Mikel Arteta has adopted a possession-heavy control style with Arsenal over the last few seasons, which has brought them to within two points of champions Manchester City.
With the marquee signing of Declan Rice last season, Arsenal have built an imposing spine to their team that allows for pure possession domination.
Mikel Arteta has players who are comfortable on the ball throughout the Arsenal squad, allowing Arteta’s side to take their time in their buildup and carve out clear-cut opportunities at goal.
However, last weekend’s draw with Brighton perhaps indicated that Arteta shouldn’t rule out a different style in certain games.
Even before Rice’s contentious red card against The Seagulls, Arsenal trailed in the possession stats. Brighton saw 53% of the ball in the first half, yet the Gunners still took the lead through Kai Havertz.
The second half saw Brighton predictably control the game with an extra man, but Arsenal’s five shots on target in the first half showed that Arteta’s side can still damage their opponents without possession.
Arsenal Invincible Emmanuel Petit was clearly struck by this discovery and demanded an alternative to Arteta’s control philosophy in a recent interview.
Emmanuel Petit urges Mikel Arteta and Arsenal to find a ‘plan B’
In an interview with Squawka, Petit claimed that Arsenal must be wary of occasions when their style of play is not suited to a particular match.
He said: “I had the feeling after the game that Arsenal still play the same way all the time. When they are good on the pitch it’s enough to beat the opponent.
“But when they are not good individually, and it happened with Declan Rice and Odegaard also not playing well, that’s not enough to beat the opponent.”
Petit was particularly critical of Havertz, who supposedly contributes to the potential problem. He said: “Havertz always tries to come deeper in midfield to link up with the midfield players, sometimes he’s asking for the ball behind the defenders. But that’s not enough. This is not his natural capacity.”
Havertz’s natural instinct is clearly to take the ball and influence the play from deeper than his striker position. This helps Arsenal’s quest for control but would disrupt a potentially more direct, fast style of attacking.
However, simply asking Havertz to stay forward doesn’t have to be the key to Petit’s ‘plan B’ proposal. In fact, one of Arteta’s summer recruits could help provide a more suitable alternative to the Gunners manager’s style.
Arteta can help Raheem Sterling find his clinical scoring touch
Raheem Sterling’s deadline-day arrival from Chelsea came as a shock to many, but Arteta’s past with Sterling at Manchester City could help unlock a devastating attacking option for Arsenal.
In Arteta’s final season with City, Sterling provided 17 goals and a further ten assists, a better goal return than Bukayo Saka has ever managed at Arsenal.
What was so unique about Sterling at City, though, was the ability to seek out the easiest chances to score.
His 17 goals in the 2018/19 season came with an average of only 1.26 shots on target per 90. Sterling is not the best finisher by any means, but his knack for finding the perfect position in the box could be a key threat for Arsenal.
Even if Havertz continues to drop deeper into the midfield, Sterling’s talents in the box can provide Arsenal with an unorthodox focal point in attack.
Controlled moves can still be created, but the more direct, flowing option can also flourish for Arteta with Sterling ready to apply the finish.
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