Arsenal’s rest defence: The most underrated weapon in the title race

“Attack wins you games, defence wins you titles,” is the famous quote from former Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson.

This season, that mantra might need revising to “Attack wins you games, rest defence wins you titles”, because of Arsenal.

Rest defence is a term referring to the principles, positioning and structuring of defenders while their team are attacking.

It originates from German and Dutch phrases which translate literally as “remaining defence”, and is all about how sides prepare, around and away from the ball, to counter-press.

As manager Mikel Arteta has evolved Arsenal to dominate games and opposition territory, counter-attacks are increasingly a costly flaw. This is the case for any high-possession team, not an Arsenal-specific problem, but they did confirm Manchester City’s title win last season by conceding a counter-attack goal away to Nottingham Forest in a 1-0 defeat on the penultimate weekend of league matches.

While a captain’s programme notes are often forgettably blah page-filler, Martin Odegaard’s ahead of Arsenal vs Brentford on Saturday were tactically insightful:

“Everyone is talking about what we’re doing with the ball, scoring goals, but when you look at our counter-press, how we win the ball back, it’s so hard for opponents. I’ve been on the other side before. Trying to defend deep and escaping that when you are being pressed is so difficult.”

The Athletic’s playstyle data quantifies what Odegaard was referencing — see Arsenal’s upward trends under Arteta in terms of possession and field tilt, as well as intensity, chance prevention and high line. Collectively, these show how they have become elite (in or close to the top 10 per cent of teams in Europe’s top seven leagues) at keeping the ball upfield and, when they do lose it, in quickly making tackles and catching opponents offside.

Arteta likes flexible attacking, with plenty of rotations, but there is structural consistency.

Whereas Arsenal built up in a 3-2-5 shape last season, tucking one full-back deep and moving one centrally, in 2023-24 they are attacking more through a 2-3-5.

Here is how that looked on Saturday, with Ben White on the ball. All 20 outfielders are in the Brentford defensive third and, collectively, Arsenal are no more than 50 yards in width and 20 yards in length — you could almost fit them all into the penalty area.

The distances between individuals are small, so they are able to connect with short passes, and Arsenal have bodies around the ball to counter-press. This compactness and proximity to the man in possession are essential.

The advantage of a 2-3-5 means both full-backs are closer to the pivot, Jorginho, rather than in a 3-2-5. It makes counter-pressing easier but also puts those full-backs in position to connect play to the wingers or make under/overlapping runs, essential in games like this where Arsenal’s wingers often face a double team.

The risk? Moving one player further forward vacates space in behind and out wide. The counter-press needs to be perfect, otherwise opponents can get out more easily. Having tall, athletic centre-backs to defend one-v-one in Gabriel Magalhaes and more specifically William Saliba provides phenomenal fail-safes. Similarly, despite questions over athleticism, technically and tactically, Jorginho is as good as single pivots come.

On Sky Sports’ recent Monday Night Football show, when Arsenal won 6-0 away to Sheffield United, Jamie Carragher and Thierry Henry broke down Arsenal’s approach post-match. “We all know who is winning that race,” said Henry on Saliba being up against United striker Oliver McBurnie. “You’re safe. It’s a one-v-one. You can go send another man forward (in attack)”.

On Saturday, Saliba was up against Ivan Toney, one of the Premier League’s most difficult target men to defend against, especially as an out-ball. Saliba won that battle, too. On one occasion in the first half, he hit Toney with a shoulder barge as Brentford’s No 9 chased a clearance. Toney ended up down on the ground, to a standing ovation from some home fans, and Saliba collected the loose ball.

It is how Arsenal sustain attacks and keep pressure on opponents.

Repeatedly during Saturday’s match, all 20 outfielders were in the Arsenal attacking third, with Gabriel and Saliba squeezed high. This contained Brentford’s strikers deep (as it has done with other recent Arsenal opponents) and reduced time and space to play when they got possession back. Teams are forced into clearing their lines, trying to dribble out, or having to hit a striker and try to make things stick.

Arsenal squeeze Brentford at the Emirates on Saturday (Liam Tharme/The Athletic)

Arsenal’s opener capped a possession lasting over two minutes, almost all of it played in Brentford’s half.

The move broke down three times, either when Brentford blocked a pass or made a clearance, but Saliba recovered the ball on each occasion.

Then came the build-up to the goal.

White’s narrowness is an asset against Brentford’s 5-3-2, with space on the outside of their midfield. Jorginho threads a pass into him and he then finds Bukayo Saka.

White becomes spare on the edge of the penalty area because Vitaly Janelt comes across to double-mark Saka with Keane Lewis-Potter.

White’s cross for the box-crashing Declan Rice is pinpoint, and he heads past Mark Flekken to make it 1-0.

Crosses like this are a risky percentage play, especially against an aerially dominant Brentford side with three centre-backs. Note how Gabriel and Jorginho are close to Toney and Yoane Wissa as White crosses, ready to pounce and shut down options if Brentford clear it then try to break.

For a team who have so much settled possession, Arsenal play few one-touch passes. They move the ball slickly, trying to shift the Brentford block to create space, but there always seems to be a controlling touch, which helps minimise turnovers. “The areas where you give the ball away are critical,” Arteta said after last month’s away win against West Ham.

Rarely do they lose it in central spaces between the penalty boxes. When Arsenal play switches or through balls, they are rarely under-hit. Against Brentford, they opted for chipped passes in behind instead of through balls along the ground.

Jorginho epitomised this. Most of his passes were short, into the half-spaces for full-backs/No 8s, but he was often a spare player on the edge of the penalty area and tried to pick the lock of the Brentford defence with dinked passes over their back five.

There is a compound fatigue effect of defending against Arsenal when they attack in waves and grind teams down. This is reflected in the amount of late goals Arteta’s side score — 16 beyond the 75th minute this season, which only Liverpool (24) can better. That stat shows the depth of their bench, too.