Here's WHY Arsenal are SO GOOD.

Summary

This video celebrates Arsenal's remarkable run of form, breaking records and emerging as a formidable force in the Premier League. It delves into the tactical brilliance behind their success, highlighting their elite coaching strategies, counter-pressing prowess, positional discipline, and set-piece mastery. The host praises Mikel Arteta's meticulous approach, dissecting Arsenal's patterns of play, relentless defending while attacking, and their ability to address past weaknesses. With a mix of individual talent and collective commitment, Arsenal's dominance spans all phases of play, leaving fans optimistic about their potential, even if the league title eludes them this season.

Takeaways

• 😀 Arsenal is having an incredible season, winning 6 consecutive Premier League games and scoring 25 goals in the process, putting them in contention for the title.
• 🔑 Arsenal's success is attributed to exceptional coaching, tactical implementation, and positional awareness among players, enabling effective counter-pressing and defending while attacking.
• 🧠 Arsenal's attacking patterns, although sometimes criticized for appearing robotic, are fundamental to their success as they create scoring opportunities through well-drilled movements and positioning.
• ⚽ Set pieces, particularly corners, have been a major strength for Arsenal, with variations in delivery, runs, and positioning making them one of the most potent teams from dead-ball situations.
• 🌟 Players like Saka, Rice, Martinelli, and the central defensive pairing of Gabriel and Saliba have been instrumental in Arsenal's stellar performances.
• 💪 Arsenal has addressed past weaknesses, such as squad utilization, substitutions, and injury management, through improved recruitment and tactical adjustments.
• 🎯 The team's mentality, commitment to Arteta's methodology, and willingness to work for the collective goal have been crucial factors in their dominance across all phases of play.
• 🔮 While they may not win the league due to Manchester City's strength, Arsenal's current form and performances are considered among the best in the club's history.
• 👏 The coaching staff and players deserve immense credit for their incredible job and have earned the trust and support of fans as they continue their impressive run.
• 🌍 Arsenal's dominance extends beyond just attacking or defending, as they are excelling in every phase of play, from set pieces to counter-pressing and individual battles.

Q & A

What records did Arsenal break during their recent Premier League matches?

Arsenal became the first team in Premier League history to score two or more goals in seven consecutive halves of Premier League football. Additionally, Bukayo Saka scored in five successive league appearances, the first Arsenal player to do so since Thierry Henry.

How has Arsenal's coaching and tactical approach contributed to their recent success?

The script highlights Arsenal's positional play and counter-pressing as key factors, suggesting Arsenal's players are well-drilled in their positioning and reaction to winning the ball back. The script also praises Arsenal's set-piece routines and attacking patterns as being well-coached and effective.

What is the significance of Arsenal addressing past complaints or weaknesses?

The script suggests that Arsenal has addressed many of the issues that fans previously complained about, such as squad rotation, substitutions, injuries, and a perceived lack of attacking ideas. Resolving these concerns has made Arsenal more adaptable and less reliant on individuals.

How does the script describe Arsenal's attacking patterns?

The script acknowledges that Arsenal's attacking patterns can sometimes seem repetitive or robotic, but argues that these patterns are fundamental to their current success. It provides examples of Arsenal players executing these rehearsed movements to create goalscoring opportunities.

What variations does Arsenal use for corner kicks?

The script outlines two main variations: 1) A decoy run across the box to overload the front post, dragging defenders away from the back post. 2) Simply stepping into the six-yard box and contesting aerially, rather than making a full run across the box.

How does the script assess Arsenal's overall performance and coaching?

The script argues that Arsenal are currently one of, if not the best coached team in the world, dominating all phases of play, from set-pieces to counter-pressing, individual battles to attacking and defending. It praises their coaching staff and suggests their ceiling is still unknown.

What is the script's view on Arsenal's title chances this season?

While acknowledging Arsenal's impressive form, the script still doubts they will win the Premier League title this season, suggesting Manchester City are too good. However, it encourages trust in Mikel Arteta and the team's process.

How does the script highlight Arsenal's squad depth?

The script notes that Arsenal's impressive run has come despite the absences of potentially three starters in Gabriel Jesus, Oleksandr Zinchenko, and Thomas Partey, as well as Fabio Vieira and Emile Smith Rowe, highlighting their strong squad depth.

What role does the crowd play in Arsenal's success, according to the script?

The script suggests Arsenal have made efforts to improve the match-day atmosphere, hiring staff and distributing flags and tifos. It states that Mikel Arteta believes having the best stadium and atmosphere is crucial to becoming the best team in the world.

How does the script assess individual performances within Arsenal's team?

The script praises several individual players, such as Bukayo Saka, Declan Rice, Gabriel, and William Saliba, suggesting they have reached new heights this season. It also commends the overall team's maturity and form.

Outlines

00:00

🏆 Arsenal's Remarkable Premier League Run

This paragraph celebrates Arsenal's outstanding performance in the Premier League. It highlights various records and milestones the team has achieved, such as scoring two or more goals in seven consecutive halves, Saka's goalscoring form, Rice's assist tally, and their impressive goal difference. The paragraph also mentions the team's strong winning streak, high goal output, and their mathematical safety from relegation, setting the stage for the team's title challenge.

05:00

⚽ The Tactical Intricacies Behind Arsenal's Success

The paragraph delves into the tactical and coaching aspects that have contributed to Arsenal's success. It discusses concepts like the 'net' methodology for player positioning and counter-pressing, highlighting Arsenal's effectiveness in winning the ball back. It also examines the team's attacking patterns and how repeated actions, despite sometimes seeming robotic, have been instrumental in their goal-scoring prowess. Additionally, it analyzes Arsenal's corner kick routines, describing the different variations and player movements employed to create scoring opportunities.

10:02

🌟 Arsenal's Dominance and Potential

This paragraph emphasizes Arsenal's comprehensive dominance across all phases of play. It suggests that the team is excelling in virtually every aspect, from set pieces and counter-pressing to individual battles and accessing the box. The paragraph expresses the writer's admiration for the team's performance, considering it one of the best in Arsenal's history. While acknowledging the potential challenge from Manchester City in the title race, the writer encourages fans to trust in the team and the coaching staff, as the results will come, even if not this season.

Keywords

💡Counter-pressing

Counter-pressing refers to the tactic of applying intense pressure on the opposition immediately after losing possession of the ball, in an attempt to win it back quickly. The video script discusses how Arsenal excels at counter-pressing, attributing it to their positional discipline and relational positioning drilled through extensive coaching. For example, it mentions that Arsenal's players are 'almost always in the perfect position to either receive the ball in play or if the ball was turned over be ready to pounce and win it back straight away.'

💡Net

The 'net' is a coaching methodology mentioned in the script, where the ideal positioning of players in relation to one another is defined to facilitate effective counter-pressing. It involves finding the right balance between being too spread out or too compressed, so that players are positioned optimally to recover the ball upon a turnover. The script suggests that Arsenal's coaching staff may employ this 'net' concept, which contributes to their success in counter-pressing.

💡Patterns

The script refers to the attacking patterns that Arsenal employs, which may sometimes appear 'robotic' or repetitive but are fundamental to their success. These patterns involve sequences of movements and positioning that the players have drilled extensively, allowing them to capitalize on scoring opportunities through familiarity and anticipation. For example, the script mentions a pattern where 'Erard doesn't even look back and plays a beautiful back heel because he knows exactly where Saka will be after he connects with him in the half space.'

💡Set pieces

Set pieces, particularly corners, are highlighted as a strength of Arsenal's in the script. It describes in detail the two main variations Arsenal employs for corner kicks, involving either triggering runs across the box to create space at the back post, or simply overloading the six-yard box to capitalize on physical superiority. The script praises Arsenal's coaching staff for developing an intuition for when to use each variation based on the opposition's weaknesses and strengths.

💡Coaching

The video script repeatedly emphasizes the role of coaching in Arsenal's dominant performances. It attributes Arsenal's positional discipline, counter-pressing prowess, attacking patterns, and set-piece routines to the extensive coaching and drilling done by Mikel Arteta and his staff. The script suggests that Arsenal's success is not solely due to individual talent but rather the elite football ideas and coaching that underpin their collective dominance in various phases of play.

💡Dominance

The script highlights Arsenal's dominance across all phases of play as a key factor in their impressive form. It suggests that Arsenal are not just excelling in isolated areas but rather 'dominating everything - duels, set pieces, baiting the press, counter-press, individual battles, 1v1s, attacking, defending, second balls, accessing the box.' This comprehensive dominance across various facets of the game is presented as a testament to Arsenal's quality and the effectiveness of their coaching.

💡Collective

Throughout the script, there is a strong emphasis on Arsenal's collective strength, rather than reliance on individual brilliance. It discusses how Arsenal's players work in relation to one another, both positionally and in executing attacking patterns, to create scoring opportunities. The script also highlights the team's collective effort in counter-pressing and their shared commitment to a 'whole game methodology,' suggesting that their success is built on a collective understanding and buy-in to Arteta's principles.

💡Adaptability

The script suggests that Arsenal has become more adaptable, addressing previous weaknesses that used to derail their seasons, such as injuries and squad management. It cites their summer recruitment and the utilization of the entire squad as factors that have contributed to their ability to overcome challenges that would have previously disrupted their form. This adaptability is presented as a significant improvement over Arsenal's past struggles and a reason for their sustained dominance this season.

💡Atmosphere

The script briefly touches on the role of the crowd and the atmosphere at the Emirates Stadium in Arsenal's success. It mentions that Arsenal has made efforts to improve the atmosphere for each game, such as distributing flags, conducting interviews, and using social media to energize the fans. This is attributed to Mikel Arteta's belief that having 'the best stadium and atmosphere' is necessary for Arsenal to become 'the best team in the world,' suggesting that the passionate support of the fans contributes to the team's dominant performances.

💡Ceiling

The script expresses uncertainty about Arsenal's 'ceiling' or the limits of their potential this season. Despite acknowledging their incredible form and performances, the author states, 'I don't know what this team's ceiling is' and remains skeptical about their chances of winning the Premier League due to Manchester City's quality. However, the script firmly believes that Arsenal's current team is 'one of the best teams we've ever seen at Arsenal period,' highlighting the remarkable nature of their achievements and leaving open the possibility of even greater heights.

Highlights

Arsenal are the first team in Premier League history to score two or more goals in seven consecutive halves of Premier League football.

Bukayo Saka has eight goals in his last seven Premier League appearances, becoming the first player to score in five successive League appearances for Arsenal since Thierry Henry.

Declan Rice got his fourth corner assist in 2024 as Arsenal took their goals from corners tally to 13 for the season, comfortably the highest in the league.

Arsenal have scored half as many Premier League goals in February as Manchester United's entire season total and are mathematically safe from relegation.

Bukayo Saka is at the best level he's ever been, Declan Rice could probably anticipate and counter-press his own death, and Gabriel and Saliba have reached the highest peak of any center-back pairing in the Emirates era for Arsenal.

The crowd have played their part in Arsenal's success, with the club making an effort to improve the atmosphere for single games with tifos, flags, interviews, social media posts, and even hiring guests to get the fans fired up.

Arsenal's success is attributed to elite football ideas and coaching, with the author discussing three key factors: positional play and counter-pressing, attacking patterns, and set-piece routines.

Arsenal's players are always in the perfect position to either receive the ball or be ready to counter-press and win the ball back, thanks to hours of coaching and drills on relational play.

Arsenal's attacking patterns, while sometimes criticized as robotic, are fundamental to their success because they are working, with players knowing their roles and movement patterns.

Arsenal's corner routines involve overloading the back post, creating decoy runs to drag defenders away, and varying the delivery and movement to exploit spaces and create chaos in the box.

Declan Rice's delivery on corners has been a crucial factor, consistently mixing height, depth, and whip with incredible technique.

Arsenal's dominance extends to every phase of play, including duels, set pieces, counter-pressing, individual battles, accessing the box, and even throw-ins.

The author argues that Arsenal are one of, if not the best coached team in the world, with individual and collective improvements evident across all areas of the game.

Arsenal's success has come despite injuries to key players like Jesus, Zinchenko, and Partey, highlighting the squad's depth and adaptability.

The author believes Arsenal are one of the best teams they've ever seen at Arsenal, and encourages fans to trust in Mikel Arteta and the team, even if they don't win the league this season.

Transcripts

welcome back to we are we're we're quite

good at football aren't we Saturday was

one of those days where you just find

yourself running out superlatives for

the team that were're building at

Arsenal and the records were flowing

like Martinelli on the transition

Arsenal are the first team in Premier

league history to score two or more

goals in seven consecutive halves of

Premier League football beio Saka has

eight goals in his last seven Premier

League appearances becoming the first

player to score in five successive

League appearances for Arsenal since Shu

Dean rice got his fourth Corner assist

in 2024 as Arsenal took their goals from

Corners tally to 13 for the season

comfortably the highest in the league

Arsenal have scored half as many Premier

League goals in February as United's

entire season total and we are

mathematically safe from relegation

Safety First kids after six Premier

League wins in a row scoring 25 goals in

the process and putting ourselves right

in the title conversation it's time to

answer the question how are we doing it

well there's the basics that the eye can

see of course the Saka is at the best

level he's ever been Declan rice could

probably anticipate and counter press

his own death and Gabrielle and celba I

feel comfortable saying have for me

reached the highest peak of any Center

back pairing in the Emirates era for

Arsenal Sur passing pair and Keli for me

as the greatest we've ever had right now

I could give a special mention to

basically anyone geino Kier R white even

Kai habit we're maturing as a team we've

hit form at an incredible time and as

Mikel says if we want to be the best

team in the world we have to have the

best stadium and atmosphere so the crowd

have played their part too I've never

seen Arsenal make as much of an effort

to improve the atmosphere for single

game with Tios Flags interviews social

media posts and even hiring gets to get

us fired I shouldn't have written that I

shouldn't have written that so all that

am more plays a part but this is the

different knock performances like that

don't happen without elite football

ideas and coaching as the absolute

fundamental so let's look a little bit

deeper at three of the things that are

going so right right now Jesse Marsh

recently appeared on Sky Sports for the

MF managerial showcase for potential

employers I mean a guest appearance

sorry and was actually genuinely really

insightful about the Red Bull model one

of the principles He was discussing was

the net shown here essentially the idea

of defining where the players should

ideally all be positioned in relation to

one another which allows them to become

a really good counter pressing team if

your net is too spread you may feel like

you're covering more of the pitch but if

you lose the ball let's say in the

middle you're miles away however if

you're too compressed you may feel like

you're more ready to jump on teams if

you do lose it but you restrict your

passing game as you can't be too

expensive getting those distances right

is one of the hardest things in football

and requires hours of coaching and

concentration I don't know whether Mel

uses the net methodology or idea

specifically he hasn't told me but there

are many reasons we're so good at

counter pressing and I believe it's

partly down to how well prepared we are

positionally in case we do turn over the

ball I challenge you to take basically

any screenshots from settled play of

that new Castle game when Arsenal are in

possession and tell me that Arsenal's

players aren't almost always in the

perfect position to either receive the

ball in play or if the ball was turned

over be ready to pounce and win it back

straight away they're never too far away

and never too wide they're never stood

on top of one another but they're never

trying to cover the whole pitch this

data Vis from Mark R stats from about a

month ago shows how good we are on the

counter press second only to PSG for

success rate so the best in the Premier

League and there's a reason the amount

of hours that must have gone into

relational play and drills to achieve

this consistency is staggering as well

as signing and developing the players

with the intelligence to do this in the

first place the players aren't just

standing in random positions based on

intuition they're looking at each other

and working out where they should be in

relation to one another I'm a YouTuber

don't listen to me listen to the

professional coaches this is drilled but

it's not just that it's the

aggressiveness and willingness to win

the ball back right from the first

whistle despite most of these players

having just started their fourth game in

13 days against Newcastle I know we joke

about it but look at that field tilt you

don't achieve that level of Suffocation

without a huge amount of physical effort

the amount of unselfish work that goes

on crucially for the entire game without

the concentration dropping is a

testament to how much the team believe

in the football they play and how much

they need to to suffocate others in

order to succeed then of course it's the

individual Talent just to highlight two

Gabrielle man how many times is he

stepping forward early to win that ball

back for us getting it right so much

more consistently than before remember

that man city red card or the

Southampton red card he's completely cut

that out of his game and Dean

rice I mention those two but it's all of

them just look at the reaction to the

Newcastle goal of course you want your

team to want the clean sheet but to a

man you see frustration at conceding

despite it clearly being a consolation

playing out to the sound of ironic

cheers from the Newcastle fans this is a

team that are committed to a whole game

methodology it's not we're attacking

then we're defending it's we're

defending while we're attacking and

we're attacking while we're defending

secondly one of my key messages about

this team at the moment is encouraging

fans to look back at what we used to

complain about it might sound weird on

the surface but for me this gives us

courage to project forward to think

about what might be fixed or certainly

addressed in the future because so much

that we used to complain about has

already been addressed we used to

complain about arteta Subs but now

Arsenal have great numbers and a good

record for substitute goal involvements

we used to complain about the use of the

squad much better this season when you

look at the minutes we've rightly

complained in the past about injuries

always derailing our season and it's

happened again look at our list of

injuries but are we derailed no and

that's down to the summer recruitment

addressing that concern we fixed so many

of our problems and become more

adaptable relying less and less on

individuals and so on but the past

complaint that I want to linger on is

this remember when we used to complain

about how robotic the football seemed

even this season I've said the players

don't seem to have any ideas in the

final third they're over coached and so

on it's felt at times like we're trying

to do the same thing over and over again

you all know it when you see it ball out

to sacka White makes the Run connect

with erard sacka crashes the Box repeat

on the other side attract pressure to

the left ball out to zenchenko into the

Midfield back out to Martinelli to run

at an isolated player and so on repeated

actions when they don't work We complain

but these attacking patterns are

fundamental to the reason we're looking

so good at the moment because they're

working two examples I want to use for

this the first is the missed Martinelli

chance erard doesn't even look back and

plays a beautiful back heel because he

knows exactly where sacka will be after

he connects with him in the half space

then sacka doesn't even look up either

because he knows someone will be

attacking the six-yard Box Martinelli

then nearly scores after making that

darting round to the center of the

six-yard Box knowing saaka will pull it

back and the second is the goal it was

so simple Martin gets that ball over the

top and once he takes it down habit is

on his bike he knows exactly where that

Ball's headed doesn't even look up plays

it back to the center of the six-yard

Box the place where he often runs

himself and habits has a simple tap in

2-0 game pretty much over it is

frustrating when it doesn't work and I

absolutely retain the right to complain

about it when it doesn't but these

patterns that we can see being repeated

again and again and again are one of the

reasons we're so good relying on these

patterns got us into a position as the

formed team in Europe with the best goal

difference in the league and second only

to Liverpool for goals scored sometimes

they're annoying but big picture they're

working finally set pieces and I'm going

to focus on Corners every corner is

different of course some go short

sometimes the delivery isn't quite right

and there's small adjustments game to

game that depend on opposition who's in

our team but there are some key

principles firstly Arsenal usually play

ins swingers rice if it's from the left

off his right and sacka from the right

off his left I would say arsenal almost

always overload the back post at the

setup but then what happens next is the

variety and I'd say there's two main

variations from what I've seen version

one there's a trigger for The Taker and

that's someone at the back post starting

a run across to the front post when they

feel the timing is right this has two

aims one to be there for a potential

flick on or to attack the ball depending

on the delivery and two to drag the

opposition players away from the back

post which is often what we're actually

trying to exploit it's a decoy run that

we may also profit from these are

typically our biggest players making

these runs to create the most amount of

momentum and physical power to contend

with by the time the ball gets into the

box the front post is overloaded and

there's space at the back once that

movement happens you'll see a soulle

Player move towards that back post to

try and profit from either the flick on

or the ball coming directly to them we

try and change this up so it's not

always obvious who the run is going to

be sometimes Martinelli sometimes it's

sacka trossard sometimes rice if it's

the other side and so on they also vary

where that run comes from occasionally

the front of the Box occasionally the

side so it's easy to track and a good

example of this working is Rice's winner

against United at home version two

though is slightly different instead of

us making the full run across the Box we

still overload the back post but

actually just step into the six-yard box

rather than running through it and force

the physical d with CBA kyor HTS and so

on from there it's much more about

creating a bit of Separation amidst the

chaos a good example of this working is

cba's goal against West Ham where celba

simply Rises highest the delivery for

these Corners is often a bit higher to

try and get over the goalkeeper and ask

the opposition Defenders to backtrack I

imagine version one is used where we

think we might outsmart them or where

we're targeting their back post

defenders in isolation because we think

that might be where their weakness is

and version two might be where we think

we can outm muscle them or where we're

concerned about the transition threat

because we're more Central and less

bunched over to One S side I'm sure we

use other variations and I'm probably

not even close on the level of detail

but from an observational perspective

these are the two I've seen personally

most used in the Premier League Porto

for example was different again

regardless to hold all that information

and develop an intuition of what corner

might work with niik yoa supposedly drip

feeding instructions throughout the week

is very impressive we must also be

beginning to strike fear into opposition

whenever we get a corner also want to

highlight the players on the edge of the

Box who often step in early to stop the

transition and Ben White as funny as it

is to see him sh1t house the goalkeeper

on the line he actually plays a very

important role often preventing the

goalkeeper coming to claim with subtle

movement and blocking that he almost

always gets away with he bullied Lor

Caris for example at the weekend he's a

smart player and none of that would mean

anything without superb deliveries as

mentioned earlier Dean rice has showing

me something I didn't even know he had

with a superb delivery that consistently

mixes height depth and whip incredible

technique Arsenal right now I would

argue are one of if not the best coached

team in the world the individual and

Collective improvements yes but what

about the dominance it's in every phase

of play literally pick any I've picked

three for the video but I could have

chosen out of 15 20 possibilities

because it's not oh we're playing well

but we look a bit vulnerable on set

pieces or yes we're winning but we are

relying on an individual we're

dominating everything Jewels set pieces

baiting the Press counter press

individual battles 1 v1's attacking

defending second balls accessing the box

maybe it's better to ask what aren't we

good at what phase of play aren't we

dominating I genuinely would love to

know we're even good at throws and this

run has come at a time where we haven't

had Jesus zenchenko or parte arguably

three starters plus Vieira and tomasu I

don't know what this team's ceiling is I

still don't think we'll win the league I

just think City are too good but this is

one of the best teams we've ever seen at

Arsenal period in my view and the

results will come even if it's not this

season trust in Mikel and Trust in the

boys because they're doing an incredible

job

if you like the different knock you can

support us on patreon monthly or you can

buy us a

coffee