How Arsenal elevate Martinelli and Saka

* Sporting Lisbon - Arsenal: 0h45 on Friday, March 10, Hanoi time.

"Saka has shown great form, and Martinelli's influence in Arsenal's play is also huge. But their success is not a coincidence, but comes from Arteta's tactics. The opponent is still struggling to find the answer. answer to this problem," Sky Sports commented.

After three games without winning - including losing to Everton 0-1, drawing Brentford 1-1, losing to Man City 1-3, Arsenal have returned when they won all 12 points from the last four matches, with a decisive contribution from the striker pair. wing.

Saka made a mark with a right-footed finish that hit the roof of the Everton net and volleyed his left foot to the far corner in the match against Aston Villa. Martinelli ended his eight-match streak with a cushion against an empty net at Villa Park, put his heart in the far corner to score the winning goal against Leiceter, and then netted a brace against Everton. The Brazilian striker's high speed and cold finishing ability is a rare combination.

With 11 goals, Martinelli is fifth on the list of top scorers in the Premier League this season, exactly one more than Saka. The England international also has nine assists, the most of anyone who has hit the ten-goal mark since the start of the season. Both were mainstays of Arsenal at the age of 21.

Arteta's statement is statistically supported by the number of one-on-one situations - those moments in a game when a player has the ball and is isolated against a single opponent. Unlike statistics on successful dribbles, attackers are not required to dribble and attempt to overtake an opponent to count as a one-on-one situation. This statistic simply records the number of times one-on-one situations are created.

Accordingly, Saka received the ball in these situations 270 times in the Premier League this season, 67 times more than the next player - Martinelli. The Arsenal duo are also the only two players to surpass 200, with Brighton's Solly March in third with 196.

It should come as no surprise, then, that Saka has made more dribbles than any other player in the tournament, with Martinelli once again in second place. They often receive the ball in situations that "encourage" passing opponents to make a difference.

Saka also leads in the statistics of trying to pass the most people in the Premier League, but compared to the person who is behind - Wilfried Zaha - the situation is different. More than half of the 110 dribbles Saka made - 65 in fact, or 59% - came in a one-on-one situation. Zaha, the Crystal Palace striker, was second with 94 dribbles, but only 22 - or 23% - came in a one-on-one situation.

For Mohamed Salah - Liverpool's top scorer - the figure is even lower, with 18 of the 85 dribbles coming in a one-on-one situation - or 21%. In fact, out of the top 10 dribblers in the league, Saka and Martinelli are the only players with more than 50% of this percentage.

The dominant team play also helped Saka and Martinelli achieve high numbers, with Arsenal controlling the ball more than 18 of the other 19 teams in the Premier League.

But things don't stop there. The rotation of the ball, Arteta's entire formation, tactics were designed with that in mind. The Spain coach is trying to create one-on-one situations for the wingers so they can penetrate the opposition defence.

In modern football, full-backs were once considered the main element of attacking play. They can catch the ball and then cross into the box, or as a distraction to help teammates in attack have more space and time to handle the ball. But this is not the dominant style of Arsenal.

Like Pep Guardiola at Man City - who often wants to do the same with Jack Grealish and Riyad Mahrez - full-backs often kick quite far from their respective wingers.

For example, in the match against Everton, when Saka held the ball close to the right, White dropped back into the middle of the field and Arsenal then played with a 3-2-5 system. At this point, Martin Odegaard moves to the right to coordinate and support Saka.

Arsenal's approach to the ball is also related to the precise body position of Saka and Martinelli when receiving the ball. Arteta wants these two players to drift close to the touchline to catch the ball and face the goal, instead of situations with their backs to the defenders.

"I don't like the straight lines between the wingers," the 40-year-old coach once said. "Why? Because if the full-back passes to an attacker with his back to the goal, he can't develop his play, is always accompanied and difficult to turn his back to the ball."

The 2-0 win at Tottenham in January was another example of how Saka sought to move as wide as possible to receive a pass from White at an angle where the England star had enough space to turn and face. Face to face with Tottenham players.

If White is pushed wider when holding the ball, Saka will move, looking for space instead of going deep to receive a direct pass from a teammate and receive the ball with his back. As in the win over West Ham on Gift Day, the 21-year-old midfielder ran behind the visitors' defense to let White wave.

Martinelli has a similar style on the left wing. He has made more penetrations into the box from one-on-one situations than any other player in the Premier League. Martinelli's goal against Brighton came from a move from the left wing into the center to catch Odegaard's one-touch pass over the line.

At that time, Martinelli still had a lot of work to do when accelerating from home. Both passers and receivers have to be at a very high level to deploy from their own half and celebrate a goal seconds later. The shining ability of outstanding individuals in the Arsenal team is making a difference in the championship race.

But what is clear is that they are being given every opportunity to grow thanks to the tactical decisions of a coach who has realized how best to make the most of these strengths. Creating one-on-one situations for the wingers is Arteta's specialty.