Mikel Arteta’s revival of Arsenal has largely been down to added balance across the pitch and more consistent selection.
His management style contrasts the way in which Unai Emery tended to experiment frequently with different players and combinations used across the pitch.
The implementation of a 3-4-3 system since the restart has seen the Gunners win five of their last seven games despite a draw to Leicester City and loss to Spurs last week.
Nevertheless, there have been positive signs from Arteta’s system that things will continue to improve with players learning their roles and appearing to be more comfortable in certain areas.
The case in point for that argument is Granit Xhaka who has endured somewhat of an eventful season. He left the field at home against Crystal Palace to a chorus of jeers from the Arsenal crowd in late October yet, eight months on, he’s an increasingly important part of things going forward for the club.
A change in management is undoubtedly a big reason for that but the structural change on the pitch has benefitted the Switzerland international to great avail. Xhaka has sometimes been used as a third auxiliary centre-back during his time at Arsenal for a variety of reasons.
Shortages in both quality and availability of defenders has forced the midfielder to drop further back at times. That worked to some extent with his long-range passing attributes and ability to read the game but recent performances have illustrated why he is far more effective in a midfield double pivot combination.
Alongside Dani Ceballos, the 27-year-old is tasked with using similar passing qualities to those in the defence. However, he has been significantly more efficient at getting the ball to key areas when in midfield.
As shown below, Xhaka spreads the play well versus Spurs to allow Kieran Tierney time and space to run at Serge Aurier in a 1v1 situation. The growing partnership of the two of the left is best illustrated by the fact that Tierney received more passes from Xhaka than any other player on the weekend with 15 in total.
Xhaka switches the play to Tierney on the left to create an attacking situation (Image: Wyscout)
Such frequency between both players shows that it is a combination Arteta clearly favours and will continue to develop before the end of the season. What makes it most promising is the fact that Xhaka looks to be growing into the possession-based player that the manager demands in a 3-4-3 system.
If he was placed in a back three, he wouldn’t be able to dictate the direction or tempo of play to the same extent and would therefore be less effective.
Xhaka might not be the most creative or incisive midfielder in the league but he is one that can bring good balance to the midfield and he certainly seems to be doing that under Arteta.
As long as the 3-4-3 system continues, his passing abilities should be able to unlock the potential of Tierney or Saka who have both shown good signs of progression at left wing-back in recent weeks.
