea poured forward, Arsenal had a clear line of five across the defence. For the sake of their future, Arteta’s Arsenal have turned back to their past.
Amid Arsenal’s focus on long-term squad building, Alexandre Lacazette has largely remained an exception. Arteta has continued to select him despite the fact that his contract expires at the end of the season, presumably out of a sense of necessity. His late recovery from COVID-19 meant he started this game on the bench, and in his stead, Eddie Nketiah produced a memorable two-goal display. In his post-match press conference, Arteta appeared to admit he should have introduced the 22-year-old sooner: “If there is one player that I have been unfair with, I think it is him. He has given me every right to do something different, so if Eddie hasn’t played more, it’s my fault and because as a manager I have missed something or I haven’t had the courage to play him more, and today he showed me again how wrong I was.”
Nketiah’s own future appears to lie elsewhere — his contract also expires in June and there has been no progress on an extension. That will not count against him anymore. Nketiah joins Elneny, Holding and the tweaked formation in mounting a strong case for inclusion for the visit of Manchester United on Saturday.
This result reignited Arsenal’s hopes of a top-four place. The significance of the prize should not be understated: Champions League qualification would bring with it great financial reward and increase the chance of luring more top talent to the Emirates Stadium. If Arsenal achieve their short-term goal of making the top four, it could bring significant long-term benefits.
https://theathletic.com/3262730/2022/04/20/how-artetas-short-termism-could-help-to-protect-arsenals-future/
