Assorted observations from the thrilling, nervy clash against Brighton
On counterpressing, rotations, composure at the front, lapses at the back, and a beautifully electric game
Well, that was a fun one.
It was not lacking for intrigue. Arsenal immediately scored, but then had its lowest possession of the year. The team looked both shakier at the back and more dangerous at the front, with the front three all scoring on highlight reel chances… again. Captain Ødegaard kept up his ridiculous run, and after an out-of-character basketball celebration, one Reddit user theorized that he reads this very column:
Meanwhile, Brighton deserves so much credit for making this interesting. While there was a talent differential between the teams—particularly acute with Caicedo and Mac Allister out on Saturday—the team’s anticipatory passing is the stuff of instructional videos, and Kaoru Mitoma continues the Brighton scouting heater unabated. Todd Boehly on line two.
So let’s empty the notebook with a few sloppy thoughts. This isn’t meant to be a definitive overview of everyone’s performance, but just a few of the less obvious things that were on my mind after the final whistle.
Eyes on the counterpress
Within 67 seconds, Arsenal had its first goal. To uncover how it happened, let’s start with a Klopp quote:
"Gegenpressing lets you win back the ball nearer to the goal. It's only one pass away from a really good opportunity. No playmaker in the world can be as good as a good gegenpressing situation, and that's why it's so important."
Arsenal’s lift in counterpressing discipline and energy has been a big reason for its lift in form this year. Even before the goal, there were multiple second balls and upfield challenges.
After narrowly winning it back on a great opportunity generated by Ødegaard, Lamptey sought to kick off a counter up the middle, but was harried by Zinchenko and then dispossessed by Partey:
Then, before you could say & Hove Albion, a pass from Zinchenko to Martinelli, a deflection, a calm Saka gather, and a goal.
The pivotal player here was arguably Zinchenko. This is because counterpressing isn’t just about successful challenges, it’s about unsettling the opponent with all the means at one’s disposal: hassling them, cutting their options, slowing things down, tactical fouling, whatever — then acting immediately to whatever happens next.
Going back to the original screenshot: in this case, Lamptey had bountiful free runners, but couldn’t use them because Zinchenko was on him, before Partey sealed the deal:
Thus kicks off the Judo of using the opponent’s forward energy in attack against them. When the ball is won, they are spread out, and unable to regroup with sufficient organization. Before they know it, the ball is in the net.
Zinchenko’s contributions often get painted in broad strokes: “great in possession, can struggle defensively.” The reality is much more nuanced. It’s true he often gets caught “in between” when tracking through-balls, struggling betwixt (do you ever hate yourself after typing a word?) challenging the carrier or cutting the lane, and ultimately can get beat wide as a result. He also isn’t a plus defender in deep-third 1v1’s.
But in the middle third and higher—where Arteta would prefer to defend—he can be decisive and exceptional. Pair that with elite work in press-resistance—he was 90% passing again—and we’re reminded that the best way to defend oppositional attacks is to make sure they never happen in the first place.
There were many other factors in play—and here’s your mandatory correlation/causation disclaimer—but when White and Zinchenko were subbed off, the possession was more even keel, and the score was 3-0. They should have been subbed (if not staggered, and perhaps a little later in retrospect), and this corresponded with a more defensive lean and Partey’s eventual sub, but it speaks to their joint impact on the proceedings.
Big wheel keep on turning
I’ve still been intrigued by the comfort this team has rotating. Ødegaard’s constant gesticulating and communication is appreciated by all, of course, but there’s an unspoken, easy fluidity that just seems to… happen. Smart people say words like “automatisms,” but I’ll stay in my lane.
Shortly after the goal, Zinchenko drew a foul and took the ball on a free kick. After he noticed an opportunity for a carry, the ball was worked from Ødegaard to a shading Nketiah:
The 9 is now vacated as Eddie moves left and plays it around, so that means Zinchenko is your striker, naturally:
And now we have a wide triangle with support: Eddie at LW, Zinchenko in the channel, Martinelli in a mezzala spot, Xhaka supporting. Zinchenko accepted the ball on the turn and nearly had his first (?!) Premier League goal:
It happens on the defensive side regularly.
At 48’, Martinelli lost the ball in the middle of the pitch. Brighton is attacking to the left, and instead of “getting back to position,” Martinelli hounded Mitoma all the way back, eventually rotating to a right-back position. Xhaka notices there may be an unfavorable lean and gets on his horse to be one of the first back:
…and as the second step, Eddie is sprinting back from way up top to cover the LW defensive position:
This may have been decisive, because in the closing moments of the half, Brighton worked it over there to March—who no longer had numbers. Nketiah helped shut the opportunity down:
Composure on the break
After two intelligent strikes in the first half, the third goal had so many nice moments leading up to it.
At 47’, Partey is deep in the box, and instead of wildly clearing a Trossard ball in, he basically passes it to Ødegaard instead:
Eddie then looks for the ball in hold-up because he sees he doesn’t have numbers ahead, before quickly changing speed and dragging a defender:
Partey is now back in the play and has space thanks to Eddie’s gravitational pull. He back-spins a ball to hit Martinelli in stride perfectly:
Up to this point, Martinelli had actually been matched pretty well by Lamptey despite being left on his own over there. The first goal was when Lamptey was upfield, and after that, the Brighton right-back had been cheating his body-shape to deny Martinelli his preferred right foot, and winning some duels. On this one, Martinelli rips it hard with his left, and Eddie cleans it up:
Eddie’s done this clean-up work so much that it can’t be chalked up to good fortune. He’s got a brilliant knack for showing up at the exact right time, shouldering for position, and bouncing it home.
Later, Ødegaard kicked The Year’s Last Great Long Ball and Martinelli bashed it home with his right:
Lapses at the back
After the West Ham game, most of the commentary made mention of the team’s rust showing up in the first half before being shaken off in the second. That makes for a tidy storyline, but after a rewatch of that one, I’d update that characterization: the team looked fucking amazing from the first whistle. Football has small, silly margins, and despite the three-goal difference, the first and second halves were much more similar than they were different.
There was one exception: robot of destruction William Saliba did have the moment of uncertainty followed by the penalty lunge, and a few other (less costly) uncharacteristic seconds of slop. Such moments were understandable given that he was perhaps the coldest player coming back. The form continued on Saturday — and this time, he was joined by the also-unthawing Takehiro Tomiyasu (who, unlike Saliba, is also returning from injury).
Their mistakes have been similar in variety: a read, then second-guessing the impulse, then getting caught on a lonely island:
They have all the hallmarks of players regaining their self-assuredness. Just part of the process, methinks.
I also wouldn’t pin the second goal entirely on Saliba. While he could have done a better job jockeying for a position, the ball took an unexpected carom off his knee, and Ramsdale should have had it covered without issue.
I fully expect both to get back up to speed in the games to come, but there is one persistent question for each:
Can Saliba improve his reads and disruption of through-balls? He had a couple similar struggles against Leeds and Liverpool.
Can Tomiyasu retain his defensive dominance against hassling, quick-pass teams that require immediate bursts of agility? He also struggled against Leeds, and now Brighton—where his buzz-killing aerial skills are less a factor.
It’ll be interesting to see how quickly the fixes get pushed to production.
🔥 Final thoughts 🔥
There is much else to say, and there are many other players deserving of more fulsome mentions — but I will show uncharacteristic discipline and save for them for another time. As I said, this wasn’t meant to be an exhaustive look at the game, and you don’t need me to tell you that Saka, White, Xhaka, and Gabriel are #goodatfootball.
For now: these are heady days, with the team seven points clear of the table before a fascinating clash against Newcastle.
Happy New Year. And happy grilling everybody.
🔥