frukox

What kind of problems do you see in transitions, i.e how and when they attack space, what do you think they should do depending on where they are on the pitch, where they often lose the ball, how is the spacing between players, etc. ?

The phrase for the positional play in Spanish

Defensive Phase- High Press 4-4-2 Mid Block Left Flank Defence Right Flank Defence

Introduction This is going to be a very long post about my recreation of Arteta's 22/23 Arsenal which creates a 2-3-5 attacking pattern in transitions, then turning into 2-2-6 when deep in the opposition territory. From a defensive point of view, he has created a wall in front of his goal in a 4-4-2 shape. This aspect of the tactic is inspired by @cocoadavid . Thanks to him for his great contributions to the thread. Although we can't recreate every player's role in the match engine completely, I believe we can at least devise a general plan which may work in all kinds of matches barring being a major underdog. Arteta's Philosophy Arteta is a positional play manager allowing fluid movement down the flanks aiming to isolate opposition flank player 1 vs 1, typical of Guardiola and never lets his striker be devoid of support by advancing his offensive midfielders behind him (Xhaka's positioning and play this year is his genius), then the rest of three players covering at the back, sometimes creating a double pivot or support the attack at the edge of opposition penalty creating marking dilemmas in the half-spaces, which makes it a nightmare to defend for other managers. This philosophy is imo the reason why his team now tops the most prestigious league in the world. Good defending is the base of a good attack determining where transitions into attack start and this must be done with purpose to breach through defence. Unsurprisingly, he does it by adopting a strict, compact and aggressive 4-4-2 high block. If the opposition manages to play through the press then they retreat into 4-4-2 mid block and 4-4-2 deep block. I wasn't able to recreate this aspect of the tactic when the team is the defensive third. So this must a match engine thing. The press starts in the final third which forces opposition defenders passes to the wings. His team then marks every possible player in the ballside of the pitch not allowing easy access to opposition attacking line forcing a turnover or a hoof to the flanks or strikers, which is easier to defend if you have fast and reasonably tall defenders to win physical duels rather letting them play through you only to be cut open slowly. They retreat into a disciplined block in their half if opposition manages to advance the ball to their front 5 marking every player covering passing lanes by staying compact and protecting half spaces. The Tactic Simple, eh? By the way, it's inverted to be compatible with my team. Why those TIs? Arteta isn't into possession football for the sake of it. He wants to do it with a clear aim: play through opposition as fast as possible. There are lots of ways of doing this but Arteta prefers to play out of the back but they are not shy of trying a long-range diagonal ball when one of the players see Martinelli, Jesus or Saka in space so I didn't tick any passing or tempo instruction. There is a clear overload on the left-hand side and I wanted to strengthen it by making MEZ and DM get closer to them to isolate Martinelli(right IWA) for 1 vs 1 duel. With regard to the in-transition-instructions, Arteta's team aims for a lightning-fast attack after catching opposition off guard due to a forced turnover thanks to immediate counter-press. Still, some of the teams are playing with a bit of a risk against Arsenal. That's probably why they can still find some space behind defence. Defensively, I've talked about it above. A high narrow block with offside trap to make the defensive third unplayable as much as possible while compressing space for the opposition attacking line, which enables Arsenal's defenders support attacking play as early as possible. Player Roles and Instructions I racked my brain to optimize the attack without compromising the defence which forced me to think about it in terms of the principles of a good tactic summed up perfectly by @Cleon in the series of " The Art of ............." . I always start creating a tactic by selecting the role of my striker(s) which then allows me to decide on the type of the scorer, be it on the wings or his striker partner. So let's get down to business: 1) False Nine Gabriel Jesus is the focus of the tactic. He drops deep when possible to support central overloads and stays central in the final third. His ease at skinning past his marker and picking out a runner is exceptional, a perfect choice. He is instructed to: -Close down more: The first player to press opposition defenders -Mark Tighter: To shut down a passing lane to a central defender or a DM 2) Inverted Winger(Left) Saka is able to combine perfectly with Odegaard and White. When he cuts inside he opens up some space for White or Odegaard. Staying wide he creates space for Odegaard pinning opposition winger or fullback. He is also a goal threat from wider areas. That's why he's on attack duty. He is instructed to: -Stay Wider: To create some space for Odegaard to operate in with ease by pinning the opposition fullback. -Close Down Less: A part of the second four in the defensive block. He presses further up the pitch without this. -Mark Tighter: To shut down a passing lane quickly down the flank or in the left half-space. 3) Inverted Winger (Right) Martinelli is an intelligent dribbler and scorer allowing a fluid movement between him, Xhaka and Zinchenko. When he stays wide Xhaka operates in the half-space giving advanced support to Jesus and Zinchenko covers the area behind them. If he cuts inside early this time Xhaka goes wide to fill the vacated space. He is instructed to: -Stay Wider: To create some more room in the right half-space for Xhaka for incisive passes or crosses by pinning the opposition fullback. -Close Down Less: A part of the second four in the defensive block. He presses further up the pitch without this. -Mark Tighter: To shut down a passing lane quickly down the flank or in the right half-space. - Roam from Position: When cutting inside early in the middle third he sometimes goes in to the space where Xhaka in so this lets them swap positions (a rotational run) 4) Attacking Midfielder Odegaard is one of the best attacking midfielders in the world helping the build-up play by coming deep and spraying passes to the players in front of him and can set them up perfectly. This is why he's on support duty. He is also the one who joins Jesus in high press completing the front two. He is instructed to: - Take More Risks: He has the ability for killer balls and runners(Saka, Xhaka, White, Jesus and Martinelli) in front of him. - Hold Position: This is a compromise I have to make him stay in the left half-space as much as possible due to the match engine I have. Normally, I'd let him roam like Xhaka. - Stay Wider: This is clear, I guess. He operates in the left half-space. - Close Down More: He forms the front two when pressing along with Jesus and this is why he is on AM strata. - Mark Tighter: The more Arteta's side are able to restrict opposition centrally the more difficult it is for central defenders to play through the middle. 5) Mezzala Xhaka is having his best days thanks to Arteta's acumen and genius these days. He was never spectecular in defence picking up some red cards but he can play a laser pass to anyone and a long shot threat, for sure. Arteta moved him up the pitch and did the best thing for his side. He now operates in the advanced half-space helping his team with assists and a couple of goals. That is why he is on support duty and runs late into the penalty area creating some space for Martinelli to work his magic. You can't mark someone moving constantly. He is instructed to: - Take More Risks: Come on, he's X-h-a-k-a:) - Mark Tighter: To shut down a passing lane in the half-space or in a central position as much as possible. - Close Down Less: A part of the second four in the defensive block. He presses further up the pitch without this disrupting our shape. 6) Defensive Midfielder Partey is the spine of the midfield when covering the central channel with his physicals as well as his passing ability to switch the point of attack in an instant to destabilize an organized defence. He operates behind the attacking five but giving them proper support and being able to take a pot shot from time to time when deep in the final third is crucial to unlock a stubborn side. He is instructed to: - Take More Risks: There are lots of movement in front of him; Jesus creating hard-to-solve dilemmas for defenders whether to follow him or not by staying central and dropping deep, inverted wingers pinning fullbacks and ready to run behind a high line. White or ,at times, Zinchenko marauds down the flanks. Dispatching them with a diagonal pass is sometimes what you need. In short, playmaking ability is crucial for a defensive pivot and Arteta has what he needs. - Close Down Less: Protecting back four alone is a big business and you can't do that by closing down up the pitch when there is a threat or two in front of central defenders as this will cause a chain reaction between defenders about covering each other- who's gonna cover the player covering; that is, when he has to step forward when Partey is absent? - Hold Position: Someone needs to be more disciplined than the rest in the middle of the park as well as being a backpass option to recycle possession. He has to be there to maintain the depth, in short. - Mark Tighter: To shut down a passing lane to a striker or an AMC as much as possible. P.S: The back four should only be instructed to mark tighter to complete the marking scheme throughout the team but I didn't do it because of my players. 7) Inverted Wing-Back Zinchenko joined the team this summer and solved Arteta's last year problem in the central channel with his intelligence and passing ability despite the fact that he is somewhat a liability in defence and he is prone to picking up injuries. He creates space for Martinelli by forcing opposition wingers inside to mark him and lets Xhaka go forward without any problems. He forms a mobile double pivot with Partey, which is partly the reason why Arsenal is so good at moving opposition from side to side this year disrupting their balance frequently. Moreover, when there is some space on the flanks he fills the gap and keep creating from there leaving Partey alone. 8) Wing-Back Although Ben White is primarily a part of the middle three, he goes forward to create a flank overload and this helps the team to find an outlet out wide the play is a bit narrow due to Zinchenko tucking inside. He's on support duty to overlap Saka quickly in case he cuts inside to maintain the width helping team stretch the opposition defence a bit more. He doesn't usually cross the ball. Instead, he helps Odegaard and Saka giving support they need outside. The rest of the roles are pretty standard for a team building play from the back. The only thing worh mentioning is sweeper-keeper being on support duty, which sometimes allows the team to dispatch wingers bypassing the entire half and thus catching the opposition in cold. Now, I will let my pictures talk:) You are going to see a number of illustrations of the team in various phases of the play and my comments in them which explains why the system works like Arteta's. Attacking Phase Left Flank Attacking Through Center Right Flank Transition to Attack To be continued with the defensive side of the system.

No compliments will suffice to express your commitment to this community. You've helped people love this game more with your great write-ups and became our inspirations alongside with the greatest FM players/authors like @Cleon, @Rashidiand @herne79

A really nice post, mate, as always

@cocoadavidI think I've found the holy grail thanks to everyone in this thread, especially you: 2-3-5/2-2-6 when overloaded on both flanks in attack, 4-4-2/4-4-1-1 mid-high aggressive block in defence. I'm preparing a very detailed post with lots of illustrations. Stay tuned!

What kind of problems do you see on the pitch specifically? Then, we may be able to give better advice.

Don't forget to make changes one by one so that you could easily track what is happening and why and add pictures for more proper advice.

So, in the case, I wouldn't have him learn the trait. It may not be that beneficial in the long run. Personally, I never use it.

If you want them to run into space behind defenders the latter makes more sense but there is a caveat. They need a great dose of pace, acceleration, concentration, decisions, off the ball, work rate and anticipation(running behind while being onside) and composure, balance, finishing, technique, first touch(controlling the ball and finishing properly) Generally, the former lends itself to be utilized for attacking full backs or players attacking the box.

Inspired by your ideas I developed this and I found this really efficient in possession and scoring. There are lots of PIs; that is everyone marks tight except for the backline, wingers staying wide and getting forward, front four closing down more, AMC holding position and stay wide(never stays where I want him to be(I don't have fm23), midfielders trying killer passes and some roaming up front. However, it gets things down mostly. It's inverted on purpose for my team.

@CKBrahMaFind a fast preferably young all-round midfielder and retrain him to to LB position.

If I were to employ a TM/TF in, for example, a 5-3-2 my system would be as shown below in accordance with a neutral approach: TMS PFA MEZA BBM REG WBA WBA WCBS CDC WCBS SKS Mentality: Balanced Wide More Direct Passes Overlap Left Overlap Right Distribute to Targetman Take Long Kicks Mid Block Extremely Urgent Pressing Tighter Marking except for CBs Tackle Hard(All Midfielders) Defend Narrower The idea is to get the ball directly to the TF for flick-ons to PF and back passes to onrushing wingbacks, midfielders, especially to the mezzala which keep defenders busy there with the left WB while BBM REG will be short passing options for them after winning the ball in and around the middle of the park with aggressive defending and marking. From there REG will switch play to the other flank or try a killer ball for the PF to latch onto for a clear run on goal. MEZA, BBM and REG all will be our runners from deep for a cutback or a cross into the penalty area by WBs. Penetration would come from TMS, PFA(defenders occupied and right HS), MEZA(left hs) and WBs(wings). Width comes from our WBs. Support: Players have lots of close passing options to their left and right, behind them or in front of them) Mobility comes from our midfielders. They will support play when necessary either for an unexpected run into the penalty area or always making themselves available for a pass(to prevent a potential counterattack after a potential turnover from an isolated player.) We have different attacking patterns all over the pitch: A cross/cutback from left and right WBAs A combination play between MEZA, TMS and PFA Third man runs: MEZA/BBM-->REG-->WBAs or TMS--> MEZA-->PFA or TMS--> MEZA/BBM--> REG(throughballs) --> PFA 1vs 1 duels: PFA(maybe), WBAs and MEZA Pot shots from REG and BBM when deep in the final third after a cutback Set-pieces P.S.: After creating this tactic I really wanted to try this out with a squad suitable for this style:)

Both can be bought. However, being younger Camara could improve a lot thus being more cost-effective.

@CKBrahMaOf course, a defensive pivot will benefit from: -Switches Ball to Other Flank - Dictates Tempo -Tries Killer Passes -Look for Pass Rather Than Attempting to Score(if he has bad long shot attribute) These will make him a playmaker without being a ball magnet-best of both worlds if you're into fast transitions;) By the way, Webster will be enough for a back-up CB while Laimer can only play properly as a covering defensive player. Don't expect much from him for offensive purposes.

@MarkJS1Anything can work as long as it's logical but giving generalised advise won't help you much so sharing your tactic and the players profile you mentioned may probably be the way to go to get more proper advice.

Not that hard if your gear the tactic for him;) My only concern is your DM will be very deep during the build-up, a DM supporting the midfield and holding the position may probably be what you're looking for but make sure you play someone with some dose of pace, tackling, passing and vision to switch the point of attack and/or recycle possession in case of lack of passing options at that very moment-don't forget to load on necessary traits, too as he will be the defensive pivot during transitions.

Great start, mate. Keep up the good work! Looking forward to seeing the tactics screen soon:)

There are a number of glaring issues with the tactic but instead of talking about them first I just want you to focus on TIs. Too many! Do you know why you have them there? Are there any reasons why you used all of these? If not please start with a clean slate. Then, add them one by one as you watch transitions. Once you keep them to a minimum you can start to look at your tactic in terms of players' support to one another. Do they have passing options when they are on the ball? If these kind of things happens frequently and your team is often counterattacked in that specific part of the area you should look for getting more and proper support for those players. Another point worth investigating is how they attack space. Do they occupy the same area? If so you should think about changing that role and do not be afraid of changing things but Do it gradually- one by one so that you could easily see the difference. Happy experiments:)

What was the system you used in this match?

Ok, my findings are my tactic is really good at keeping possession(around%60) Btw, the third match is 2-1 again(conceded a set-piece goal) The goals were from the distance, which is something I don't want to see much. I dropped the forwards to midfield strata and told them to stay wide and cut inside, the play looked like Arteta's side only in the final third but I feel the system still needs a kick from the middle.

I also have the same problem but I don't care about it because I have to make do with what we have. However, I strongly recommend you to try out my experimental tactic; it worked like charm in my last two matches.

Feedback on my final version of the tactic with a second league good side. The result is 1-0 but I missed a penalty and a clear cut chance. 6 shots on target out of 17 The opposition never had a noteworthy chance. Xg is 2.48, which means still need a final touch on the system. %62 possession with only Play Narrower TI and a upper-mid narrow defensive block

While thinking about how to maintain the offensive capability of the system with supporting free eights something interesting crossed my mind: What about moving the duty of making penetrative runs to front three either using traits or attack duties if the free eights are BBM and a CMS with moving into channels, roam from position and stay wider PIs? So it will look like this: CFA IFA IWA BBM CMS DMS IWBS BPDD CDD FBS SKS I'll give this a try in my next match. IFA/IWA: Stay wider BBM : Move Into Channels, Risky Passes CMS: Stay Wider, Roam from Position and Risky Passes DM: Risky Passes FBS: Get Forward, Sit Narrower