The harsh reality of the situation regarding Bilbao-United is that Ernesto Valverde's team dismantled Ruben Amorim's side with & without the ball until the red card.

This does not matter so much in the short-run, though, because United are likely to reach the final now.

Thread. In the long run, though, we cannot ignore many of the issues that are abundantly clear in Amorim's system.

From the goal kick or via back passes, the issues are extremely clear regarding the middle centre back inverting into midfield.

But it is also VERY predictable to press...

Some thoughts on Ange and Spurs, centering around verticality, both with and without the ball 👇

The lack of 'pausa' is their biggest problem, both on and off the pitch.

Spurs were 'fun' last season, but that 'fun' has evaporated..

We can attribute that to Ange's philosophy 🛑 As a pure tactician it is actually quite difficult to criticise Ange, even from a defensive perspective.

However, a lack of respect to defensive principles is where Spurs go wrong.

Too many forward thinking players, not enough emphasis on defending the space and not pressing.

A tribute to Arsenal's historical performance at the Bernabéu.

Every player gets a mention before we talk about the man at the helm.

The man who is responsible for this special moment in Arsenal history. The man who constructed a game-plan from heaven, Mikel Arteta.

THREAD! 🔴 David Raya, your ability to assess the press to play short & use the overload in the build-up OR go long against Madrid's man-to-man press & play pinpoint passes deep into Real's half demonstrates braveness beyond comprehension. Not to mention how you claim crosses. Mental giant.

Real Madrid are going to make the Arsenal game not-so-tactical.

They do this because of their collective quality.

Like City vs Madrid match-ups, control is not reliably achievable because Madrid can play through all types of pressure and have beyond elite quality in attack.

🧵 Real Madrid supersede tactics.

It is why they have dominated the Champions League for the last decade or so.

Their press is not bulletproof & they always suffer in moments against good teams because Vinicius/Mbappé don't defend much.

But their mentality/quality bails 'em out..

Mikel Arteta's Arsenal blend 'Positionalism' with 'Relationism'.

A tactical analysis on the entirety of their special style.

🔻 Positionalism vs relationism - a constant debate in the tactical sphere.

Arsenal blend both ideas together.

Positionalism.

Triangle on the left, triangle on the right 👇

The smartest teams press with players in 'half' positions.

PSV are set to play short, but oftentimes teams who come up against man-to-man pressure play over the press & into the top of the pitch.

As such, Nwaneri and Timber are 'half and half.'

In other words, ready for both.. If PSV play short, both Nwaneri and Timber can jump aggressively to their respective men.

If PSG play long, both Nwaneri and Timber are not too aggressively positioned so they can recover and provide Arsenal with an overload to deal with direct play.

A very, very smart approach

Mikel Arteta has elevated Arsenal to a level BEYOND tactical familiarity.

Forget physicality, technical quality & the 'will to win'. It is obvious Arsenal have these qualities.

What is often forgotten is their collective INTELLIGENCE, all of which stems from Arteta.

THREAD! 🔴 The first goal is a prime example of Arsenal's tactical intelligence.

Here we see Arsenal press in zonal fashion with Akanji being the spare man in the build-up.

Stones tries to find him, but Trossard takes the situation into his own hands & jumps to press Akanji.

1-0 Arsenal.

A little bit of Pep,

A little bit of Klopp,

And a little bit of Ancelotti.

A thread on Arne Slot's philosophy and tactical approach at Liverpool. Liverpool's press can be exploited at times because they prefer to stay zonal as opposed to jumping man-to-man, but when they get it right it is the optimal way of pressing.

Why?

They apply near max pressure on the ball whilst maintaining a +1 in defence.

SO hard to beat that.

Arsenal were pressing with Timber pushed onto Spence and Sterling pressing Gray all game.

It was an incredibly brave and aggressive man-to-man idea.

But for the goal Ødegaard orchestrated Arsenal's press differently..

He told Timber to stay & took the press into his own hands. Gray passed to Spence & Sterling remained passive positionally to manage him, but to prevent the easy pass into Bissouma & the pass back to Gray, Ødegaard started half way between them so he was in a position to press both.

Partey was also aggressively positioned to back him up.

Martín Zubimendi profiles like Jorginho, but he's better, so much so that he has potential to develop into an İlkay Gündoğan-type.

For now, though, he is a specialist #6 - one of the very best in the game.

Below, in an in-depth thread, I break down his move to Arsenal.

THREAD! Zubimendi is a more advanced iteration of Jorginho.

Jorginho could always dictate, but Zubimendi's operation speed, agility, and mobility is superior.

He can wriggle in and out pressure and isn't slight in contact.

He can speed up the game by accelerating when he dribbles.

Mikel Arteta is getting a lot of criticism, so much so to the point where people are genuinely questioning his ability as a manager.

Let's assess Arsenal tactically, then - from top-to-bottom.

Let me show you exactly why Mikel Arteta is an *ELITE* coach..

A MEGA THREAD! 🚨🔴⚪️ Let's start 'out-of-possession' first.

Because, after all, all top teams are great defensively and it gives them the platform to play with vibrancy and energy when they have the ball.

Philosophically, Arteta is an aggressive pressing coach (somewhat contrary to popular belief).

Andy Robertson: “Arne Slot tweaks our role in every single game. Tactically he is unbelievable!”.

Liverpool's fullbacks are the key to their success, with Trent Alexander-Arnold being the creative hub.

Let's assess how Slot uses Liverpool's fullbacks.. 👇

A Tactical THREAD! 🚨 Here we see Robertson and Bradley in low-lying fullback positions against Real Madrid.

Ancelotti's team defended in a 4-4-2 and it was the role of their wide midfielders to get pressure on Liverpool's fullbacks.

When they did, Liverpool had clear solutions to bypass the press.

To solve Arsenal's 'attacking problems', Mikel Arteta has implemented a new tactical shape.

Let's review it.

A thread 👇 Arsenal's new shape has been coined the 3-diamond-3.

Instead of a fullback inverting into the pivot, the emphasis lies on Ødegaard to connect the defence and attack together as he drops from high to low.

His movements trigger others to occupy different lanes in the front 5.

I have been critical of the 3-1-6 in the past because of the volume of players that can become congested between the lines, the over-reliance on fluidity within it that harms positional play, & the vulnerability of it in transition.

But Enzo Maresca uses it very intelligently 👇 Pochettino and Potter tried to use the 3-1-6 at Chelsea but it didn't work.

Why?

Because they tried to do it with an overlapping fullback, unlike Maresca with two natural wingers. The balance is better with the fullback inside.

Maresca's build-up & press is also much superior.

If we’re talking pure quality and attributes alone, elite clubs looking to sign Rashford makes complete sense.

But we’re not just talking quality and attributes.

If that was the case Amorim and Manchester United wouldn’t want to get rid of him..

We’re talking about his desire. If Manchester United haven’t been able to get him to work as hard as possible for as long as he has been there, then how could Pep, Slot, Arteta, Maresca, Ange, or whoever the hell else do it?!

These guys have the same beliefs as Amorim.

Work with 100% intensity. No exceptions.

To prevent wingbacks receiving in 1v1 situations on the flank with regularity, Amorim would be smart to consistently use a dynamic where the wingback inverts into the half space between the lines which allows the inside forward to hold full width.

Harder to mark + solves issues. Look at Chelsea as an example.

Gusto inverts between the lines and it allows the double pivot to remain in tact and the winger to hold the width as opposed to someone like Rashford or Garnacho playing inside the game when it doesn't suit them.

Same shape but better balance.

Ruben Amorim's current game model is flawed.

Mikel Arteta's game model is, and always has been, elite.

This is one of the most poignant threads I have ever written...

A tactical breakdown of Arsenal vs Manchester United 👇 Amorim wants his centre backs to step out and press players dropping between the lines, but:

Situation #1) De Ligt doesn't want to jump. Rice is found.

Situation #2) Maguire doesn't want to jump. Havertz is found.

Situation #3) Mazraoui doesn't want to jump. Ødegaard is found.

Thinking about the Arsenal-United game.

Can't help but worry for Amorim's team.

Good lucking building out from the back under the lights at The Emirates with your middle centre back facing his own goal at the edge of or IN his own box with little width ahead of that in attack.. Arsenal are unlikely to go man-to-man at all times, either, & that presents itself as an opportunity for United, but I'm not sure Arsenal need to when considering the context of the game, their physicality & United's lack of technical quality.

Use a +1 deeper to manage Rashford.

Arsenal destroyed West Ham.

Julen Lopetegui's man-oriented mid-block was consistently exploited by Mikel Arteta's tactical acumen.

De Zerbi used the same defensive approach at the end of last season & lost 3-0.

We saw similar methods of exploitation in both games..

THREAD! 🚨 Here we see Soler, Paqueta, and Souček marking Arsenal midfield 3.

That man-to-man defensive approach opens up passing lanes into the frontline because there is no zonal defender screening the defensive line.

That makes West Ham vulnerable to 'up-back-and-through' patterns.

Arsenal should be held to the standards of the absolute elites.

Why?

Because they are capable of greatness.

For this reason, I critique their 5-1 win away at Sporting. Yes, critique. Arsenal were special, but I believe that they are capable of even more..

A tactical thread 👇 Arsenal pressed in zonal turned man-to-man fashion from Sporting's goal kicks.

As ever, they forced the press to Sporting's left hand-side and Arsenal's right hand-side.

Why?

Because Ødegaard is their best presser. He presses the LCB whilst arcing his run to manage the #6.

Enzo Maresca is top.

Leicester aren't a great pressing team but he totally nullified their press tactically.

Instead of Cucurella inverting into the pivot (which Leicester would have prepared for), he played on the last line with Félix inside.

It dragged McAteer back all game. The concern with the 3-1-6 is that Caicedo is vulnerable in transition but Leicester lacked numbers high up the pitch because of the demands placed on McAteer to get back and help out.

Oftentimes Leicester looked up and had nobody to hit, even though Caicedo was exploitable.