How does Tottenham Hotspur compare to Arsenal currently?
Tottenham Hotspur, led by manager Ange Postecoglou, dominates The Premier League, remaining undefeated this season. However, how does his side compare with Arsenal?
Tottenham Hotspur has dominated The Premier League this season.
Spurs, who currently sit first in the league, have had a resurgence this season with their manager Ange Postecoglou.
Apart from competing with the best teams in the league, Postecoglou has set a new record for the most points earned by a manager after more than nine matches.
However, how does his side compare with their rivals Arsenal?
Spurs’ formation
Postecoglou has mainly played a 4-3-3 which transitions into a 2-3-5 formation. The formation’s pros allow Spurs to overload the opposition’s defence, while also creating diamonds between the defence and attack, making chances for the team to score.
The majority of Spurs’ games require their goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario to pass from out the back to Cristian Romero, then play to Yves Bissouma, who will transition the ball to Destiny Udogie or Pedro Porro to create chances for James Maddison, Son Heung-Min, Pape Matar Sarr, Richarlison or Dejan Kulusevski.
A player whose performance has been surprising this season has been Maddison. He has scored three goals and created five assists in nine games. The English midfielder also has a shot accuracy of 58%,1 better than Arsenal midfielder Martin Ødegaard who has a shot accuracy of 48%.2
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Postecoglou requires his left-back Udogie and right-back Porro to play in inverted positions, allowing both full-backs to attack and defend, which has seen more creative flair in the middle of the park for Spurs this season.
For example, Udogie has created two assists and has a successful pass percentage of 88.4%. In comparison Arsenal left-back Oleksandr Zinchenko has a successful pass percentage of 59.04% this season.
The downside to the formation is that it allows the opposition to pressure the full-back positions. An example of this issue was Spurs’ Brentford game when the team countered heavily on Spurs’ wings resulting in a draw (2-2).
Arsenal
Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta has given his side a resurgence since taking over from Unai Emery. The main formation he tends to use is a 4-3-3 and moves into a 3-2-5 or a 2-3-5 in possession. Arteta relies on his left-back Zinchenko to play an inverted role to play passes to Bukayo Saka, Declan Rice, or Ødegaard, who will create chances for Gabriel Jesus or Eddie Nketiah to score.
The decision to play a 3-2-5 or a 2-3-5 formation normally depends on how high the opposition press. If a team decides to play a low-block Arsenal will normally play a 2-3-5 formation. However, if Arsenal play a high-press team they will switch to a 3-2-5 system, creating a natural overload on the first line of the press.
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Arsenal’s system requires the defence to transition the ball to attack. Arteta relies on his centre-backs for good technical abilities and solid defending skills, similar to how Postecoglou sets his team. Arsenal has bought William Saliba, Gabriel, Ben White, Arron Ramsdale and David Raya to play this high-possession football style, which has worked for The Gunners. For example, during the 2022-23 season Arsenal’s average possession was 59.3%.
Problems with Arsenal
Arsenal need a new striker to be able to win the league. Last season Jesus scored 11 goals in 26 games,3 while Nketiah scored four goals in 30 games,4 showing a lack of quality in front of the net. In comparison, Manchester City, who won the league last season, was strong last season in front of goal, forward Erling Haaland scored 36 goals in 35 games in The Premier League.5
In the January transfer window, I believe The Gunners need a striker who could score up to 30 goals a season if they want to compete with City. A player who would fit into their system would be Victor Boniface. Boniface this season has been on fire, managing to score eight goals in seven matches in The Bundesliga.
He is a striker who likes to move up the pitch and stretch the opposition. Boniface enjoys attacking the opposition’s wings, however, will move back when his teammate Jonas Hofmann comes into play. His style of play could easily work in Arsenal’s team.
Conclusion
Despite their rivalry Arsenal and Spurs this season are playing very similar football. Both London sides rely on their defenders to transition the play from the defence to attack. The only real difference between the squads is Arteta adds an extra defender to deal with the press from the opposition’s team.
However, there are clear weaknesses that both teams need to fix. Arsenal lack a striker who can score more than 20 goals a season. While Spurs’ full-backs this season may see them let in goals from teams such as Manchester City.
This season they have made amazing progress to challenge for The Premier League.
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James Maddison - https://www.premierleague.com/players/8456/James-Maddison/stats?co=1&se=578
Martin Ødegaard - https://www.premierleague.com/players/11419/Martin-%C3%98degaard/stats?co=1&se=578
Gabriel Jesus - https://www.premierleague.com/players/19680/Gabriel-Jesus/overview
Eddie Nketiah - https://www.premierleague.com/players/14451/Eddie-Nketiah/overview
Erling Haaland - https://www.premierleague.com/players/65970/Erling-Haaland/stats?co=1&se=489