Arsenal pre-season: Tactical analysis of 6-0 win vs Sevilla is fascinating | OneFootball

Arsenal’s flawless pre-season was ended with a stylish 6-0 thrashing of Sevilla on Saturday.

The win wrapped up the Gunners’ dominant pre-season which has also seen them deliver a 4-0 drubbing to Chelsea and record victories over Everton, Nurnberg and Orlando City, catching the attention of rival fans watching on.

Mikel Arteta has added a number of new recruits to his side, with the signings of Gabriel Jesus and Oleksandr Zinchenko complimenting the foundations that were laid last season as Arsenal narrowly missed out on a fourth place Premier League finish.

But they’ve built on a disappointing end to last season with a pre-season that has got Arsenal fans across the globe incredibly excited for their Premier League opener against Crystal Palace next Friday, and it’s clear to see why.

Arsenal have looked seriously sharp throughout the summer and their results have been the icing on the cake of a number of impressive team performances, displaying a significant amount of tactical maturity and progression.

The Gunners have been able to assert themselves and dominate their pre-season encounters while in possession of the ball, but have looked equally as impressive at the back as Arteta’s plans to revive Arsenal appear to be coming together, following a few years of preparation.

And with all eyes on Arsenal following such a perfect pre-season, the team over at Tifo Football have bashed their tactical heads together and produced a breakdown of their 6-0 romping of Sevilla on their Tifo IRL YouTube channel.

The video dissects three intriguing takeaways from the victory, and it’s those three points which have fans convinced that this is more than just a strong pre-season showing from Arsenal. You can view the video in full below.

2-3-5 Formation

Starting off at the back, the first key takeaway from Arsenal’s win was a tweak in shape involving the full backs.

Ben White was deployed as a right-back in the game, with Zinchenko slotting in at left-back as expected on the opposite flank. Arsenal were having joy by pushing their full backs into midfield and forming a trio either side of Thomas Partey, while Granit Xhaka and Martin Odegaard pushed forward into the half spaces to create overloads in attack.

It was described by Tifo as a 2-3-5 formation and likened to the patterns of play we see deployed by Manchester City and Liverpool when in possession. Complexed stuff from Mr. Arteta.

The role that Jesus played against Sevilla was not that of a typical number nine, but also the reason Arsenal were able to enjoy so much success in front of goal. This was highlighted in the build-up to one of the three goals the Brazilian scored.

Tifo explained how Jesus would start in a very wide position on the left flank and rotate with Gabriel Martinelli and Bukayo Saka, which gave White an option to hit a diagonal pass from midfield.

It was that diagonal and the subsequent movement of Jesus that earned him a goal, as he quietly worked his way back into central positions, giving Sevilla a defensive headache. The 25-year-old headed back into the box after playing in Granit Xhaka from a wide area, arriving to tap in a rebound from the chance he’d created.

Arsenal’s press out of possession

Impressively, Arsenal were able to stifle Sevilla and suffocate them into giving up possession; the third point highlighted in the video.

This was achieved through a carefully considered shape from the attackers on the field, aware that the Spanish side would continue to play out from the back, despite falling so far behind so early on.

Martinelli, Jesus and Saka occupied high and narrow positions, each blocking off several passing lanes at once by pressing the space around Sevilla’s defenders. This forced Sevilla to either look long and concede possession, or go back to their goalkeeper and try to find a way out, which again invited more pressure.

In the clip Tifo analysed, Sevilla did the latter and Arsenal continued to harrow them, resulting in a poor pass from the goalkeeper which was intercepted by Saka, who rifled it home for another.

The breakdown is fascinating and clearly highlights just how hard Arsenal have worked to become a more consistent and complete team heading into this season.

Of course, pre-season is the acid test. Arteta’s side must now do the hard work, which is deploying their newfound tactical prowess throughout an entire, competitive campaign. But after watching a breakdown like the one above, you can certainly understand why Arsenal fans are so happy with what they’ve seen thus far.

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