Nil Or Something - Prospects for 2022-3 Season

Last season, the team was inconsistent, disjointed due to injuries disrupting the team rhythm, and a failure to develop understanding resulted in the team losing its shape and crumpling mentally under pressure at the final crunch. It wasn’t All, it was almost Nothing, but a place in Europe and continued development of players and league position is something.

 Will we see this improve for 2022/23 season with a healthy squad and a full pre-season training under their belt? 

During last third of 2021/22 season, the backbone of Mikel Arteta 4-3-3 formation was Thomas Partey as the defensive central midfielder. For this new season, Partey will still the team’s key link player in all the four phases of the game, (defence, transition to attack, attack, transition to defence). 

During the attacking phase, Partey, together with Xhaka, was the player who connected the defenders with the forwards, using his passing accuracy and positional awareness of available options. Partey’s awareness of teammates’ as well as opponents’ positioning was due to his vision of everything around him before receiving the ball. 

During the build-up play he always took up the appropriate positions, always being the available player to make the transition from attack to defence look easy.  

As a result of this the immediate regaining of possession was possible most of the time. If it was not possible, the defensive midfielder’s positioning help the Back-4 to preserve the balance and to cover every free space the opponents attempted to take advantage of. 

Partey had grown into his role as the defensive midfielder with improving communication and cohesion within the team, and hence lessen the impact of dropping Xhaka in his role as left-side defensive midfielder with accurate passing and playmaking ability. 

Xhaka is a liability with his immobility, his instinctive reaction to drag down players and his indiscipline resulting in unnecessary yellow and red cards can destroy the team’s cohesion on the pitch. Last season, we had two raw youngsters in Lokonga and ESR who failed to deputize for Xhaka. 

But this season, with Zinchenko (and Fabio Vieira although bit of an unknown), is a ready-madevreplacement for Xhaka; rendering Xhaka as a valued squad member. 

Zinchenko is a very versatile player. He was used as an attacking midfielder by Ukraine national team, and as a left back by Man City.  

He has the ability to play as a left-side defensive midfielder, participating continuously in the high-pressing and quick-passing game. His main role could be to take advantage of free space, moving with or without the ball, or to move behind the defensive line in coordination with Tierney (or Cedric as LB) and Martinelli. When he cuts inside, his playmaking ability will enable him to move near or in the opponent’s penalty area more frequently than Xhaka and Partey, and that resulted in more goal scoring chances and more goals for him. 

During the defensive phase, Zinchenko could get actively involved in all pressing situations, and during the transition from attack to defence, he can react very quickly to fight to regain possession immediately. He is good at reading the tactical situation arising on the field and to take up the appropriate positions in order to deal with any potential problems. 

Plus, he is also a backup LB to an injury-prone Tierney. We should have a superb backup at left-side with Xhaka, and with Fabio Vieira, ESR and Lokonga continuing their development.  

Of course, the team dynamic will change should Arteta decided to purchase Telemans or another central midfielder. 

Martin Odegaard is a very talented player with great technical skills. His fine positioning, his mobility, his vision and the awareness of available options gave Odegaard the chance to participate more than anyone in the team’s build-up from the midfield. His first touch is first class and his killer passes frequently put the forwards into shooting positions close to the opposition’s goal. 

During the attacking phase, his ability to analyse the tactical situations and to recognize the positioning of his teammates and the opponents quickly and the available free spaces before receiving the ball, led him also to gain extremely high percentage passing accuracy. 

Frequently, Odegaard took advantage of the available space on the right, often created by Saka cutting inward or dropping deeper or Tomi running along the line. Odegaard had developed telepathic understanding with Saka in each other movement; and long may it continue to improve to exhilarating height for this season. Their quick one-two and instant layoff between them are a joy to watch. 

During the defensive phase, Odegaard can take up the appropriate defensive positions in order for the pressing to be successful. He is capable of filling every gap created in the right-side defensive line caused by defenders caught high-up on the pitch. He has the engine to run up and down the pitch to track the forward runs of his direct opponent. 

Odegaard together with Zinchenko and Partey will be one of the three players who will dominate possession and dictated the rhythm of the game. 

This all well and good.  

But what is Plan B with an injury-prone Partey having a high probability of missing a substantial part of the season, and most cruelly, when he is needed the most? 

But what if, if Mikel Arteta is able to develop Zinchenko and/or Odegaard into a regista, another “Pirlo Mark 4.0”?: 

“Carlo Ancelotti Quiet Leadership” (2017) is an enlightening read. He was AC Milan Manager (Nov 2001 to 2008). He bought Clarence Seedorf and Alessandro Nesta in his first transfer window and went on to win the CL Cup in the next season and Serie A winner (2003/04). 

Ancelotti had the problem of fitting four great players, Pirlo, Seedorf, Rui Costa and Kaka into three places in the team. Eventually he came up with the diamond where Pirlo and Kaka exchanged places, Pirlo deeper and Kaka more forward. The 4-4-2 diamond system turned Kaka into the World Player of the Year by him playing at the top of the diamond and simultaneously, scoring more and creating more assists while allowing the team to win. 

Andrea Pirlo? 

Andrea Pirlo at AC Milan was a great example of how a manager can listen to a player, work with him and develop him to add value to the whole squad. Ancelotti was talking with him about how to find someone to fill a deep-lying midfield position. Pirlo simply said to Ancelotti, “I can do this.”  

Ancelotti was worried that for three years he had played as an attacking midfielder and didn’t know whether he had the mentally to change his position.  

Pirlo was not a physically powerful player. Instead of scaring him away on the new defensive responsibilities this role would have, Ancelotti spoke mostly about the attacking demands of the role, how he would be the focal point of the team, the game-changer. 

Ancelotti explained to Pirlo his importance in being able to organize the play of the team, how playing deeper would allow him to have more space compared to other attacking midfielders.  

Pirlo was smart and recognized a potential new career path for himself, becoming one of the best deep-lying playmakers in world football and using his talents in the right role for the team. Andrea Pirlo defines “regista”. 

It is my dream that Mikel Arteta can emulate Carlo Ancelotti, success in Europe by winning the Europa League Cup, and winning the Premiership title. 

Mikel Arteta has five attacking midfielders in Odegaard, Fabio Vieira, Smith-Rowe and Zinchenko (and Lokonga) to play the diamond with Zinchenko as the regista, Vieira at the top and Smith-Rowe and Odegaard at the sides. This is Plan B in the absence of Thomas Partey and a suspended or injured Xhaka. 

More Options

And a strong and physical Back-4 in Tierney-Gabriel-Saliba-Tomiyasu (or White) is the key to deploy Zinchenko or even Odegaard as the regista. Not forgetting that with five substitutes this season, when defending a slender lead late in the game, Ben White comes in, (with Zinchenko replacing ESR), transforming into 4-2-3-1 with Zinchenko-White as DCM. 

And if it is defensive 3-5-2, Gabriel-Saliba-White as Back-3 with Zinchenko and Tomiyasu as wingbacks.