The style of play we are trying to implement and what it looks like when it fails is very familiar to me, at least superficially. It's more or less the style that the Spanish NT have employed since forever.
When it fails it's a shambles (like Spain's catastrophic exit during the last world cup or Guardiola's bad periods) and it looks like you are never going to score, but when it works it's highly effective because while it requires lots of individual skill, it doesn't require lots of individual creativity. There is a very fine balance between great success and utter failure (as we see with City), which is another reason why we might improve non-linearly if things start going right for some of our players.
In many respects it is the antithesis of Wengerball's various forms, which all required players to be almost intellectual in their decision-making.
After many years of watching the Spanish NT and its various successes and failures, I have developed the hypothesis that in order to make the most of the 'pass it around, bring the opponents out, move it on the flanks, switch if needed, and then cut-back/cross' style you need individual players who are capable of instilling enough fear in your opponents that they will break ranks. This is why I feel things might have turned out differently with Zaha, and why I would like to see the inclusion of someone like Pepe in the squad... even if not highly effective, the threat of him dribbling into the box and shooting should help open spaces for everyone else to take advantage.
