The Regista: Arsenal overpowered frail Spurs as Arteta targeted Vicario
Despite the scoreline ending 3-2 (appearing a close call for Mikel Arteta's side) Arsenal displayed a high level of maturity in this game, managing the match impressively at times. The Gunners were defensively well-drilled (as is becoming a theme) and ensured they remained calm and together, with many individuals showing their willingness to step up and be leaders on the day.
Arsenal defensive structure
In this game, Arsenal flexed their out-of-possession (OOP) muscles, fluctuating between their 4-4-2 (Hexagon trap) press, and their 4-1-2-1-2 diamond press, both of which stunted Spurs in different ways.
In this 4-4-2 shape, the two wide men (Bukayo Saka and Leandro Trossard) would come narrow. The idea behind this narrow hexagon shape was to stop central progression and force Tottenham down the flanks.
This saw Tottenham try a few different things such as James Maddison dropping deeper to try and overload from within the "hexagon trap" - as I'm labelling it. However, this still brought them to the same conclusions, shoehorning out wide and being forced down the flanks.
Maddison would also try to stay behind the double pivot in this hexagon shape (Declan Rice and Thomas Partey) hoping one of his teammates could find an intricate pass through the narrow lines into him in space. But this is where one of the Arsenal centre-backs would be aggressive, and was ready to jump and press the receiver (Maddison) if that ball did find its way through.
The other way Arsenal stopped Tottenham's central progression was by switching to this second pressing approach, in a diamond shape.
This press would see Partey sit deeper in front of the defence, stopping Maddison from receiving in that area. The front five consisting of the two wide men, Rice, and the two forwards would shift in a compact shape from side to side, forcing Tottenham to go down the flanks.
This put a lot of emphasis on the Spurs fullbacks to carry out from the back if they wanted to beat the press and progress play, however, the mixture of defensive effort from Trossard (up against Pedro Porro) and the loss of Destiny Udogie (more carrying threat than Ben Davies) at left back stunted their ability to drive through the narrow press.
The importance of Rice was clear in this slightly more advanced pressing role, completing five tackles and two interceptions (as well as three clearances).
Set piece importance
Yet again we have to speak about Arsenal's set pieces, and their impact on the game. Of the Gunners' three goals, two were set pieces, including the opening goal to put them in the driver's seat.
Arsenal looked to put inswinging corners on top of Guglielmo Vicario, knowing his lack of presence from crosses into the box. His inability to claim the ball leaves him rooted to his spot, allowing Arsenal to swarm the front post and attack crosses that only need the slightest touch to stand a chance.
The squad DNA Arteta has gone for with his recent recruitment has developed Arsenal into not only an out-of-possession monster, but also the strongest set-piece side in the league, configuring a squad of six-foot athletes, and reaping the benefits with 20 goals from set pieces (not including penalties).
This image epitomises Arsenal's set-piece dominance for me: Vicario rooted to the spot, six-foot players swarming the ball and bullying Tottenham in the box.
These moments change games. Set pieces have given Arsenal the edge plenty of times this season. It changes the game state (as seen with Arsenal going 1-0 up against Spurs), allows them to control the contest and be more defensively structured, and forces opposition teams to take the initiative (Arsenal's second goal coming in the form of a counter-attack).
Conclusion
To conclude this game, the maturity shown by Arsenal to calm down in key moments (team huddle after every goal), stick to their game plan (defensive structure comes first) and execute their set piece brilliance were clear signs of Arteta's evolution from last season with his squad.
Whether it's enough to stop a fourth consecutive title from Manchester City, we are yet to see, but if Arsenal continue to show this level of maturity and concentration during the final three games, it will go down to the very last day.
