Thread by @nonewthing

Understand this: we are facing the last hurdle on our path to glory—the wholesale revamp of the team identity and mentality. Culture is intangible and powerful. This new team is not yet confident in itself but that is a natural issue that will disappear with time.

(a thread)

The key ingredients for a new age has been set, thanks to Arteta's ruthless rebuild. We have poured out the old wine. Now is the time for a new wineskin, for a new atmosphere. For confidence.

Now is the time for this team to realize that they can do more than they have done.

Have you noticed that throughout this season, we have always begun our games pretty well? Even against European finalists in Chelsea and City?

We always start very well and then the team slowly starts to lose its own confidence and authority. The passes get longer and higher.

Simple actions in the final third become poorly executed. The Tottenham game (with its artificial Derby Day mentality bonus) is an excellent example of the new Arsenal.

However, even in that game, we started to drop into our shells during the second half.

Why does this happen? Why can't we exert dominance in a sustainable manner?

First of all, tactically, we are set up to dominate. Some tacticos have complained about one issue or the other (the pressing, or maybe the use of Lokonga or whatever), but these are not satisfactory.

Tactically, even when some things are not especially right (maybe due to player role interpretation or a coaching choice), these things are not ruinful. Take for example, Crystal Palace. When we had the ball, we could not string 4 passes together. That's not down to tactics.

Tactics need not be perfect (there are no perfect tactics if you look closely enough) before you do better than what we did for a long time yesterday. In fact, these same tactics allowed us to be on top of Palace for early and late on.

If there's any tactical issue at all,

you can point at the system switch to the 4-3-3. It's a relatively new one and many of our players are struggling to properly interpret their roles in it.

Why don't we stick to our tried and trusted 4-2-3-1? Why does Arteta like to chop and change things? Why's Martinelli out?

Funny thing is that all these questions were reversed last season.

When are we moving to a 4-3-3? Why can't Arteta change something about the system? Why's Pepe not playing?

It goes to tell you that people are always looking for something—anything—to talk about when things are

not going super fine. Remember last season, when Liverpool were hit with injuries and no longer had the personell to play the way they played at the margins they did? How people were saying that Klopp was too one-dimensional and all?

People like to talk. Get that into your head.

Talk does not mean truth. And the truth is usually not black and white as the crowd would have you believe. Very often, the truth is all shades of grey and specks of blue, especially in such a complex sport.

Ultimately, the best teams in the world use a 4-3-3. Why?

The formation is not especially what matters. Most teams are in a 3-2-5/2-3-5 shape when they have the ball. You can easily achieve that with almost any formation.

The difference is a 4-3-3 allows you to put as many attacking profiles as possible on the pitch. Let me show you.

Partey-ESR-Odegaard vs Partey-Xhaka and one of ESR or Odegaard. Naturally, the 4231 is more defensively inclined because of the two natural 6s in midfield whereas the 4-3-3 has only one.

So, one thing is very essential to play a good 4-3-3: discipline from your two 8s.

Having your two 8s bring the same level of defensive competency as a double pivot in midfield is not easy. This is basically our biggest tactical concern right now. Our midfield play is very unusually sloppy.

Why?

You know why now.

Both ESR and Ode have played most of their

careers as 10s. They are both 21/22. It goes to say that there is a natural learning curve for them to go through.

Why can't Arteta just stick with the pivot and let's do all these things later, you ask.

Ah, well. This is the future. If Xhaka was available, there'd be more

reason for us to stick with the pivot—he is a top, top DLP.

Without Xhaka, why not just go through the growing pains now and get the future here and running. The faster the better, no?

The thing is, even with the learning curve for our midfield (including Partey, it seems),

we are supposed to be winning games against the likes of Crystal Palace. Keep it short and snappy. Pass it crisply between yourselves. Assert control. Are you 1-0 up? Now is the time to stay positive. Don't be hasty. Play with belief. Play with confidence. Get another goal.

None of these things happened and none of it is related to the tactics. It is a mental thing. This team has the ability. Now is the time for it to realize that.

How will that happen?

Naturally. By playing more games, they should get more and more confident. But they need to

stick to the plan. They need to stop going against the instructions, stop resorting to hastiness. If in doubt, pass it back.

Of course, it doesn't help at all when we are miscontrolling the ball so much. We are not even playing close to the level of technical security we have.

Likes of Saka, Tierney, Pepe, Partey, Lokonga, ESR, Odegaard, White and even Tomiyasu in his last two matches are simply not just playing as well as they can on an individual level in one way or another. So much individual inconsistency absolutely does not help at all.

The team mentality is, in my opinion, responsible for both the individual poorness as well as the ease with which we abandon the game plan we start with.

Then there's the tactical learning curve of ESR, Odegaard and Partey.

3 clear issues. Clear explanations of these issues.

That is why I said that you should disregard the opinions on your timeline. Most of them simply do not contain the nuance that your mind deserves. We are still the same team with great potential under a great young manager. It's a time to be hopeful, not despair.

Say things suddenly got much better over the next couple of games, how would you explain it in light of all the conclusive nonsense you've heard already?

We have a potential lineup of Martinelli-Aubameyang-Saka ESR-Partey-Odegaard Tierney-Gabriel-White-Tomiyasu playing for us

week in week out. Look at the number of attacking options there. Look at the youthful verve and serious technical level they all possess.

Does that look like a team to despair about or be hopeful of to you?

Stop looking at the uninformed opinions. We are on the path of glory.