We didn't press at all at Stamford Bridge: I'm talking about the game at Emirates where our game fell apart after half time and we had to defend deep, costing us the game in the last 5 minutes. The game at Stamford Bridge is an example of the team getting a point by playing more conservatively, even if the red card guaranteed we played that way whatever the pre-game plan was.
I don't understand your point: are you saying that despite being only 8 points behind Chelsea with a game in hand and 4 points behind Man United in 5th, we have nothing to lose and therefore should prioritise improving our attacking play over results? Or am I misunderstanding you?
I think it's clear Arteta wants to play a more attacking, high-pressing possession based game--he has said it dozens of times now and, as I pointed out, started out in the first 5 games or so playing that way. And in my opinion he has had to adapt because we simply don't have the players to make that style work, not just in terms of fitness, but because it is high risk and demanding; centrebacks need to be high, fullbacks higher and providing width, forwards capable of playing in small spaces: unfortunately when you have the idiots we have in the team, misplaced passes and brain dead moments in that system are going to kill you. As we have seen.
I agree we could try to play that kind of aggressive game in spurts, in the way Liverpool do to an extent, but I think that would take a really finely tuned team to make the switch between dropping and defending and then periods of high press and aggressive passing at other moments; I don't think the likes of Torreira, Xhaka and Guendouzi have anything like the intelligence or tactical appreciation required, nor the rest of the team.
I think we're sort of playing a version of that now anyway. We sit in, much deeper than we did in Arteta's first games and then try find moments when we can get up the pitch and dominate a bit more. Perhaps we lack the counter-attacking threat you want, but it's hard to counter when you best ball winner is the immobile 5'4" Torreira; we never win the damn ball back on midfield unless it's given to us.