Tactical notes. How Arsenal overpowered Bournemouth

Let’s start with the very first episode in the match – kicking in the ball after the starting whistle.

We already know how this moment will end: Solanke (9) will pass to Rodwell (14), he will make a pass to Outtaro (11) and in a moment there will be a transfer to Billing (29), who will score an early goal against Arsenal.

Great! But according to the refereeing rules, the goal should not be counted.

The screenshot clearly shows that player number 24, Antoine Semegno, was in Arsenal’s half before Solanke touched the ball.

However, the disappointing start did not derail Arsenal from their intended game plan. The Gunners immediately tidied up possession and switched to a positional attack, crushing the Bournemouth players.

A typical situation in Arsenal’s position plays against opponents with a low block of defense: the central defenders rise very high and get involved in creating attacks

In this situation, Gabriel has three recipients to send. This is also an element of the gunners’ tactics: the players always have at least two free directions for the pass, which, among other things, allows them to construct positional attacks. This will happen throughout the match.

Three minutes after Bournemouth’s goal, Odegaard’s first dangerous moment occurs: the Norwegian picked up the ball after an opponent’s mistake [when trying to run away to the counterattack], dragged it and shot it on goal from the penalty area.

The kick is superb in execution, but Neto pulled the ball out. However, he repulsed it right on the move of Saka, who immediately hit hard … and right at the goalkeeper. He had the opportunity to hit the bottom into the corner or into the “house”, or transfer the ball to a free Martinelli. But Saka chose a powerful blow. Did not work.

Similar “fires” at the gates of Neto occurred regularly, with Arsenal players landing a total of 31 shots. However, only nine of them hit the target.

The attacks of the gunners until the 25th minute of the match developed mainly on the right flank. After the forced replacement of Trossard by Smith Row, a gradual shift in focus began to the left flank too – probably, Arteta’s prompt contributed to this.

As the game progressed, Arsenal’s attacking actions fell in one direction or the other – the players were looking for an approach to Neto’s goal and the most effective way to deliver the ball to the strike position. According to the results of the entire match, zonal possession of the ball was distributed as follows:

Despite the activity of the flanks, the bulk of Arsenal’s strikes were made from the central zone. From here, Smith-Row made allowances for Party’s goal, from here Nelson scored the winning goal in the last minute of the match.

The second goal was scored after the transfer from the left flank to the right. The same Nelson gave a very sighted pass to Ben White on the run – the flank defender made a powerful blow. For a second it seemed that Neto took the ball off the ribbon, but he still crossed the goal line.