Arsenal Player Analysis: Europa League Round 2 Team Selection

Following Arsenal’s convincing victory against Tottenham, attention now turns to Arsenal’s Europa League clash versus Bodoe/Glimt, and which 11 available players make up Arsenal’s most productive team for the match.

To do this, we need to look at the on-field production and the comparative ranking of each player which comprises Arsenal’s senior squad, and Arsenal’s ideal tactical approach.

Methodology

In assessing the on-field production and the comparative ranking of each player which comprise Arsenal’s senior squad, each player is allocated into nine positional categories (with some players allocated to multiple positional categories due to their perceived versatility).

Those positional categories consist of:

• Goalkeeper
• Right Wingback
• Centre Backs
• Left Wingback
• Centre Defensive Midfielder
• Centre Attacking Midfielders
• Right Wide Forward
• Left Wide Forward
• Centre Forward

Once categorised, each player’s output in defined key performance indicators (KPIs) for their respective positional category has then been considered, using data sourced from Whoscored.com.

To provide a realistic picture of each individual player’s on-field production, only data from those seasons, throughout the player’s professional career, where the player has started at least 19 league games in at least two seasons (consecutive or non-consecutive) in Europe’s top 5 leagues or the Championship, was considered. Where a player has not met that criteria, their productivity data was not assessed.

The KPI data considered for each positional group is based on the assumption that Arsenal adopt a 4-1-2-3 formation and the cornerstones of Arsenal’s tactical approach is as follows:

• Defending by the wingbacks, attacking midfielders, and forwards pressing the opposition in their own half, with the centre backs and central defensive midfielder containing the opposition in the event they break the press.
• Attacking through a combination of:
  • the attacking midfielders, wide forwards and wingbacks combining and using third man runs to the by-line and cutting the ball back to the centre forward and other wide forward
  • the attacking midfielders combining to create for off the ball runs made by the forwards
  • the forwards’ dribbling through the opposition’s defensive line to create opportunity for their fellow forwards or shooting
  • counter pressing.
• The goalkeeper’s primary aims are to stop shots and claim crosses.
• The wingbacks’ primary aims are to tackle their opponent (2+ per match) to recover the ball and and contribute to the team’s offensive play through attacking dribbles (1+ per game) and key passes (1+ per game).
• The centre backs’ primary aims are to shield the goalkeeper by positioning themselves to intercept balls (2+ per game) and win aerial duels (3+ per game).
• The centre defensive midfielder’s primary aims are to tackle their opponent (2+ per match) and make interceptions (2+ per match) to recover the ball.
• The attacking midfielders’ primary aims are to tackle their opponent (2+ per game) and contribute to the team’s offensive play through attacking dribbles (1+ per game) and key passes (1+ per game).
• The forwards’ primary aim is to contribute to the team’s offensive play through attacking dribbles (1+ per match) and key passes (1+ per game) and in the form of goal scoring (10+ goals per season).

The player rankings by position are as follows:

Goalkeeper

Right Wingback

Centre Backs

Left Wingback

Centre Defensive Midfielder

Centre Attacking Midfielders

Right Wide Forward

Centre Forward

Left Wide Forward

Formation and line-up

Based on:

• the above analytical comparison,
• Arsenal’s aforementioned tactical basis and minimum required KPIs,
• Elneny and Smith-Rowe recovering from injury, and
• this being Arsenal’s easier fixture of the week, in contrast to their next match versus Liverpool,

the 11 players which should comprise Arsenal’s starting 11, for their Europa League clash vs Bodoe/Glimt would appear to be as follows:

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