Have to agree, I think we are currently playing better football as a team than we ever have, including Wenger's best.
I know, because I've noticed that the age-old argument about "player intelligence and creativity" versus "defined roles, discipline and positioning" simply doesn't make sense with this team and the way we're playing.
The very fine definition concerning roles that Arteta brings is what enables the creativity. Without acting like it's total rocket science, when a particular player with a particular role is on the ball, he knows how he's expected to vary his actions, and the players around him know where to move off the ball, again making use of several options.
The options and how often they're supposed to choose them—in the simplest examples, this might be how often a wide player inverts or goes to the touchline, and how often his trailing midfielder runs to the point of the area or the centre of the area for the cutback—these parameters are all being optimised during matches based on how the other side's performing. You can verify this from interview content from Saka, Martinelli and Ødegaard, talking about Arteta's approach.
I was going to say we feel like an orchestra, but a better analogy would be a high-end jazz group, and that's why we're developing what you'd call a sensibility, above and beyond these mechanics. Because the awesome thing is that when Gabi goes to the touchline and knows Øde is 70% going to run to that one open spot at the top of the square where the defence has been dragged apart, and the move comes off, the whole system is reinforced, because those two didn't just pull it out of their arses, it's something that was communicated and agreed in training.
Without dismissing the many superb defenders we've had down the seasons since the Invincibles, with Gabriel, Saliba and Ramsdale we've finally been blessed with a rhythm section that the rest can trust to lay down the groove. Even so, with the whole team built to defend and expected to—forwards specifically chosen for their defensive ability, with heavy investment across the entire back five, carefully designed measures like Zinchenko's role existing to protect us from disaster—we're not reliant on the insane athleticism and precision of a peak Campbell or Koscielny to recover from "over-extension", because the kind of uncalibrated, romantic risk that was a norm when Wenger got us to keep a high line is simply not something Arteta fucks with.
We're finally starting to see what an "Arsenal goal" looks like under this system at its best, and it's a beautiful thing. And it's the antithesis of "Arsenal, they're always trying to walk it into the net". I don't even think what we're looking at is that dependent on the personnel—sure they need to have exceptional quality and intelligence as you can tell by the standard of player that we're beginning to ice out, the likes of Kieran Tierney who I wouldn't be surprised to see end up captaining another Premier League club if he leaves us.
One can imagine these individuals being replaced, along the lines of Granit Xhaka's transformation. The mystery of Xhaka under the influence of Arteta's methods? He's replaced himself. Because of the system's detail, it seems plausible it could be adapted to compensate for the greater or lesser athleticism, passing or press resistance of newcomers.
That's why other clubs have started to look at everything Arsenal is doing under Arteta, from top to bottom, as a template they'll try, and mostly fail to copy.
The exciting thing? It will get better from here. We're about to either win the league or come second with one of the youngest and best squads in its history, our revenues have room to grow and our owners haven't run out of money.
