Starting ElNeny is the antidote
Starting ElNeny is the antidote
Arsenal have a problem retaining the ball and building out from the back vs a good press. The solution? Mo ElNeny.
Teams have to minimise their weaknesses and maximise their strengths. It's clear Arsenal have a ball retention problem in the first phase particularly against a strong press. We saw this today vs Liverpool.
Arsenal struggled in terms of their build-up play and on numerous occasions the goal-kick routine saw Ramsdale play it to the centre-back, receive it again, play it to the other centre-back before it was hoofed long. The aerial duel between Aubameyang and whichever imposing defender Liverpool had back there was won, by the Liverpool man and Liverpool came again. A masterclass in sustaining pressure.
We’ve seen the ball retention problem rear its head across the last few seasons too. I identified it as a thing to pay attention to in regards to Thomas Partey partway through last season and most memorably, it was a problem on display in the recent game to Crystal Palace.
A weakness in ball retention subsequently affects progression and the ability to sustain possession against the opposition.
Partey, as mentioned above, struggles at times to retain the ball. He has a tendency to play the riskier pass and at times this comes off in a wonderful, progressive line-breaking action. When it doesn’t, which is also common, the opponents regain the ball in an incredibly dangerous area, running at three or four players ready to score. A gift.
I like Xhaka but he too struggles at uncomfortable angles, particularly centrally given his one-footedness. As a central DM, he has been prone to giving the ball away or having a pass intercepted in areas you shouldn’t. In the example below, the ideal DM in this area plays a first time pass with their right foot to the right centre-back. This is an option that Xhaka has struggled with executing.
Lokonga, a young and promising talent, began his Arsenal career resisting pressure and playing passes that inspired some confidence but in recent games, he too has turned it over and often in dangerous areas. Singling out Lokonga particularly though is not worthwhile, given his age and the fact he plays in a new league. The inexperience is to be expected and his quality in these very difficult areas should develop overtime.
First phase build-up includes not only the DMs, but also the keeper, centre-backs and fullbacks. Ramsdale, White and Tomiyasu are relatively accomplished in this regard at this early stage of the season. Today, the famed Liverpool press targeted both Lokonga and Tavares instead.
Tavares suffered conceding possession in his own third on many occasions. As a player that doesn’t always paint a picture in his mind ahead of the game, he has a tendency to run down dead ends and pass off the hot potato to the oncoming attacker of the other side. Either that or he is dispossessed himself.
Regardless, without a doubt, for me ElNeny is Arsenal (and one of the league’s) best at retaining the ball and completing passes under pressure particularly in the fiery depths of the first phase.
You can have complaints with ElNeny’s overall play if you want (my list would be shorter than yours) but by simply retaining the ball in the first phase, moving it from player to player you resist and bypass the incessant pressure (the ball moves faster than the man).
You hold possession and eventually you are able to progress it as a side. Good ball retention under the press ensures you also don’t gift the opponents a free chance or goal. In such a low scoring sport, that is disastrous and that happened today vs Liverpool many times.
When speaking about progression for an ElNeny type, we could reframe it by saying the non-progressive passer indirectly progresses the side from the first phase into the second and third phase.
With ElNeny’s inclusion, sure you’ll lose some of the direct progressive 'risky' passes as a side in exchange for the risk averse 'sideways' passing under the press but this is a NET positive. There is a consistent critique lauded at ElNeny in that ‘he can’t pass the ball forward, he can’t progress it’ but this looks at progression as an individual action, at the micro-level. (And ElNeny can play the forward pass in terms of execution, he just doesn’t do it very frequently)
ElNeny’s contribution is integral to the progression of the ball at the macro-level. By keeping the ball, moving around the pressing side and picking ‘sideways’ passes to your own teammates, rather than the opposition, possession is retained and moved from the first phase to the second phase and third phase as a collective.
Has ElNeny made the pass that picks out his #10? Probably not, but will he, with two men on his back, find someone like Tomiyasu in space with a lovely backwards pass, before Tomiyasu finds the #10? Sure. That is progression.
Once the ball is in the second or third phase, the opponents typically drop a little deeper, Arsenal can keep the ball and this acts as an offensive action, to create a goal, as well as a defensive one. You’re more likely to conceded facing wave after wave of oppositional offence so ideally you have to prevent that from occurring.
ElNeny is misunderstood. He does a boring and seemingly easy role, but statistically he presents some of the finest numbers in the world for the relevant metrics.
If it was so easy, top midfielders like Partey and Xhaka would put up similar numbers. However, their profiles are probably more conducive to playing as the second DM, a more B2B role, in order to utilise their excellent and more direct progressive passing ability.
If retention of the ball in the pivot was so easy a player like Pogba, so technically gifted, would retain possession like ElNeny, yet it remains one of the main criticisms of his game. (see: France 3-3 Switzerland, Gavranovic’s goal)
In a possession based side, there is great risk involved in building up in such a way. It’s done because the rewards are equally as great. If you can minimise the risk however whilst maintaining a majority of the reward aspect? Bravo. ElNeny is the type of player that enables the shifting of that risk and reward.
Gini Wijnaldum was victim to similar criticisms and a misunderstanding of his profile at Liverpool.
Both Gini and ElNeny have the potential to bring about a widespread improvement to the side around them on a macro-level whilst doing an individually ‘unimpressive’ job.
That in itself is remarkably impressive.
Umir.