How did Arteta's first season at Arsenal go?
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Before he became a manager Micheal Arteta was a footballer. Arteta was a small midfielder who mostly played as a playmaker. He played in the youth teams from Barcelona but never made it into the first team

He played in a lot for a lot of good clubs like PSG, Rangers, Arsenal and Everton and played under great managers like Wenger and Moyes.

Arteta had three options when he retired. He was offered to lead the Arsenal Youth Academy by Arsène Wenger. To join Mauricio Pochettino's backroom staff or join Pep Guardiola's coaching team at Manchester City. He chose the third option

At Manchester City he even had 1 manager because Guardiola had a touchline ban. He lost that match 2-1. At Manchester City he won: 2x the Premier league, 2x the EFL cup and the FA cup once. In 2018 he was rumoured to go to Arsenal to replace Wenger but Arsenal chose Emery.

When Emery was sacked Arsenal had to find a new manager. Caretaker Ljungberg managed a few games before Arteta was announcements on 20 December 2019 as the new Arsenal manager. When Arteta took over Arsenal were in 11th place.

In his first match Arteta played in a 4231. He played Aubameyang as a LW and Saka as a LB. He took Xhaka after he was left out of the squad following a clash with the fans.

Arsenal pressed by using Saka to push higher up the pitch. When Saka goes forward Xhaka covers his place which means that Maitland Niles joins Torreira in the midfield. He wants his defence to play out from the back. Something they were not used to. This took some time

In attack Arsenal played in a 325. Maitland Niles and Torreira in the midfield and Xhaka, Luiz and Sokratis at the back. Saka and Nelson play wide on the wing and Auba and Ozil dropping a little bit back so Lacazette can play as the main striker.

The following match Arteta lost 1-2 to Chelsea. Chelsea dominated the whole match and Arsenal didn't attack after scoring the 1-0. He again played 4231

Arteta stayed loyal to his 4231 formation. Arteta doesn't make a lot of changes to his XI. Some thing i noticed is that he played Ozil and Pepe more. You can also see that Arteta is giving youth a chance. Some acedemy players are Saka, Willock, Nelson and Maitland Niles

We now fast forward to the match against Brighton where Arsenal are in 10th place. Following a heavy defeat against Manchester City Arsenal played against Brighton. Losing Bernd Leno in the 40th minute second goalkeeper Martinez came on.

In this match Arteta tried something different. He played in a 433 with Saka, Ceballos and Guendouzi in the midfield. He wanted Ceballos the be the play maker giving 3 key passes and 5 crosses. Saka played more on the wing allowing Aubameyang to come in inside.

He wanted Guendouzi to be more of a defensive midfielder. Eventhough Arteta made this changes Arsenal lost this match 2-1 with a goal in the dying minutes from Neal Maupay.

For the match against Southampton Arteta changed his formation again, now to a 343. This has been a huge change for Arsenal.

When defending Saka and Bellerin drop back making it a back 5 which is hard to break down. Instead of wanting to defend they are now trying to defend and hit their oppostion on the counter

When pressing they also use the 523 formation. Using their attackers to press the defenders. In possesion Tierney goes to LB and Bellerin to RB. This means Arsenal now play in a 422 with Aubameyang and Lacazette as their strikers

In attacker Arsenal still use their 325 formation. With the backs pushing higher forward and Aubameyang and the right winger dropping little bit back.

This formation has been a huge succes for Arteta. He won against Liverpool and Manchester City using the 343 formation. Luiz and Mustafi are playing way better in a back 3.

With their latest win against Chelsea again playing in a 343 I think Arteta found his ideal formation to play for next season.

With Arsenal trying to sign a new midfielder and are romoured to keep Ceballos longer at the Emirates Arsenal can become a great team as they were when Arteta played there

Some stats from before vs under Arteta
Goals 24
Goals conceded 27
Clean sheets 3
Under Arteta
Goals 33
Goals conceded 21
Clean sheets 8

Arteta has clearly improved the Arsenal team. His tactics are really interesting. He has clearly found his ideal formation.

Thank you for reading this thread I hope you liked it. Retweets and follows appriciated.