EBL

Arsenal's new shape has been coined the 3-diamond-3. Instead of a fullback inverting into the pivot, the emphasis lies on Ødegaard to connect the defence and attack together as he drops from high to low. His movements trigger others to occupy different lanes in the front 5.

We can see an example of that here. Ødegaard drops to create a situational double pivot which is the cue for Arsenal's forwards to occupy the 5 lanes in attack. Who occupies where is where the fluidity comes in. Jesus/Havertz + Lewis-Skelly/Trossard interchanged roles a lot.

Ødegaard's dropping movements from high to low are particularly difficult to stop because Arsenal often use their #9 to occupy the ball-side centre back (who's role is often to press Ødegaard). For example, on the far-side, Trossard is tracked by the centre back in the pocket.

Alternatively, for Ødegaard, Jesus occupies the centre half which allows Øde to drop freely outside the lines and overload the opposition's press. And, off the back of receiving in these moments, he can receive face forwards on his left foot into a front 5. Hugely threatening..

The plus side of Arteta's new system is that Arsenal can attack in more unpredictable ways with their fluidity between the lines and Ødegaard receiving in midfield areas with the ball on his left foot, the whole pitch ahead of him, and 5 ahead of him despite dropping low.

The negative aspect of the system comes in the defensive transition moment, though.. Although Ødegaard's dropping movements can create a 3-2 base which is an ideal occupation of spaces for the 'defence behind the attack', he doesn't always do it in traditional central areas.

So, as described, Ødegaard drops outside the lines as opposed to centrally into the block. He can & does drop centrally into the block, but he primarily drops outside the shape. As a consequence of that, Arsenal still largely only have 1 player in deep midfield for transitions.

Partey could not manage the spaces either side of him in transition as a result of that and Palace had quite a bit of success on the turnover. Where this will look better for Arsenal is when Declan Rice comes into the #6. It is in these moments where the balance will be good.

Declan Rice has the mobility, running power, size, and temperament of the best pure defensive midfielder in the world, and that's because that is exactly what he is. Alright, he will be asked to defend a little too much space on occasion, but the trade off makes total sense.

Arsenal directly improve their attack and become even more dynamic and difficult to stop whilst having the best pure defensive midfielder in the world ready to stifle counter-attacks alongside some of the most reliable & mobile defenders alive. System = top solution from Arteta.