Alex Keble's Premier League match-ups: A clash of styles
- Alex Keble (@alexkeble) is a football journalist who specialises in tactical understanding, analysis and predictions of all aspects of the game.
Inverted full-backs v Midfield control
- Tottenham v Arsenal
- Sky Sports Premier League: 14:00 GMT, Sunday
- Home 16/5 | Draw 3/1 | Away 3/4
Arsenal have a slight dilemma for this one, having watched Newcastle beat Tottenham 4-0 a fortnight ago by deploying a tactical approach completely at odds with the control and possession Mikel Arteta craves – as was reinforced in the Gunners' 5-0 win over Chelsea on Tuesday night.
But that’s nothing compared to the problems Ange Postecoglou has after Destiny Udogie sustained a season-ending injury and Pedro Porro picked up a hamstring strain that makes him touch and go for the derby. If Spurs are without their two full-backs, the entire system falls down.
But first, it’s worth thinking about the tactical battle in Arteta’s head. The first half against Chelsea was more disordered than he would have liked, and there was a notable shift in the second half as Arsenal pushed up (refusing to be turned, and therefore to drop deep) and slowed the game down with more considered possession.
Declan Rice could be seen frantically gesticulating to his team-mates not to give him the ball – a very rare sight – and instead recycle it, which, in Guardiola-like fashion, allowed Arsenal to pin Chelsea back and avoid a basketball match.
Newcastle, however, did what most do to stop Spurs, deploying a back five (to block the half-spaces and stop the inverted full-back runners) and counter-attacking behind Postecoglou’s high line.
Will Arteta let his players counter like that, spreading the ball from flank to flank into spaces left by those inverting full-backs?
Probably not.
In the 2-2 draw in the reverse fixture, Arsenal swarmed Spurs on their own turf, suffocating them with a particularly narrow off-the-ball shape that denied Tottenham passage through the middle column.
Once parked in Spurs' final third, they moved the ball from side to side, isolating the full-backs.
The form of Leandro Trossard and Bukayo Saka suggests this strategy can work again, especially if Porro and Udogie are replaced by Emerson Royal and Ben Davies, two players considerably less comfortable receiving the ball under pressure.
What’s more, Spurs, fortunate to be 1-1 at the break in that previous encounter, only improved in the second 45 because Rice was forced off. His replacement, Kai Havertz, just couldn’t keep a lid on Tottenham’s transitions and Postecoglou successfully pulled the hosts into an open game.
This time Arsenal are fully fit and firing on all cylinders while Spurs, always doubling down on plan A, are missing crucial components of Postecoglou’s system. Arsenal should be able to control the pace of the game, lock down midfield and get the three points.
Rogers and Bailey v Wayward wingers
- Aston Villa v Chelsea
- TNT Sports 1: 20:00 BST, Saturday
- Home 23/20 | Draw 11/4 | Away 2/1
Arsenal tore Chelsea apart on Tuesday by exploiting a familiar problem with Mauricio Pochettino’s team.
Far too often their wingers fail to track back properly, either leaving the full-back exposed to an overlap or allowing an opposition player to drift forward on the outside of the two Chelsea central midfielders.
Chelsea have conceded nine goals in their last three away games in the Premier League.
Four of those (with at least one from each game) were conceded as a direct result of the above problem, including the opener against Arsenal when Noni Madueke left a gap for Declan Rice to stride into, leaving Alfie Gilchrist with a two-on-one.
Leandro Trossard gives Arsenal the lead inside 5 minutes! 🔥 pic.twitter.com/DGQ8Vr9owa
— Football on TNT Sports (@footballontnt) April 23, 2024
Villa happen to be exceptionally strong in this area. Morgan Rogers, sensational in the 3-1 victory over Bournemouth when he drifted off the left flank and into the centre, will love the room he finds where Madueke ought to be.
On the other side, Leon Bailey can be just as effective behind Mykhailo Mudryk. Unai Emery always deploys very narrow wingers whose task it is to receive straight passes from the central midfielders.
Villa’s default tactics, then, correlate precisely with Chelsea’s greatest weakness on the road. Bailey and Rogers will get space to carry the ball at speed and find the runs of Ollie Watkins.
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