Arsenal were pressing with Timber pushed onto Spence and Sterling pressing Gray all game. It was an incredibly brave and aggressive man-to-man idea. But for the goal Ødegaard orchestrated Arsenal's press differently.. He told Timber to stay & took the press into his own hands.

Gray passed to Spence & Sterling remained passive positionally to manage him, but to prevent the easy pass into Bissouma & the pass back to Gray, Ødegaard started half way between them so he was in a position to press both. Partey was also aggressively positioned to back him up.

Spence tried to find Bissouma, Ødegaard and Partey double teamed to win the ball back, and seconds later Trossard makes it 2-1. So often we talk about Ødegaard's qualities in possession but I would argue that his most valuable asset at Arsenal is his ability to lead the press.

Here he instructs Timber to back it up & Arsenal apply pressure differently. The simple idea behind it is that Arsenal are fluid in their press, but they constantly remain compact & try to apply maximum pressure. Sometimes better to press centrally, other times from out-to-in..

A general rule of thumb is that the defender can release from the last line when the opposition are building deep. But when they have possession in midfield areas the defender can't release from the last line as the ball is closer to goal. That's when central pressure is key ⚽️