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The tactics thread

baccy_man

Established Member
Fed up with seeing the ball played out by the keeper to a defender then the ball goes sideways across the defence or back to the keeper and the play is so slow we just invite teams to come at us and put pressure on us,
If we are going to keep using the keeper to start the moves we need things to be quicker getting the ball to the midfield and then to the forwards,
The way we play at the moment the ball gets to midfield and no one seems to have a clue what to do with it so we have all the pointless passing and lose the ball or if the ball does get to the forwards we are not taking our chances quick enough,
I would like to see us cut down on the amount of passing we are doing and get the attacks going faster.
 

Country: Iceland
Our biggest problems at the moment IMO

1. Not set up to dominate the games

2. Management and coaching focus on defensive solutions to problems but we are failing big time at defending

3. Outside of set pieces lately we are struggling to create clear cut chances
 

Mark Tobias

Mr. Agreeable
Emery's tactics are quite simple: give the opponent the ball, play like relegation fodder and hope for individuals to win the game for you.
It's actually more complicated than that .
Emery's tactics are quite simple: give the opponent the ball, play like relegation fodder and hope for individuals to win the game for you.. then Sub your captain off to create a distraction
 

Mark Tobias

Mr. Agreeable
3. Outside of set pieces lately we are struggling to create clear cut chances
Actually, if you take away the last 2 games we're not even crating that much from set pieces either.
Watch our corners. 99% of our corners don't get beyond the first defender and a fair chunk of them lead to counter attacking plays for the opposition. In fact Guendouzi had to resort to a rugby tackle to negate a clear chance for Zaha to run directly at Leno in space!
 

mavelous

Tinfoil hat aficionado
Guendozi and Ceballos are too similar, and it doesn't help that both are right footed and what to operate in similar areas or similar manner.
- neither is comfortable high up in central areas, right behind the striker.
- they need someone like Willock or Lacazette to give that cutting edge to all the possession we have.

Problem then is what to do with Auba - without him we don't have the goals. if you need both him and Laca, maybe play 4-4-2 diamond with Pepe at the tip (#10). that's the only working solution i can see at the moment to give spark to our attacks.

that though, will require bellerin and tierney in top form, the axe (CBs and 2 holders) to be able to resist counter attacks.
 

blaze_of_glory

Moderator
Moderator

Country: Canada
Our players never seem to get in behind defenders unless it's a long ball from our own half for a striker to chase, which almost always ends up running to an angle where they need to wait for support anyway, or it's a pass down the flank to a wide player to dig out a cross.

We don't seem to ever get central players running in behind CBs in the final third. Our forwards are always facing 2-3 defenders with the ball at their feet and no movement around them.
 

MutableEarth

Reiss' Dad
Trusted ⭐
Our players never seem to get in behind defenders unless it's a long ball from our own half for a striker to chase, which almost always ends up running to an angle where they need to wait for support anyway, or it's a pass down the flank to a wide player to dig out a cross.

We don't seem to ever get central players running in behind CBs in the final third. Our forwards are always facing 2-3 defenders with the ball at their feet and no movement around them.
Absolute on the money here.

IMO It's because all our build-ups consist of wing play first and foremost before everything else. The midfielders vacate the centre of the pitch too easily to accommodate this strategy which means that when we lose possession. the centre is easily breached. Our structure in the first phase is basically an afterthought, as evidenced by the tweet above, because everyone is split wide and the only option in the middle is Guendouzi.

It's quite a strange strategy and one that doesn't work mainly because we don't have enough pace and ball-carriers in the team to pull it off. Not a surprise we look marginally better when the 2nd string play bad opposition, because the younger players (i.e. Saka, ESR, Tierney, Willock, Nelson, Martinelli etc) are quicker and better ball-carriers. But it's still sub-optimal. It also doesn't play to the strengths of our slow midfielders. Xhaka might not be having a great time right now, but I don't believe he's a terrible player - I actually think his passing was 100x better under Wenger and he would have at least been more of a presence if we weren't so stuck on this propensity for building predominantly out-wide. I've noticed both he and Guendouzi have been pushed very wide often in build-ups aswell and while Guendouzi is managing to cope, Xhaka looks more lost. Not Xhaka's biggest fan but he, like a lot of players in this squad, haven't been helped by Emery's tactics here.
 

Red London

Anti-Simp Culture
Trusted ⭐
If anyone needed proof we don’t do enough work in training, no one knows what their doing...ffs Emery.
It's this playing out the back nonsense which has given full proof that Emery hasn't actually been working on anything meaningful since he joined. I know this because he gave up playing out the back early last season, and then he randomly introduces it. Not in our first or second game of the season, but our 4th or 5th vs Watford. What is this man doing... you dont just decide "oh okay this week we're gonna play out the back". I've really turned on him this season tbh.

Do you remember when we were using a high press too? What happened to that? It looks like he has no idea what to do and he is out of his depth managing clubs with aspirations of being amongst the top. Clubs like Everton, Sevilla, Marsielle, Leverkusen, Milan etc are his ceiling by the looks of it... he'd be lucky to get a job there if anyone has paid close attention to his time here.
 

Riou

In The Winchester, Waiting For This To Blow Over

Country: Northern Ireland

Player:Gabriel
It's this playing out the back nonsense which has given full proof that Emery hasn't actually been working on anything meaningful since he joined. I know this because he gave up playing out the back early last season, and then he randomly introduces it. Not in our first or second game of the season, but our 4th or 5th vs Watford. What is this man doing... you dont just decide "oh okay this week we're gonna play out the back". I've really turned on him this season tbh.

Do you remember when we were using a high press too? What happened to that? It looks like he has no idea what to do and he is out of his depth managing clubs with aspirations of being amongst the top. Clubs like Everton, Sevilla, Marsielle, Leverkusen, Milan etc are his ceiling by the looks of it... he'd be lucky to get a job there if anyone has paid close attention to his time here.

I watched the first match of last year with my mum (who is also a massive gooner) and remember that point against City were Cech nearly kicked the ball into his own net, she was having none of this playing out from the back nonsense from then on :lol:

She’s never liked Emery, even when he was doing sort of well last season...she badly wanted Arteta so she was already disappointed when he got the job, and she thinks Arsène is a very attractive man so I also think she thinks Emery isn’t handsome enough to be Arsenal manager...it’s very funny!
 

Highbury

Active Member
In my opinion, considering the lack of a proper LW and Emery’s refusal to play Özil, 3-5-2 is the only formation that can make us look half-decent.

This would also allow Aubameyang to take up a central role instead of being shifted out wide to accommodate the Emirates Stadium merchant as the lone ST.

You could play Tierney and Bellerin as your LWB and RWB, and Chambers as your RCB. David Luiz could be the CB and it is the only formation where he actually looked like a decent defender. Papa or Holding can play as the LCB.

The only problem that I see that it will be difficult to accommodate Pepe, but I think in the short term he can play as the more advanced midfielder in the center with Guendouzi and Torreira behind him.
 

Riou

In The Winchester, Waiting For This To Blow Over

Country: Northern Ireland

Player:Gabriel
In my opinion, considering the lack of a proper LW and Emery’s refusal to play Özil, 3-5-2 is the only formation that can make us look half-decent.

This would also allow Aubameyang to take up a central role instead of being shifted out wide to accommodate the Emirates Stadium merchant as the lone ST.

You could play Tierney and Bellerin as your LWB and RWB, and Chambers as your RCB. David Luiz could be the CB and it is the only formation where he actually looked like a decent defender. Papa or Holding can play as the LCB.

The only problem that I see that it will be difficult to accommodate Pepe, but I think in the short term he can play as the more advanced midfielder in the center with Guendouzi and Torreira behind him.

I was never as against the 3 at the back formation as some on here...we could play more of a 3-4-3, with Laca slightly behind Auba and Pepe up front maybe?
 

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