https://www.football365.com/news/mikel-arteta-arsene-wenger-incompetence-soporific-arsenal-mailbox
Stewie Griffin for the headlines, but then there is this & IMO offers a good point as to why Arteta relys on players like Luiz, Xhaka and Willian & more so with such a young group of players as the focal points.
Teambuilding: the road to success
I am currently reading “Teambuilding: the road to success” by one Rinus Michels and going through the book I also glean what Arteta is trying to do at Arsenal. Some salient points worth mentioning are:
Michels notes that it is far simpler to build a counter-attacking team than a ball-playing team. A ball-playing team that is good with positional play and recycling possession takes time to build and often needs players with, what Michels refers to as, ‘team tactical intelligence’. On the other hand, for a counter-attacking team, the 10 men defend as a team and upon winning back possession, have a number of ‘set’ moves (closer to set-plays or plays in American football) that they can then deploy (see OGS and Mr. Mou). Many coaches therefore must begin by creating the defensive organizational structures first and slowly over time, with the right influx of players and coaching, can move to the higher stage of play. From last year to this, it is clear to see the Arsenal under Arteta trying to transition from an organized counter-attacking team to a team that attempts to dictate play
There is an inherent contradiction in football re: your best player i.e. the players who give you that 1-2% extra in their repertoire that make the difference at elite level. However, it is often your best technical players who fail to fulfill the basic tasks given to them because they take a touch too many, spend more time on the ball, lose their marker when defending in ones own half or try to find a difficult and improbable solution rather than a simpler one. Since those players look good to the untrained eye, such players are also most often fan and media favourites. Therefore, dropping them from the team for failing to fulfill basic roles/tasks invites the ire of supporters and media-men alike. I dont think I have to specify any names at this point, the case in point of a world class German comes to mind automatically.
The coach has to also rely on leaders on the pitch who can enforce the team tactical designs on the pitch. He cites a brilliant example from the 80s when the Netherlands were playing Russia, if I am not mistaken, where Ruud Gullit was closely man-marked by a Russian dude, so much so, that Messr. Gullit could not focus on his basic tasks as he was too preoccupied with his man-marker being so close to him at all times. The solution that they deployed then was playing one Ronald Koeman closer to Mr. Gullit with the task of communicating (I believe the colloquial term is ‘shouting’) to Mr. Gullit at what moments was Gullit supposed to be cognizant of his marker and at what moments was he supposed to ignore him as Koeman himself was mopping it up. This freed Ruud Gullit from having to be preoccupied with his marker and freed his game. Buying and/or retaining experienced professionals such as Luiz, Cedric and Willian come to mind here. Willian has completely lost his confidence in the build-up and attacking phases of play but his defensive positional play, marking in ones own half, and pressing is still something the young players like Pepe, ESR and Saka can learn from. However, this is something the fan base is not prepared to entertain in their heads.
In short, what I gleaned is that fans and media alike often want populist decisions based on what they see from their untrained eye. But the coach sees more and often has to take the unpopular decision. Arsenals defensive solidity after more than a decade of defensive shambles alone is a great achievement by Arteta. However, this is not enough and you see them attempting to build on those foundations towards a more ball-playing approach. It would be interesting to see how Arteta oversees this stage of the Arsenal evolution and rebuilding.
This is in stark contrast with someone like OGS who is still stuck in the counter-attacking phase and struggles when teams defend with men behind the ball and you do not see any attempt to transition towards a ball-playing team.
Artetas bravery to take the unpopular decision of freezing out a talisman and shipping him and his acolytes out of the squad to facilitate harmony in the dressing room deserves our praise, not our ire. I know patience is in short supply in today’s world but you can see what Arsenal are trying to achieve and are already well on their way.
By the same token, the attitude of football fans and media can be summed up in a famous Pashto (one of the many Pakistani languages) couplet by one of the legends of Pashto poetry called Khushal Khan Khattak where he says “Khushal Khan only wants to see the face of beautiful women, it doesnt matter whether they be from Swat, Buner or Dir (different villages)”. Therefore, fans and media want success; the pressures today on modern day coaches are unparalleled. Arteta still seems nonplussed. I raise my chalice to him!
Shahzad, Pakistani Gooner in exile in Dublin, Eire
