Director Mikel Arteta’s hard work is worthwhile.
Arsenal are leading the English Premier League (EPL) this season. Arsenal, which has come close to winning the league title, which has not been achieved for 19 years since achieving the undefeated championship in the 2003-04 season, has recently been on the rise with a good flow and has widened the gap with second place Manchester City to 5 points.
I was 100% confident in my latest game. Arsenal recorded a 3-2 victory over Manchester United in the 21st round of the Premier League in the 2022-23 season held at Emirates Stadium in London, England at 1:30 am (Korean time) on the 23rd. With this, Arsenal widened the gap with Manchester City and became the first to climb to the ’50 point’ hill.
On this day, the opening goal was allowed to Man United. Arsenal allowed Marcus Rashford to take the lead in the first half, but Eddie Nketia’s equalizer soon took the lead. On the other hand, Manchester United took the lead through Lisandro Martinez’s second goal in the second half, but Arsenal led the game to the end and did not give up. In the end, Arsenal won 3-2 with Bukayo Saka’s equalizer and Nketia’s come-from-behind goal.
The reason Arsenal was able to turn the game around on this day was, of course, the goal. However, there is a ‘hidden protagonist’. This is Oleksandr Zinchenko. Zinchenko, who moved to Arsenal from Manchester City in the transfer market this summer, is evaluated as a perfect fit for coach Mikel Arteta’s football with his unique inward movement, clever build-up and ball distribution.
If you look at the touch map of Zinchenko, who played as a starter in the match against Manchester United that day, you can see his influence. According to the football statistics company ‘Opta’, Zinchenko made a total of 85 touches, and proved that he perfectly dominated the game by touching evenly in the center as well as the left side, which was his existing position.
Initially, Arsenal’s left fullback was a vulnerable position. Kieran Tierney was the starting pitcher, but always had injury issues. Also, because Tierney is a resource with good straight movement and crosses, it was difficult to implement the fullback’s central build-up that Arteta emphasized. 스포츠토토
But with Zinchenko’s arrival, Arsenal’s final piece of the puzzle has been put together. The British media ‘Daily Mail’ has released the heat map of Arsenal’s left fullback Zinchenko and Tierney this season. If you look at the touch map, you can see that not only Zinchenko but also Tierney has expanded the range to the center and right. Now, the fullback’s ‘all-rounder’ tactic emphasized by director Arteta is perfectly transplanted.
