The adaptation of the Spanish Magician - Mikel Arteta. Attacking midfielder to midfield "anchor"/ "holding midfielder". Sign of the times? 

With Arsenal this season we have seen a few new things come to the fore in terms of the tactical shape and personel set up, especially on the defensive organisation side of things. But one of the most striking changes, has been Mikel Arteta's switch from an advanced midfield role, to the "anchor" role holding up the midfield and supporting the defensive side of things, as Alex song was supposed to be doing for the last few seasons. This is certainly a big change for a player, but one that to this point (at least), Mikel has taken in his stride and has been effective. "If you want to play at a top-level club like Arsenal you have to adapt to different roles and situations" - the man himself said in the Arsenal magazine (issue October 2012).

The role of such a midfielder is in short to support the attacking ambitions of a side, whilst being mindful that (As Arteta put it in the Arsenal magazine) that "when you have the ball you have to be thinking about what happens if the move breaks down, and make sure you don't get caught in possession". This is the essence of the role that he has taken up, having to support the team in terms of attack, picking out players in more advanced areas of the field, with his unbelievable passing ability, giving them support, whilst also being diligent in being aware of what is needed defensively. He has take up a role as part of the "spine" of the team, supporting the two centre halves when need be, and covering ground around the middle of the park to win the ball back, if and when Arsenal loose it. It is a very important role indeed, and one in which to be honest I don't believe has been covered properly at our club for some time (hence I said Song was "supposed to be doing" that role!)

Arsenal's defensive record (so far I must stress) has been very good we have conceded 4 goals in all competitions, in 7 games this season. I believe that whilst the likes of Steve Bould, Thomas Vermaelen, Per Mertesacker and Co should take a lot of credit, I also believe that Mikel has also played a big part in this record, with the way in which he has curbed his attacking instincts, and really worked hard to police and cover the middle of the field. If you look at this "heat map" below (which is taken from the Liverpool game earlier this month), you will see that Mikel rarely moved beyond the centre circle of the pitch, and spent most of his time in and around the middle of the park, and also covering deeper as well.

I believe that this shows how disciplined in this role, Mikel has been. You would have to say that it cannot really be easy for a man, that has played most of his time in England as either a "number 10", a "left sided" midfielder, or (as he was in theory last season) the more advanced of two deep lying midfielders (alongside Song), to suddenly discipline himself to not be dragged forward as he has been used to and probably feels naturally inclined to. If you compare this heat map (Arteta's) to the one further down outlining Abou Diaby's movements in the same game, playing the role Arteta was playing last season, you will see the change in discipline that Mikel has had to come to terms with with in preparation for his role this season. You will see that there is still a defensive duty for Abou, but you see significantly more activity further forward than with Arteta. I believe he deserves immense credit for this transition, and it really actually highlights what a great team player he is, that he has taken up this role with such discipline and success, when he is clearly not experienced in this particular position.

Having said all that, many of you will have seen Andrea Pirlo's performances in the Euros for Italy and also Bastian Schweinsteiger's performances for Germany over the last 3 or 4 years, in a similar role to what I am discussing regarding Arteta. You could certainly argue that these players given in example, are very much similar to Arteta in terms of their technical prowess, and also in regards to their physical build e.t.c. Therefore are we seeing a slow transfomation in football of this "anchor - man"/ "holding" midfield player from your big powerful, strong players e.g. Viera, Makelele e.t.c. to your more technically minded perhaps skilful types (Arteta, Pirlo and Sweinsteiger)??  Is this perhaps part of the continuous adaption of the game we love?? I actually think it is, especially in the English game but also around Europe, we are seeing more and more teams become tactically and technically stronger, and this is allowing players who before you would never play in certain roles taking up these roles, and perhaps banishing the stereotypes or perceptions, of what a player in any given position or "role" on the park, should be! Nowadays playing this deeper role, as Mikel puts it, is: "not only about how strong physically you are, it's about being aware, anticipating, being able to read the game and assess what is happening". This for me sums it up nicely, and outlines how this particular role in the modern game is changing!

Thanks be to Mikel for taking up this mantle for the team this season, and let's hope that his transformation to this more defensive role continues to go by as seamlessly as it has done to this point!

Hope you enjoyed my blog and found it of interest, thank you for viewing, and GOODBYE!!

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UP THE ARSENAL!!!