By Tony Attwood
There are of course, multiple reasons why a club buys this player and not that, and obviously many of them are touched upon by commentators in different media. Quite often the reason is an upgrade on a previous player in a specific position, but sometimes it is to freshen up part of the team.
However, sometimes the benefit comes to the player himself in the belief that the player will improve his form and application by joining a new club, having new teammates and getting used to new tactics.
All that is well understood, but there can also be the occasional benefit that occurs in a completely different way where the buying manager has seen an alternative approach that the player could be trained to use.
The trouble with this, however, is that nothing of the idea can be leaked before the move of the player, or else the selling club might themselves think “what a neat idea”, cancel the sale and use the new tactic themselves.
Of course, from here it gets quite complex, especially when false trails are laid with a club leaking the notion that they are going to use a player in a different way, when in fact they are not, or doing so knowing that their bid for the player is going to be rejected and another team is going to try and steal the idea.
Consider Liverpool declining from 84 points and 86 goals to 60 points and 63 goals in some season to the next. And this from a team that is known for its resourcefulness and tactics, and the ability to correct mistakes even once the league is running.
But now compare this with Arsenal rising from 69 goals and 74 points to 71 goals and 85 points. Yes, there is growth, but hardly from goals scored nor really that much from goals conceded (34 down to 27). What Arsenal plotted was a series of specific small changes which could change draws into victories and defeats by one goal into draws. For example, with the game on 31 August 2024. Such strategies also included working on reducing yellow cards, given that a yellow card received can change a player’s performance for the rest of the game. Arsenal were, in fact, bottom of the yellow card league last season but also conceded the lowest number of goals – 27. Considering that seven clubs in the league conceded twice as many goals as Arsenal – or more that is a remarkable achievement. Tottenham indeed were within two cards of getting twice as many yellow cards as Arsenal.
So what we have here is a set of tactical approaches which can be combined to make life ever harder for the opposition – in this case they can’t even rely on a fair spread of free kicks near the penalty area as a result of yellow cards.
Now, as these new tactical approaches (such as conceding free kicks to the opposition and getting fewer yellow cards) are developed, so when new players are brought in, the ones who are particularly looked at are players who are able to meet these newly highlighted criteria. Arsenal are stopping the opposition scoring by finding ways of reducing their scoring chances, for example, so with defenders the club is looking for players who can affect that situation..
This is the sort of thing that attracts players like Guimarães, who stated when completing his transfer he “needed a new challenge in my life.” My bet is that someone somewhere in Arsenal would have given him a hint about the approach that Arsenal are going for next season.
Indeed, this can explain why Arsenal have signed a 29-year-old – which is older than usual for Arsenal newcomers. There is something in his play that Arsenal want.
Of course there is a less positive, less pleasant side to the arrival of any player and that is how likely he is to be injured. It is an area that some clubs seem to ignore, but Arsenal seem to be adept at finding such players. Yes Arsenal do get injuries bu in the squad we now have six players who are flexible, and who, although they can be injured, generally don’t stay out too long. Yes, of course, sometimes they get caught, but I am considering their overall ability to stay fit…
- Bruno Guimarães
- Declan Rice,
- Martin Ødegaard,
- Martin Zubimendi,
- Mikel Merino
- Myles Lewis-Skelly.
Quite a row of optios.
