What’s Arteta-ball? It’s the new tiki taka. It’s the new possession game. It’s keeping the ball in the back and passing out of trouble. Sure, Arsenal have always been a passing and possession style football club, but under Arteta they are now trying to play the beautiful way even more.
Since Arsenal appointed Mikel Arteta as the new manager, who previously acted as the assistant manager for Pep Guardiola at Manchester City, there’s a new Arsenal style of play that was clearly on display against his former mentor.
While Arsenal were out possessed by Manchester City, their first goal was a nearly twenty pass sequence out of the back that led to a goal by Pierre-Emerick Aubameyan. The image at the top of this page is the sequence of passes that led to Aubameyan’s goal. Amazing to see the bunch of passes in Arsenal’s own goal box area, with their keeper playing a big part in the keep away process before they break out on the counter.
Here’s some of the new Arteta ball on display in recent Arsenal games. What’s interesting is Ozil is still a key part of Arsenal’s team in many ways, in that he’s the player that makes the killer pass or unlocks the opposing defense. Will Arsenal and Arteta find a place for Ozil going forward? Will Ozil be a part of the new Areta ball in the English Premier League next year?
Head coach Mikel Arteta arrived midway through December and immediately saw the impact that he wanted to make. Now, Arteta looks back at our 2019/20 campaign, sharing his thoughts on the experience, what he learned and his hopes for the future.
It may take a bit of time but Arteta ball just might bring Arsenal back to their glory days of old. A team that wins and plays good football. Could Arteta challenge his old boss Guardiola for the English Premier League title soon? Let’s hope so. Everybody wants an exciting race for the title and not one team simply running away with it every year.