Playing from the back is something most managers, including Arsenal’s Arteta, have embraced in the Premier League because of its effectiveness.
The belief is that combining from deep in your own half allows you to retain control of the ball and increases a team’s opportunity to score. Of course, opposition sides will press, but that’s to your advantage, as if you break through their press, you find them defensively exposed, leading to a higher likelihood of scoring.
Other than that, playing from the back makes it hard for opposition players to predict the movement of your attacking players. The ball is always in motion; hence, while the opposition seeks to win possession, they leave much space to exploit.
Mikel Arteta has, in his time, tried to use this system. It is one of the aspects of his game.
The goalie is key to this system, and for the Gunners, Ramsdale has been decent, however, there are one or two doubts about the Englishman playing from the back. Back in July, Mark Goldbridge told talkSPORT, “Aaron Ramsdale is very good shot-stopper, and I do like him, but when you look at him last season, passes per 90, he was 13th in the league. Coming for crosses, second bottom for Ramsdale, save percentage, 12th in the league for Ramsdale.
“Ramsdale is a good goalkeeper, and you can’t read everything from stats, but I don’t think he is a modern goalkeeper You need a keeper to play on the edge of his box in the modern game.”
Interestingly, Mikel Arteta, this summer, pushed for David Raya, one of the finest ball-playing goalies, to join his team. The move is said to bring some competition to his goalkeeping department. However, the new arrival from Brentford has, in his first admissions as a Gunner, made claims to suggest why Arteta should be trusting him for his system, saying via Arsenal.com, “My brother always put me in a goal. With my mates, I always played outfield.
“I enjoyed playing further up the pitch, and I think that’s why I’m comfortable on the ball.
“Next to my house, there were always young guys playing on the futsal pitch. I always played outfield in those games.”
Raya also said: “I’ve seen Arsenal a lot for a lot of years, and since [Mikel] came, he’s made a massive difference to the style of play and to the club. The way the team plays out of the back, being confident and taking possession to the other team is the main thing why I fit into the team. I’m going to try and help as much as possible and we’ll see what happens.”
It is certainly going to be interesting watching out for the rivalry between our two Number Ones this season….
Daniel O
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