In the last 4-5 years it seems to me that all the top teams, both in the EPL and in Europe, have one thing in common. They all use high intensity pressing, where they have all their players actively trying to defend and win the ball quickly high up on the pitch. Man City, Liverpool, Spurs, Barcelona, Bayern Munich, Dortmund, PSG and several others do it. In fact, is there a top team today that doesn’t use it?
Can you become a top team today without implementing it? I doubt it.
High intensity pressing, when done well, is both a great way of defending and a great way of attacking. When the opponents have the ball, they have all 10 outfield players from the other team to get past, and if they have the ball in their own third, the road to the other goal is so long.
And if you use high intensity pressing high up the pitch, the odds are you will win the ball closer to goal, and maybe with the other team disorganized, making it easier to create a scoring chance.
8-10 years ago, it was only the likes of Barcelona and Bayern Munich that used high intensity pressing, and it gradually evolved from there. We have never been able to cope with teams that play like that. We have seen it time and time again, and with disastrous scorelines at times. Admittedly, it must be extremely difficult to play against. You are almost given “no time” to control the ball, pick out a player and pass the ball. And if you receive the ball facing your own goal, the demands are even higher, and backpassing often become the way out.
Liverpool are possibly the best at pressing. Man City and maybe Barcelona are the only other teams that are on the same level. To me it seems the greatest problem, we had against Liverpool was not our tactics as such, nor the team selection. The problem was, we can’t cope with their pressing.
Our defenders are not used to passing the ball fast enough. Our midfielders are not quick enough to provide the defenders with options to pass to. Nor can the midfielders receive and turn as fast as required. We simply could not hold onto the ball and establish any kind of organized play. We had to rely on long balls and quick counter attacks. In these circumstances, I actually think Emery’s tactics could have been the right way to play against Liverpool. Would a different line-up have made the difference. I seriously doubt it.
No, in the long run, we have to become better at coping with high intensity pressing, so we can get out our own half with the ball, and we can take the game to Liverpool’s half. I think this is extremely difficult, if not impossible to learn, when you only experience it in matches against the few teams that do it well. We are almost overwhelmed every time.
In our first few games under Emery last year, it looked to me like he was trying to make our players use pressing. It gave me a lot of optimism, because we would never have seen Wenger implement it, and it does seem to me there is no way to be real contenders playing without it. Yes, we were bad at it. The timing was horrible, as some players did it, and others didn’t. And those who did it, never seemed to do it with the conviction and speed that is required. But at least we were trying to learn it.
What really worries me is, it seems like Emery has given up on making us press. Maybe that is correct in the short term, I am not a coach. But as mentioned, in the long term, I don’t see how we can become champions without it. It is simply the way to play today, if you want to win the big titles.
And I do see a connection in our inability to cope with pressing and in us not using it ourselves. If high intensity pressing is not used in training, our players may never become quick enough in their thinking and acting to take on teams that do it close to perfection.
What do you think?
AndersS
Admin, I thank you for realizing that this is arsenal’s greatest problem. Actually our marking is the worst in the whole league. You can see bottom teams like Newcastle more active than us when they do not have the ball.
I just can’t stand seeing our midfielders practically “JOG” around when they don’t have the ball; this puts our backline under intense pressure.
Another aspect of our game that needs changing is the very slow passing. Our players even when losing, don’t seem to have an urge to pass the ball fast. This limits our overall chances created in the game as the ball takes too long to get to our forward players.
I agree when Emery 1st arrived there where signs we were pressing far better and running at opponents trying to get the ball up the pitch but slowly and steadily it disappeared, since then I have been wondering what went wrong could it be he focussed too much on getting a result than implementing those tactics
Yes UE implemented the high press when he first arrived.
It often failed because our players were uncoordinated. The entire press fails when one player leaves an outlet for the opposition to pass to.
Some players also lacked the discipline and conviction to make it work. Think UE often dropped Ozil and preferred Ramsey because of that. Ozil seldom joined the press and even when he occasionally did, he usually just shadowed the player instead of trying to win the ball.
Without a reliable winger, towards the end of last season, UE settled more for the 3-5-2 to play both Auba and Laca together in the middle. Ramsey also got injured. Eventually, the pressing just faded away.
So far this season, there were no signs of UE implementing pressing. I’m curious to know why
While we are on the topic of the high press, just thought I share a bit about pressing. It’s an area that captivated me since I first saw us against Pep’s Barca when we were virtually unable to play out of our own half.
For starters, the counterpressing of Pool and City is different to the conventional high press. There are also differences between Klopp’s style of counterpressing vs Pep’s.
The conventional high press is used to stop opponents building attacks and to regain possession. The counterpress not only does that, but also emphasizes on where to run during the press and the transition after winning the ball.
Conventional high pressing involves individuals closing down individuals, more like one-on-one marking done collectively. Counterpressing is more complicated in the sense that while one or two players pressures the opponent having the ball, other players first run towards the passing lanes available to the opponent under pressure, in hope of making an interception for a transition, before closing down other opponents.
In terms of counterpressing, Pep uses it mainly to transition into playmaking to launch an attack, whereas Klopp uses it as his primary means of attack to transition directly into penetrative runs, thereby negating the need of a playmaker in his team.
Usually, any team would be better with some form of pressing. At the very least, fans would appreciate the hard work players put in to close down and hustle the opposition
Very nice share. I’ve been wondering the difference because while both of them apply some sort of pressure, Liverpool seem to be faster and usually there is more than one player surrounding the opponent. Now I understand the concept, thanks.
Most welcomed my friend
We simply lack the midfielders to press or evade the press. Maybe the new guys in the first team can adapt like Ceballos and Willock with Torreira and Guendouzi but i don’t think Xhaka, Ozil and Mkhi are capable of playing a high press.
Yes, the young players are better for pressing, because most of them are competing for a regular starting spot and they have better stamina
You’re right. They’re too old to play that way. The younger players are more suited to playing a high intensity game because they’re fitter and faster. We need to start pressing high up the pitch and play a little quicker than we do at present. I don’t think that Xhaka fits into this plan as is very slow.
If Emery wants to press high up the pitch then he needs choose the right players to do it.
And the debate will start that the German need not do it cause it is not his job, he only has to make a pass to the center forwards, blah, blah, blah!Those who press and attack are “headless chickens”.Fact that Unai wants a pressing game is known by his choice of Willock and younger players like Pepe, Gabriel. Why he starts the Swiss, we will need some detective agency to solve this mystery.
You seem to prefer headless chickens who like to run around all day long without end product. Certain players are exempted from defensive duties if they produce on a consistent basis. If Ozil doesn’t produce nor contribute defensively, the problem is on Emery. He is free to drop him, if he plays him then expects the consequence, you can’t fit a square peg in a round hole.
Pepe didn’t press if you watched him, Martinelli only made 1 cameo appearance.
350oz, please read AndersS post slowly and understand the facts mentioned and how the game is evolving. Bayern,City, Pool, Barca, PSG are absolutely not a bunch of “headless chickens” all 10 outfield players attack as a unit and defend as a unit.Their football is entertaining and they do win honors among themselves. Unai for all his short comings is correct when it comes to Ozil. I agree Ozil was once a great, no longer, let us not bask in his past glory.You are absolutely right,at the moment he is square peg in a round hole, a legacy of the Gazdis/Arsene era unfit for modern football.No club has even asked for his availability, not even in Turkey. Pepe has more energy and skill then Ozil due to his age, Gabriel is one for the cup games. I meant that the club is now focusing on swift / pacy players.
Ok, fair play Loose Cannon. My qualm is when people said Ozil can’t press, can’t defend, etc but he’s been like that since he was a teenager and it is Emery who choose to play him. If he want to set up the team to press then why he played Ozil in the first place? Even Pep and Klopp couldn’t change Joe Hart and Benteke respectively.
But to be fair, Emery tried to do something about Ozil. He got rid of him for tough away matches and choose him to start against lesser teams. He usually only instructed him to block passes, while the rest work their socks off to win the ball.
My complain is he is a bit spineless. Coaches that mean business like Pep and Klopp already shipped players not suitable for their style.
Xhaka is too slow in everything he does he has to think first then it is too late
I praise u for opening up this issue and it is our biggest weakness but do we have the players to press or is it something that need to taught irrespective of Caliber of the players ? Like u rightly said, we tried last year but abandoned it , why? Do the players lack fitness to run, chase and hurry up opponent players, I don’t really kno but what I do kno is that good pressing is the characteristic of a top team and the earlier it’s implemented by emery the quicker arsenal can truly compete with top teams
Agree AndersS, but high pressing should not be just a lip service
Some players have very high distance-covered stats. But they were just shadowing the opponents, not marking and not trying to tackle or steal from the opponents
Emery talked a lot about high pressing last season, but there was very little of it at Anfield and the Gunners invited Liverpool players into their half instead. If Arsenal are serious in implementing it, our attackers should be the first defenders in the front, including our striker and no 10
Agree.
Pressing must be done with speed and determination, and I am sure it also takes a lot of organization to make sure every player knows who and when to press.
It probably takes a lot of time and games to perfect it, but my worry is, we seem to have abandoned the concept.
Emery himself is confused which system he should adapt to and pass on that to the team. When the system isn’t there, there is no way forward.
He is very similar to Raineri when he managed Chelsea. Likes to experiment and adapt to the opposition. While it’s nice on paper, he need players that are flexible and have tactical prowess. The problem is all sorts of tactic is absent for a very long time under Wenger. Based on various interviews, players are only beginning to understand the tactical nature of the game.
If you remember very well @gotanidea, so many people on the site and the pundits blamed emery for too much pressing that leads to so many arsenal players getting injured, against Liverpool at the emirate arsenal pressed Liverpool and same against Tottenham at the emirate, but what u don’t understand is why the coach do that in our home matches but play defensively in away matches.
Maybe the high press is important, but there is something more important. Watching how Arsenal try to play out when being high pressed themselves is almost comical. Half of the high pressing teams, like Liverpool’s possession, comes from our sad lack of technique when playing out. There is a time to play out and time to kick. Leno is almost ‘not permitted’ to kick. I have changed my position on Emery. He repeats mistakes and does not have the wisdom of a great manager. If he can’t tell himself the truth then how can he tell it to anybody else. I think Emery ‘bites his nose to spite his face’. He must know he puts some crap sides out.
It baffles me to hear the word “Do we expect to beat the best in the world at there backyard cos the were unbeaten in so and so games.
Liverpool were lucky to escape been beaten by Man City at the so called backyard by a penalty miss by Mahrez.
Do you know how many years it takes Crystal P to beat Man U at Old Trafford and how many games it takes them to beat Arsenal at the Emirates?
And please tell me how superior is CP to both Man U and Arsenal?
Please stop this nonsense of we don’t expect to win at there turf. Even a Liverpool fan was expecting a tough game but surprised it was a easy ride.
I saw what Southampton and Chelsea played against the so called Liverpool and I’m not expecting anything less than that. Even Norwich played better than us against Liverpool.
If you don’t know, Arsenal has the worst performance against Liverpool since the league started.
Shame people come out to give lame excuses that the are world champion and we don’t expect to beat them.
What a trash talk.
I know God forbid, if we lose against spurs, the Emery lickers will still find excuse saying, Spurs are the Champions finalist so we don’t expect to beat them
About the article.
The point is, we don’t have a coach with a pattern of play, we only have the Spanish Mourinho. Though the Emery lovers can enlighten me on the pattern of game they see we are play, will really love to know their reply on this.
I stand to be corrected but was Emery not the coach of PSG when they can’t even beat Arsenal both home and away with the so called clowns people portray wenger’s players to be?
I can assure you that if Pep or Klopp has the same team as has and Emery has the same team as the two, they will still outplay him and beat him.
Pep’s first eleven team last and upper season has more of ex-player than his own buys and yet see what he did to the players he met(e.g Sterling). None of the big 6 was scared of Sterling and the players then but can you say the same of Sterling now if he is running at your defence?
Yes Emery can take us to Top 4 with the players at hand and so is the Wolves coach, so no big deal.
But we need to look beyond Emery and sign Allegri to see what he can do. If Allegri can win the league for AC Milan(forget Juve) after so many years in league exile, then he can do something.
People saying we should give coach a chance, we can only give coach a chance if the pattern is good and enjoyable(e.g Klopp) but a coach without pattern needs to be sacked when he doesn’t deliver success(e.g Mourinho, he was a great coach believe it or not but he was always sacked immediately he’s failing to deliver) so Emery is not an exception.
Very true Sir!I want Allegri after the Spurs match if we drop points.Cannot wait till the end of season to see this man gone.We missed Pep and Klopp when they were available.I rather have big Sam manage for the next few months, at least he will organize our defense.
Oh!! Bless you bro for this comments it is the most sincere I’ve ever read on here. Arsenal play fluke games against man city and Liverpool I guess they respect them so much that they dont even think of picking a point at least when they play both teams
I agree totally with you Bobs.Emery inherited a squad and therefore had the majority of the players that were from the Wenger era to work with.But he knew that when he arrived so it was surely down to him to implement tactics that produced the results.What did he do?Brought in the high press with players who were totally unsuited tobthis way of playing.Can anyone forget the sight of Cech attempting to be a ball playing GK as playmaker?This Manager also announced from the start that Aaron Ramsey would be his No10 and the teams playmaker.What happened?Dropped to the bench for the second game away at Chelsea.And 4 weeks later the player was demoted to Carabao and Europa League football and never saw much Premiere League football until Emery was forced to admit his huge mistake and Ramsey was re-introduced to the first team that he should never have been dropped from in the first place.So much for building his team around Ramsey.The signals to the players were confusing from the start and have never improved.Even now there is no obvious signs of tactical nous whenever we play.
Most gave Emery last season as a honeymoon period.Its now a clear season later and I’m still struggling to see any obvious direction.Its like we are having different tactics every game for whoever we are playing.Yet we aspire to be a Top 4 side.Shiuld we not have a clear and consistent game plan that only needs the odd adjustment when necessary?
Emery is slowly hanging himself with too much tinkering and change.If we are to play a high press just do it.But why spend £72m on a player such as Pepe who I just cannot see being a high press player.Its not his strength.We should be playing to our own strengths not manufactured ones.
It’s indeed confusing Phil. Does Emery rate Torreira and Laca? The last game they both didn’t play because of tactical reason, but what about the first two games?
Does he trust Chambers?
and the movie titled “The Curious Case of Mesut Ozil” starring Mesut himself.
Well said.
Absolutely correct my brother, this is exactly the point i was making in one of the articles but (LOL) seems to be one of those giving excuses that Liverpool was at Anfield and they are also European Champion. But they are not host of heaven football club for goodness sake and they are not even as good as Pep’s Barcelona FC that Arsene’s Arsenal beat 2-1 convincingly and even went to Camp neu with a purpose before RVP’s Red Card.
Liverpool can be beaten anywhere.
This talk about Pressing attacking Man Marking defending is all a part of the game. The most important things are Belief and attitude. The more you see Arsenal play the more you think they don’t believe in each other. Arsenal have to build a fighting attitude.They need to stick for each other and show how United they are on and off the field as a team. Arsenal are yet to build a Together we Win, Together we lose,Together we draw SPIRIT.For this to happen we need a coach in the mould of Arsene of the early 2000’s. You may complain or crib but can’t forget the fact that in early 2000’s Arsenal was watched and followed throughout the planet for their flair and attitude. It was never about winning or losing. Football was always playing the ARSENAL way. And above all Fans should start picking scapegoats and blaming individuals. They are players and we are fans for a reason.
I agree 100% with this post…Slow passes and decision making make it easy for your opponent to close down spaces and intercept play. Quick passes and decision making take the game to the opponent, leave them guessing all 90 minutes and make them prone to errors that will result to goals……Watch the top 2 teams and you can see the impact and the difference ‘high press” can make. This aspect of our game MUST improve otherwise…….it will be difficult to compete with the top 2.
Pressing and playing the ball out is way over rated.
Westham ran themselves ragged pressing Man City
but were hammered 0-5 at home.
Nothing wrong with two banks of 5 in defense and then countering.
No law against it.
At Anfield Liverpool made at least 6 very bad mistakes while pressing and playing out from the back but got away with it
because Arsenal were not good enough to capitalize.
Liverpool actually make 4-5 bad mistakes every game but
other teams don’t have the quality to punish them
and what ever their opponents score Liverpool’s
super star attack can just go and score more goals.
Once PAL hits form we can defend deep and
with Luiz, Xhaka and Ozil ping long balls + hit on the counter.
I think we do have players for’high press’ but they must learn this in their training. Moreover I strongly believe Entry is not the right manager for Arsenal.He talks a lot of beautiful things but dose Little on the field of play. I don’t like his selection. He has no first eleven, changes slot.
@Bethrand.
True “Entry” is not the right manager for Arsenal.
“He talks a lot of beautiful things but dose Little
on the field of play”.
Of course he dose little on the field of play because
he is the manager and at 47 years old is hardly likely
to be playing for Arsenal any time soon.
If we have Snail Xhaka and headless chicken Ozil in the side there is no way we can play the high press game. You need players like Guendozi who have endless energy but he is still too raw at the moment, he needs experience.
I just cannot accept a Ozil being called a headless chicken and yet Guendouzi being lorded as an outstanding prospect.I see far more natural ability in Willock who is far more composed and effective than the French lad.
Maybe you should look again Phil, wilock will come go no doubt but Guendouizi is far more talented.
I’m not so convinced at this time @Lenohappy.He has abilities no doubt.But I’ve yet to see from him too much in the way of consistency.He is forever giving the ball away and he needs to stay on his feet a lot more.Its just that Willock seems a far better footballer who contributes more than Guandouzi
Lenohappy,
Big wrong,mate.
Go look at tape of both players and run it slow motion and study.
Willock can:
*Dribble his opponent
*Turn his opponent WITH the ball up AND
*make a vertical pass to feet of teammate
*His passing accuracy is over 85% as a newly promoted player
And becAuse of all the above
*William creates SPACE when he has the ball AND when he does NOT HAVE THE BALL as team transitions to attack from defense
This is how a team creates CHANNELS for forwards to run into
And it is why Auba and Pep enjoy the freedom they have to release quickly and run into that SPACE he helps create
Geundo is a very talented CM because he makes himself AVAILABLE to recycle most of our balls that get slowed when teams press high with their forwards
Geundo is the guy we have/had in the midfield who WANTED to drop back and MAKE HIMSELF AVAILABLE for the outlet pass
MUCH like a very young Carrick used to do for the Chickens before he became a true deep lying playmaker for ManUre.
In Emery’s no shape/no problem formation and tactics.a player like Guendo is not only necessary but SHINES bright because there is and will ALWAYS be loads and loads of clean up to do in the midfield and our third as balls are misplayed (Luiz, Sokrates) and lost (Miki,Xhaka, exited Iwobi)..
One player is built for steady formational football another is built for broken field football
We mostly play the latter and this is why Guendo, talents aside, can look so good at Arsenal. Which of the 2 youngsters do you think Pep or Klopp or Zidane would rather buy if they had a chance?
There is your answer,mate.
It would be Willock by a country mile.
Guns Up
Headless chicken Ozil?!?! Do you even watch him play? He is one of the coolest heads on the pitch and gets slated for it. Kindly comment factually.
Viju I have been an Arsenal supporter for 47 years since the age of 10. I have been going to games since 1974. A season ticket holder for over 25 years, I go away when I can and have 2 away season tickets this year. I was also a football coach for 13 years.
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again Ozil on his day (very rare) can give you a 10 out of 10 moment but if for the rest of the game he gives 2 or 3 out of 10 we are basically playing with 10 men. Ozil gives the impression of doing a lot but running around ( headless chicken ) but he achieves very little.A Woeful player!
FACT VIJU
“Headless chickens” run around a lot, here, there and everywhere but which ALL involve running. Ozil hardly ever runs at all. He merely jogs. So a headless chicken? No way! Being one would at least be an improvement, as it means he would at least work hard, though unproductively. But he has a phobia about working hard, as does Mkhi too. Coasting is also unproductive and that sums up my whole dislike of him as a player. Snail Xhaka is about right though!
Jog/run just aimlessly Jon.
I honestly believe we play with 10 men when he’s on the pitch. Every now and then he surprises me but it is so rare!
He undoubtedly has talent but will probably miss this week with a broken finger nail.
tony, A great shame that a certain few high profile names on here do not have your sharp vision and clear sight. Odd how we all have working eyes but only SOME of us actually see. Glad that you,I and most others DO see! If he suffers the awful tragedy of a “broken finger nail” he will probably miss a whole season! Frail mentally , frail physically, strong as an ox financially. On fans money too! The fans who he lets down time and again!
?
I do not agree that team selection didn’t play a role in our defeat to Liverpool last Saturday.Certain players do better at pressing high on the field which we couldn’t do bcos teamn selection; ie Lucas Toreira and Wilock. High pressing is a vital part of tactics which against Liverpool Arsenal coach didn’t adapt his players. It’s annoying watching Arsenal sometimes and the team can hardly fight for balls. Premier leagues teams especially the low budget ones have learnt to use their physicality and close marking to win their home games against Arsenal. If we must win Tottenham on Sunday,apart from football technics Arsenal team must adapt to high pressing and be physical. Only then can we stand any chance of winning. Derby matches are usually difficult to win.
I must be alone in my thinking because I don’t want us to be doing the high press like Lpool etc.
Yep I get its effective, no one can deny that, but it’s not the only way to play and be successful, it has its drawbacks too you know.
I would like to see us press intelligently like we did when it was the Invincibles…. whether that’s possible with the current crop, I don’t know, but imo they are better suited to that style of press than they are a Lpool style high press.
Same goes for playing out from the back, wholeheartedly agree we should learn when we would be more suited to kick it long but I don’t want us to stop. I remember those days when matches were interspersed with chunks where the ball was just being punted long between keepers/defenders over and over and I don’t want to see those days return (so fekking boring). When our first choice defenders are back we will be much better at playing it out from the back and whilst many here seem to hate it, it’s necessary for keeping possession and dictating play….. We just need to get better at it rather than stop.
High pressing does not suit all teams, the same way tiki-taka didn’t. Barça, and us to a large extent, got tiki-taka right but over a period (even under Wenger) the passing became slow and we would get caught out. Tiki-taka entails passing quickly and fast enough by moving forward, not sideways, and that in itself is a form of pressing. I’m watching our boys pass so slowly, after holding on to the ball too long, passing sideways and as a rule pass back to the goal keeper. This needs to stop. For every strategy there is a counter, but for that a system had to be in place, which we lack under Emery. He wants to have 38 different systems/tactics in a season with possibly 19 different formations and 20 different player combinations.
High pressing will run its course the same way tiki-taka did, so it will be wise to combine both and not remove skill players from the pitch, replaying with mediocre workhorses.
To play a high pressing system effectively you need defenders who are quick,energetic and technically capable of keeping and passing the ball in tight spaces.Our back four and central midfielders against Liverpool are unfortunately deficient in a number of these areas so basically ,until we have the right players there is no point in trying to replicate Liverpool or Man City.Indeed,to continue to attempt to do so is just asking for trouble.We have energetic attacking midfielders and a quality front three so let’s concentrate on getting them involved in the game in the opposition half rather than wasting time and energy in keeping possession without finding an end product.
Emery may not be the title winning manager we need but to dismiss him entirely is stretching it too far. I personally rate only 2 managers as the best at the moment; Klopp & Guardiola & Zidane 3rd for his 3 consecutive CLs. Some of us are quick to mention names like Allegri & Tuchel but can we stop for a moment & evaluate what they have achieved & the context of their achievements? Allegri has managed one of the best team in the world without a CL medal. His record with Juve is outstanding in the local Italian leagues but who wouldn’t achieve that with the kind of team they have? However, he also has a more pragmatic approach than Emery. Would he be a success at Arsenal? I don’t know but I don’t think so. The PL has a way of humbling even the best of managers.
AndersS makes a very important point. Pressing has become a very important aspect of football, but the only managers to perfect it in their own way are Klopp & Guardiola. It requires hard work from all players, energy, quick & precise passing, flawless movement & reading of the game & most importantly Speed of thought. It takes time to implement, but with the right players & a manager who understands its requirements.
The problem with Emery is that he adapts too much to his opponent rather than imposing his game & letting the opponent adapt to him. He should implement his own game & find a starting 11 that can implement that philosophy consistently without tinkering so much. I don’t think any team will match the Liverpool & Mancity’s intensity & style of play because they have the best managers in the PL who understand that system better than anyone else.
Emery may not be the best fit for Arsenal, but I can almost guarantee you that any other manager will struggle against Liverpool & Mancity.