Arsenal: Tactics and playing style with Unai Emery

Though Arsenal started their new season with back to back defeats against the reigning champions Manchester City and their Europa League companion, there are plenty of positives to be taken from both the games. Unai Emery's first two games as the Arsenal boss ended up in defeats, but some of his new signings along with the old Gunners did show that they are capable of bringing the glory days back for the Gooners.

The 19-year-old boy from France deserves some applause for his confident performance. Guendouzi was certainly a stand-out player in both the games. The boy from Lorient stood out and played his role immaculately as a CM. He made tackles, interceptions and started off attacks with much confidence. The 19-year-old was Unai's second signing, and a risky one, but the boy didn't fail to perform. He looked dull in the starting minutes against City, as moving into a league like the Premier League is never an easy task, but he picked up pace pretty quickly and improved in no time.

Emery said in an interview,

"It’s his first match here in the Premier League. ‘He has personality and quality and if he is on the pitch he is improving very quickly.’

Emery subbed off Granit Xhaka and not Guendouzi for Torreria, and that shows the trust and belief Emery has put in the young boy.

Against City, Lichsteiner helped the team defensively, as his experience and wise sense of knowledge came handy for the Gunners. However, the former Dortmund centre-back Sokratis didn't look comfortable. Chambers might get a chance in the next game.

Arsenal FC v Manchester City - Premier League — One for the future

Tactics:

Unai Emery is clearly trying to bring his style to the Emirates, and the Gunners are working on it. We saw them creating attacks from the back and pressing high up on the pitch in both the games. His idea of having a fast-paced counter-attacking game might help Arsenal win games but it also has some drawbacks of its own.

Pressing game

It was quite clear from their first game itself that Arsenal will be playing a pressing game, but the North London side had a tough time getting the ball back from City. Pep's understanding and knowledge about football are second to none and it seems like his team has got all the qualities of the legendary Barcelona team under Guardiola. Arsenal still found it a bit difficult to hold on to the ball as City's pressing was levels above to that of Arsenal.

Arsenal created chances in abundance throughout the two games, but the strikers didn't capitalize on any one of them, and this is a bit worrisome for the coach. Aubameyang, Ramsey, Mkhitaryan and Ozil had enough chances to change the scoreline, but each one of them failed to make the difference.

Counter-attacking football

The Arsenal side under Emery looks way different than that of Wenger's. Games with such intensity at the Emirates were not something the Gooners were familiar to. The fans witnessed some pacy and quality counter-attacking football, but regrettably, none of them led to goals. The defence looked a bit shaky and the full-backs, as always, failed to track back on time.

Aaron Ramsey played his part well, and he is also one of the players who missed a vital chance to score against the mighty City. He was subbed off in the 54th minute for Lacazette, and the Frenchman was set up by Aubameyang with a clear-cut chance as soon as he stepped in. It certainly was a difficult evening for Arsenal, but the positives are in profusion.

Starting attacks from the back

Unai Emery is trying to bring in a different style of game to the Emirates. Petr Cech was continuously trying to start games from the back, and he did not shoot the ball into the air aimlessly during goal-kicks like most goalies do. Unai is trying to make Petr a sweeper-keeper, and not just a goalkeeper. And for that, Cech needs to seriously work a lot as age is not on his side.

This is something very new and unexpected from Unai Emery, but it's also a very good idea. It helps the team to keep possession of the ball, and all the attackers of the opposition team will be in Arsenal's half. This will help in creating attacks quicker and there would not be many players for the wingers and midfielders to beat.

Positive points from the game

Arsenal lost to the best team in England on matchday 1, and probably the best-attacking team all across Europe. So this defeat is nothing to be ashamed of. Instead, the fans and the players should focus on the positives from the game. The game against Chelsea should've been a win for Arsenal, only if the attackers were more clinical upfront.

Unai Emery's Arsenal looked sharp as ever and this tells us that the era of Unai has a lot to give. The team played as a team and they played with an intention to win. We witnessed some beautiful tiki-taka football from the Gunners which led to counter-attacks and could have generated goals only if the strikers were more efficient up front.

Arsenal v Manchester City - Premier League

The defence looked a bit unstable, although Mustafi was in great form. Sokratis needs to adapt to the fast game and he eventually will improve. The full-backs did great to their standards, and Maitland Niles impressed the Gooners with his smart work on the ball against City. The attacking unit is again a problem, with the finishers not being competent enough. Ramsey, Auba, Laca and Micky all have work to do.

Midfield was not really a problem, except for the starting minutes of the game. Xhaka looked completely out of touch, but Guendouzi and Ozil did their work. The former Lorient midfielder played with sheer dedication and Emery trusted him to play the whole game.

My point is, Arsenal played brilliant football and there surely are some points where the team needs to work on. A top 4 finish doesn't look impossible for Arsenal this year.

Department reviews:

Every player on the field for Arsenal gave their absolute best, and it was perceptible enough to the people. However, some lacked the required dedication and this segment is to explain how each player played in the two games and where the individual can improve.

Goalkeeping

Starting with the veteran goalkeeper Cech, the Czech international gave a commendable performance. None expected him to start ahead of the new signing Bernd Leno, however, Emery had plans to stick with his veteran keeper.

Cech had a great game, and he pulled off some impossible saves.

Unsurprisingly, Petr Cech was quite interested in passing the ball sideways to his defenders, even during goal kicks, as he was trying the new tactic applied by Unai Emery. He is trying to start attacks from the back, passing the ball to his defenders, and this helps in keeping ball possession. Well, he almost ended up passing the ball to his own net once, but luckily enough, it went across the face of the goal and was a corner. The Gunners were inviting City to attack, and they were trying to play the ball in their own half. It's always difficult to do that against a high-pressing team like City.

Cech is a player with a great amount of experience, but his silly mistakes have often cost the team. However, he looks better this season. Bernd Leno will have to work hard and can make his way into the starting eleven if Cech doesn't improve his game with time.

Both the games were demeaning for the Arsenal defenders, as they have let in 5 goals in just two games, scoring only two. Their fullbacks failed to track back, and Hector Bellerin had back-to-back challenges. He could not stop Sterling and neither Hazard. The Belgium forward ran past Hector with ease and created the winner for Marcos Alonso, who was clinical with his finish.

Mustafi played good football but Sokratis looked slow and could not cope up with the pacy football City played. He must improve if he wants to be in the starting eleven.

Sterling and Mahrez were running riots on the wings. Maitland Niles looked isolated on the left as there wasn't any support for him to stop the pair of Walker and Mahrez. Walker with his insane speed made multiple runs into the box, and as Niles was looking to stop him in one of Walker's attacks, the young left-back ended up injuring himself. Lichsteiner replaced him and the Swiss international looked more comfortable on the left, RB being his natural position.

Lichsteiner must start against West Ham as Bellerin has failed to accomplish the tasks given to him.

Midfield

The midfield seemed to lack some strength, as the duo of Xhaka and Guendouzi didn't do enough to stop the attacking plays. Xhaka, as a result, was subbed off for Torreira in both the games. The Swiss player completely looked out of touch and he lost possession a plenty of times and was eventually taken out.

The attacking midfield trio of Mkhitaryan, Ramsey and Ozil could have done much better against Pep's side. Micky looked absolutely clueless about how to gain possession, create and how to start attacks, though he scored a wonderful goal last week against Chelsea. Walker kept him in his pocket for the whole 90 minutes and this is something not good. Micky needs to get back in form otherwise Emery can always start Welbeck or Iwobi in place of him.

Attacking unit

Aubameyang looked isolated as a sole striker. The playmakers struggled to feed him with balls as a result of City's tight defensive play, but Aubameyang wasn't efficient against both sides. He missed a sitter against the Blues. However, when Lacazette came in, Aubameyang was shifted to the left wing, as Lacazette prefers to play as a striker. And Aubameyang looks better when he is given a wider role as his pace helps him beat defenders.Aubameyang and Lacazette forge a strong attacking duo and Emery must use them both in the upcoming game.

Mkhitaryan or Ramsey should be given the central role, and Ozil plays beautiful football as a right winger, though he mostly moves into the centre with Bellerin taking the right wing.

Conclusion

Arsenal has always suffered in the defending department, but that doesn't seem to be a problem this year. Their defence looks sorted. City not scoring in a game is impossible, so this loss against City is just a reality check for Emery and co. But they should have done a finer job in defending against Chelsea. The Arsenal team is clear about the level of football they have to produce for a top three finish, and Emery is capable of doing that with his squad. Not conceding against the top 6 is pretty difficult, but the scoreline would have been probably equal or in favour of Arsenal if their attackers did their job well in both the matches.

With two back-to-back defeats, they have already lost six points. The Gunners have to start winning, with the game against West Ham coming up next weekend

Edited by Moderator -PJ