Arteta the problem?

Since Arteta left for pastures new there’s been a massive improvement in our performances.
The tempo is back,the aggressive pressing as a team is back and we now look like a team that can go deep in all the cup competitions.
Is it just a coincidence or is Pep taking over the coaching role rather than Arteta the catalyst ?



It’s actually the tactical tweaks which made me wonder
I think you get much more information at the ground rather than on tv as you can see the whole pitch & tactical changes are much more obvious

Against Utd at the Etihad and for an awful lot of the season we’ve played without any real width
Sterling and Silva were the widest but were constantly tucking in making it narrow giving Utd the freedom to target those areas constantly with balls in between the Utd wide players & our fullbacks isolating them

At Old Trafford Mahrez & Sterling played much higher up than normal and kept out wide on each flank which kept Wan Bissaka & Williams camped in the final third which enabled us to double up on James/Rashford making them little threat
It was an error from De Bruyne which Rashford pounced on to score,he had no influence in the game other than that whereas he ran us ragged at the Etihad

Yesterday,against an admittedly poor Villa side,the obvious tweak was a constant double up on Grealish,which made him totally ineffective and the aggressive pressing gave him no options to pass to hence he was constantly visibly frustrated on the pitch


Up to the last couple of weeks we played more or less the same tactically against most sides and never made any obvious changes to stop the opposition and why it was too easy for Utd wolves & Liverpool to simply outwork us and constantly get in behind us so often

Might be a bit harsh on Arteta, but certainly worthy of discussion. The most notable change since he left is Pep’s willingness to change formations - 3 CBs v Everton, no outright striker v the Rags etc - so maybe Arteta was the voice in Pep’s head telling him not to change things too much. Either way, it’s just great to see the slick passing and movement again, the second half of the season could be quite entertaining. A cup or two would be nice, beating the Dippers at home a must.

Biggest change is the aggresssion is back
Been missing for months

Good observation, although a little early yet to come to any conclusions, it will be interesting to watch over the next few matches to see if this renaissance continues

Wrote this yesterday but didn't press send.

I was joking a couple of games back that pep was showing that there was life in him after Arteta left. Playing 3 at the back, the 2-3-2-3 kind of formation without a striker in the carabao cup semi, the renewed intensity in our pressing, yesterday playing Gabby and Aguero together for the first time since September 2018.

I guess we'll really find out over the next few months when we play Real Madrid and, hopefully, cement that 2nd place in the league. It'll be interesting to see how Arsenal do as they really haven't been all that since he arrived. They've struggled to beat Leeds and had just one PL win. 

Arsenal's results since Arteta took charge:

Bournemouth (won 2 out of 11) 1-1 Arsenal
Arsenal 1-2 Chelsea
Arsenal 2-0 Man Utd
Arsenal 1-0 Leeds (should have been out of sight by HT)
Palace 1-1 Arsenal

He'a not set any houses on fire unlike Pearson at Watford.