Taking over a side in need of new life in 2019, he won the FA Cup in his first season by playing a defensive style of football, unafraid of using a back five. As time passed the Gunners played a free-flowing style of attacking football - best seen in 2022 - before creating a side that reduced the variance of a match, maximised control and became physically difficult to compete with. Having finally won the Premier League title, Arteta is reinventing his side again.
Perhaps freed by having lifted the trophy, we have seen the Spaniard take more gambles in personnel and tactics. But, while an increased appetite for risk means the wins can be greater - so can the losses. "Brighton were really good," Mikel Arteta confessed after Arsenal's 3-0 defeat before the international break.
Fabian Hurzeler masterminded the dominant victory against the reigning champions - defiantly opting against a pragmatic approach. It is rare Arsenal are totally outclassed, so the loss to Brighton left a lingering sense of uncertainty going into the extended break. But, given the timing of the defeat, it has been easy to forget that Arteta's men had won every game prior to that this season.
Last season, the heart of Arsenal had Martin Zubimendi at its base with Declan Rice in a more box-to-box role to the left of him. Arsenal lost some momentum as the end of the season approached but it was the surprise use of Myles Lewis-Skelly in holding midfield that reinvigorated Arsenal, helping them over the line. Arteta has since continued to trust the 20-year-old in that key role.
This season, Arsenal have used a 3-1-6 shape in possession, formed by Declan Rice dropping deep - rather than pushing on as he did in the first part of last season - to create a back three alongside Ezri Konsa and Gabriel Magalhaes. Lewis-Skelly plays as the single pivot, linking the back part and the front part of the team. To label the rest of the team a 'front six' is perhaps an oversimplification, given the more specific roles certain players have.
Riccardo Calafiori, Ben White and Martin Odegaard take turns to drop deep, becoming a fifth player to Arsenal's base in moments. These dynamic arrivals, that create a '3-2' or a '4-1' base, require an alertness and reaction from the opposition to track them that isn't always possible. These movements to drop deep therefore help Arsenal outnumber opponents, play around them and get up the pitch.
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