Arsenal’s recruitment strategy has consisted of two clear branches over the past two years.
The first is related to the age and experience of their signings. In 2021, Arsenal targeted players under the age of 23 who would grow with the squad, and this was the case with all six first-team arrivals that summer: Nuno Tavares (then 21), Albert Sambi Lokonga (21), Ben White (23), Martin Odegaard (22), Aaron Ramsdale (23), Takehiro Tomiyasu (22).
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Last summer, that moved on to players in their mid-20s who could elevate the squad with their experience, which happened with the signing of two Premier League winners in Gabriel Jesus and Oleksandr Zinchenko (both 25 when bought). Evidence of this can be seen further in the current window with the deal for Kai Havertz and the ongoing pursuit of Declan Rice (both 24).
The other branch of Arsenal’s recruitment strategy that has become increasingly important is that they are signing players based on their attributes rather than the position they played at previous clubs.
Mikel Arteta has been very particular about the players he acquires since being appointed head coach in December 2019, even if those deals have met with varied success. After his first transfer window, in January 2020, Arteta said: “With more time, I would like to have specialists for every position to do exactly what we want to do.”
The signings of Pablo Mari and then Gabriel Magalhaes — the first that January, the latter the following summer — as left-footed centre-backs to provide more balance in Arsenal’s build-up play were examples of this.
However, it was not until the summer of 2021 that the idea of recruiting “specialists” based on their attributes began to properly take root.
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After losing their first three league games of 2021-22, Arteta was able to field a new-look defensive unit of Ramsdale, Tomiyasu, White, Gabriel and Kieran Tierney when the season resumed after the September internationals with the fourth match against Norwich City. Arsenal won and kept a clean sheet (1-0), and did so again a week later in beating Burnley by the same score at Turf Moor, where Arteta said: “We are much closer (to having specialists for every position).
“But what we identified and recruited was players with really specific qualities and then to demand them to do what they are the best at. I thought today was a really good example with some of the players playing in those positions that give you something different.”
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Goalkeeper Ramsdale’s distribution immediately stood out in comparison to that of predecessor Bernd Leno. Tomiyasu’s height at right-back was important on the day (even if it is now a case of him or White starting in that position). White’s willingness to move the ball forward has also developed into an asset from a slightly different area of the pitch; something that went to another level with Zinchenko at left-back last season, with Arsenal becoming more vertical in their passing.
Now, Arsenal’s first-choice defence can all be described as either progressive on the ball or physically imposing. Should their pursuit of Ajax and Netherlands defender Jurrien Timber succeed, he will only add to this with his relative comfort on the ball, speed and ability to do multiple jobs at the back.
The Dutchman’s introduction would be particularly interesting given how the right side of Arsenal’s defence has developed over the last two seasons. In White’s first campaign, he liked to dribble forward from his then-role as a centre-back, completing 10 of the 20 take-ons (50 per cent) he attempted and making 38 progressive carries (defined as dribbles that progress the ball at least 10 yards towards the opposition goal from inside their half).
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Interestingly, after White’s move to right-back and the rise of William Saliba as a centre-back, Arteta told Sky Sports last December: “I don’t like the central defenders dribbling, if Willy (Saliba) has to dribble here (in the build-up to Fabio Vieira’s goal at Brentford) it’s because somebody two seconds before has done something that is not right; it’s not a necessity to do that action but he’s still able to resolve that situation.”
Saliba dribbled less from centre-back last season in comparison to White’s debut year there for the club, completing eight of 11 attempted take-ons (72.7 per cent) and making 13 progressive carries. Even so, White has thrived with more attacking freedom as a right-back.
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Rice would be a somewhat similar story in midfield. Since his West Ham debut in 2017, he has played three roles for them (centre-back, No 6 and box-to-box midfielder). He is likely to be used as a No 6 by Arteta; his excellent defensive attributes should provide a sense of security while, unlike Arsenal’s other options there, he can travel forward well with the ball at his feet.
That Burnley game in September 2021 was also one of Arteta’s early run-outs for his 4-3-3, with Odegaard and Emile Smith Rowe as the two No 8s.
“In the final third, they obviously have to play in the pockets,” Arteta added. “They have to play higher and their job is to attack certain spaces and go for the goal and have contributions for us to score goals. We had parts where they did really well, but the final pass or the final decision wasn’t that great. If it was, the score probably would’ve been different.”
Almost two years later, both have improved that ‘final decision’, and Arsenal’s midfield has benefitted.
Odegaard has made the right-sided No 8 position his own, scoring 15 league goals last season, but the left-sided one is now also a genuine threat as part of Arteta’s five-man attack. Granit Xhaka’s off-ball movement into the attacking line (aided by Zinchenko tucking into midfield from left-back) is what made him so effective last term — something which was evident as early as the third league game, away to Bournemouth.
In the league, Xhaka would score nine goals and contribute seven assists. Beyond that, the positions he received the ball in were almost always dangerous, with more presence in that left half-space than the previous year.
On paper, that desire to match a player’s attributes to their role can be seen with Havertz’s move from Chelsea.
Xhaka’s position last season may have been as the left-sided No 8, but he was acting like a second striker a lot of the time. As someone whose best position has been up for debate because of his ability to ghost into threatening areas despite seeing himself as a midfielder, that role seems tailor-made for Havertz, whose attributes are catered to it more than Xhaka’s are.
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Don’t forget, Arteta first considered the idea of Xhaka as his left-sided No 8 towards the end of 2021-22. When asked what made him comfortable with making that tweak in the March of that season, the manager said: “I wouldn’t say ‘comfortable’ but sometimes you have to take players from their comfort zone and open a different door to explore what the team will react like (and) what the opposition will do.”
After Odegaard was signed, Smith Rowe spent most of his time coming in off the left wing (scoring 10 league goals in 2021-22). He still got into those half-space areas but played slightly differently compared to what Xhaka would do there, looking to combine with Odegaard as well as make off-ball runs into the box to score.
Leandro Trossard also fitted the ‘attributes over position’ bill when he joined from Brighton in January of this year.
The Belgian ended his first half-season in north London with 10 assists in 20 league games (10 starts) for Arsenal, and slotted into Arteta’s side nicely with his versatility, technical ability and the way he could keep attacks flowing across all positions in the front line.
Some silly hijinks with Mikel Arteta earlier (and a question about football) pic.twitter.com/LV0iNdWfEu
— Art de Roché (@ArtdeRoche) January 20, 2023
Over time, Arsenal’s squad has been filled with players who are comfortable in multiple areas of the pitch.
This has meant that with less emphasis on them operating in one position, players have the freedom to impact matches how they see fit within the manager’s general structure. The more fluid Arsenal have become, the harder they have been to pin down and their path to this point — despite having teething problems early on — has been clear.
The continuation of this, until it becomes a true norm, will be important as they continue to grow as a team.
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Thankfully, this theme of positional flexibility runs through the academy. Reuell Walters has played across the back line since signing for Arsenal at 15. Myles Lewis-Skelly is a midfielder who has played as a No 6, to the right of a midfield three and as a left-back. Ethan Nwaneri has played as a No 10, to the left of a midfield three and as a striker.
Further down the ranks at the youth programme’s Hale End base, there is also licence to move players into different roles during the less demanding matches to give them more exposure to new challenges as they progress.
As for next season and the first team, that’s another chance to build on the foundations formed over the past few summers.
(Photo: David Price/Arsenal FC via Getty Images)