Last week, I recorded a Patreon podcast for Arsenal Vision on the Double winning season of 1970-71. One of the great successes of Bertie Mee and his coaching staff was the successful reshuffling of players from their original positions in service of the overall unit.
Frank McLintock was a central midfielder moved to centre-half since his leadership and organisational skills were better served further back. Peter Storey was shifted from right-back to central midfield because, as well as his ball playing qualities, he had a, ahem, ‘robustness’ required for 1970s midfield play. (After Arsenal defeated Manchester United in 1970, George Best said, ‘he breathed up my arse for the whole game, he would have booted his granny out of the way to stop me that day.’)
George Graham moved from striker to central midfield due to his eye for pass. Charlie George was moved from a nine to a more withdrawn number 10 role because of his excellent long-range shooting. Players were shuffled around the pitch according to their own qualities and due to the qualities of the players around them.
Of course, the 1970s were a very different time for football but shuffling pieces around the chessboard remains commonplace (think Kolo Toure becoming a league winning centre-half after trial periods in just about every single other outfield position). And sometimes managers will buy players without a truly firm position in mind, sometimes they will think of them in areas of the pitch and which position best relates to that area.
Kai Havertz is a good example of this. I think he was primarily bought for the fabled ‘left eight’ role. However, he made his Arsenal debut in the 2023 Community Shield against Manchester City as a centre-forward. His ability to play upfront was clearly critical in his recruitment, even if it is unlikely that Arteta thought he would play there as often as he has. But, in truth, the areas he picks up don’t differ enormously when he plays as an 8 compared to when he plays as a 9.
How he arrives in that left half space changes (as a 9 he drifts towards it from a more advanced position, as an 8 he would be asked to run towards from slightly deeper). Prior to the arrival of Jurgen Klopp at Liverpool, Firmino flitted between the 10 position and the left wing before Klopp installed him as more of a false 9.
Likewise, when Declan Rice was recruited from West Ham, I think it was with an open mind about where he might operate. West Ham had used him as a ‘six’ and an ‘eight’ from season to season. Maybe the long-term plan, initially, was for him to drift back into the ‘six’ position but coaches have to be open minded about where players might end up and allow circumstances to dictate to them.
I don’t think for one minute that Arsene Wenger expected Thierry Henry to be the outrageous success he became as a centre-forward, for instance. Henry’s earliest Arsenal appearances were on the left-wing and Davor Suker was signed during the same week that Henry was. But once Henry started to take off as a centre-forward, Wenger allowed that situation to dictate. When something good happens to you- let it.
Which brings me to the signing of Noni Madueke. Like many of you, I don’t believe for one minute that Arsenal would spend this sort of money, or that the player would want to sign, if his sole or primary role was as Bukayo Saka’s understudy. The schedule is expanding and Arsenal were hurt by a significant injury to Saka last season.
So, as I wrote last week, I suspect that firmer Saka back up is on Arsenal’s agenda this summer. But Mo Salah played 52 of Liverpool’s 56 games last season. The fact is that every team that wins the big trophies has their best players available for the vast majority of the season and the best players play all the time. It really is that simple.
If Arsenal are to win the league next season, Saka will play the vast majority of games. The reporting tells us that Arsenal see Madueke as someone who can play on the left. This piece from Scott Willis delves into the player’s data and gives us an insight into why Arsenal might think he can add qualities they don’t have in abundance elsewhere.
In short, he dribbles a lot and he shoots a lot. He takes risks and that ought to suit an Arsenal frontline that became a bit like watching a 1980s beta version of the video game Space Invaders. A lot of the reporting suggests that Arsenal see Madueke as someone who can play on the left as well as the right, which hasn’t been his main position at Chelsea.
Obviously, it represents a risk on Arsenal’s part to slightly repurpose the player. Because if Bukayo Saka doesn’t get injured next season, he’s going to play a lot of minutes, that simply will not change, no club operates in any other fashion. In one respect, having a left-footed left winger would mark a departure for an Arteta attack that has always used a right-footed player here.
However, in another sense, it might not mark much of a departure. Given that the left-back plays more in the left channel and the left-winger typically hugs the touchline in Arsenal’s model, I was never quite sure why they always operated with a right-footer for that role. Especially since the Arsenal left-back frequently roams in-field. In Calafiori and Lewis-Skelly, Arsenal have left-backs who like that inside left channel.
Lewis-Skelly is more of a ball-progresser from that position whereas Calafiori probably looks to press on and advance off the ball. However things shake out, it is undeniable that Arsenal have been a lopsided team in recent seasons with far more consistent, coherent threat from their right side than their left.
Playing a left-footer on the left-wing probably doesn’t drastically change Arsenal’s intention but could help them to achieve their intention from that side on a more consistent basis. (Equally it might not, we are forecasting here and every possibility is on the table!)
I am really intrigued by how this player is used and how this signing works out- as I was with Kai Havertz. The nerd in me likes ‘going on a journey’ like this with a signing. The initial emotional response being one of surprise and scepticism. But then gradually reading up (and we are lucky as Arsenal fans to have so many people capable of giving you such a good read on a player so quickly) and trying to project from the manager’s perspective.
What does this player do? Why do Arsenal want those qualities? How might they interrelate with established players in the team? Obviously, you want to be careful about entirely unburdening yourself of scepticism, you can talk yourself into pretty much anything if you want to. I can’t quite distill how excited I am about the addition but I am very intrigued and, I think, in a good way.
