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Originally Posted by
Peter
The point of playing through a high press is not to retain possession. It is to draw in the opponent so you can get behind them. In other words, get your wide players at them before they have a chance to double up, for example. Not doing it would be more likely to show in the stats on clear chances and expected goals, not in the amount of possession. Indeed, a slower and more cautious approach to possession would yield higher possession and fewer clear chances. This is exactly where we find ourselves.
On Rice, do I really think Arteta would have spent the money if he had thought Rice couldn't play in our system? Well, he spent the money and Rice is not as technically competent in possession as Partey- I don't think you can argue with either of those statements. Arteta is a very precise coach so I think we can assume he was aware he was sacrificing something and was willing to do so given everything else that Rice brings. All of our stats suggest a change in our style of play.
I would guess the extent of the change in our style is not deliberate and, as I said, has been dictated by a lack of confidence. Does anyone really want to see Raya pinging balls around the box at the moment? In time, hopefully we will get the balance right. So far this season we have sacrificed rhythm for control and the results have not been great, partly because so many of the goals we concede are from unforced errors/ idiocy rather than lack of control.
Explaining all of this in terms of form is misleading. Throughout the season we have been scoring at a lower rate than last year and creating fewer chances. Our expected goals have been lower and the percentage of goals from set pieces higher. Have we been in poor form all season, or has our style of play changed?