A Blueprint For Success - The Open Secret
Artetian control or Wengarian swashbuckling?
Over the years I’ve worked in all kinds of roles in a variety of industries. I’ve had jobs that demanded a great deal and others that were a breeze. Usually, not always, but often, the higher up in I rose, the more privileged the position and the higher the remuneration, the easier the job seemed to be. There’s no doubt that the hardest workers are the ones with the least power and the worst pay. If working life is a pyramid, then all the weight is on those at the bottom.
One of the reasons why higher management positions are often a breeze is because of a hidden truth that drives all companies. They’ll tell you, these C-suite types, that they deserve all their perks and astronomical salaries because they’re taking risks or making important decisions. Sometimes that’s true, but most often, in my experience, it’s just baloney. I once worked for a time in an innovation consultancy. What a truly contradictory industry that was. They positioned themselves as being inventive, cutting-edge thinkers always breaking new ground in order to help others stay ahead of the pack. This was never true. What they did do is think up ways to be as similar to the leading figures in any industry as possible, whilst making it look innovative. The biggest salaries are offered to those with the ability to make a huge song and dance whilst doing almost nothing.
Clients would come and claim they wanted to be different, to stand out and be original. They’d say if they could break new ground they’d surely capture greater market share and become more profitable. But after a relatively short amount of prodding and examination none of them really wanted to stand out. That was way too risky. What they really wanted was to be exactly the same as the leading, most profitable company in their industry, but appear to be different. Nobody really wanted to take risks where they might actually pay any consequences. Taking risks at the expense of others was a different matter. That was fine. But they never ever wanted to risk anything of their own.
This hidden truth is prevalent in every industry. Advertisers rake in the big bucks by rehashing the safest and most generic of advertising. Fashion houses are always replicating whatever used to sell. Ever wonder why older styles and fashions are always making a comeback? The film industry is always remaking older classics and churning out film after film in the same genre. When was the last time you saw an average family car that really looked different? What everyone really wants is to mimc the most successful in their industry, and then massively emphasis the smallest and least risky of tweaks.
The effect of all this dopplegänging means that entire industries end up as a homogeneous blob with everyone and everything resembling each other. Of course there are decorative differences, branding and “stories” that appeal to various consumer conceits, but essentially everything ends up more or less the same. It’s one of the hilarious deceptions of the so-called market: it pretends to encourage unique and innovative change, when really it does exactly the opposite. It encourages monopolisation and sameness across the board as power and wealth condenses.
The reason I bring up this tedious point is to confront the ongoing question about why Arsenal is playing the way we are playing this year as opposed to last year. Because, as you can see, I’m making connections and I’ve got a theory bubbling away on the back burner, so I thought I’d share with it you.
We all loved last year. Last season was like falling in love again. A wonderful season of improvement and change, shiny new hopes and expectations, brimming excitement, a club returning to the top and a team of lovable players fighting for every last point. Games on a knife edge, amazing comebacks, and a new born love between the fans and the players. It was us against the world. And against Man City, the most successful club in the Premier League, the bulldozer backed by seemingly infinite funds, and the club setting the standards for all to follow.
There has been a lot of talk about Arteta following the Guardiolian template. And of course to some degree this is true. But it’s also an overly simple idea that places Arteta as a mere apprentice. Arteta has always been more that an apprentice. The reality is (as always ) more complicated. Because it’s not just Arteta rejigging the Man City blue print, all clubs are trying to take what they can from the Guardiolian template in precisely the same way that all companies want to be as similar as possible to the leading company in their field. Where club owners and managers see success and trends, they naturally try and reproduce the same. This is the reason trends evolve in football. When Tiki-Taka was setting the trend, a whole swathe of clubs started playing with increased team unity with short passing movements to work the ball through the channels. When Long-Ball was the way to play, teams played with a big target man holding up play with their back to the goal (we even did it to some extent with players like Olivier Giroud). At one point high pressing and zonal marking dragged teams in its wake and now possession-based high intensity marking and pressing is the thing.
Of course, Arsenal and Arteta are not immune to the trends and changes in football tactics and styles. And of course neither are immune to following the path of the most currently successful club by playing in a similar style. Which means this season Arsenal is playing a more possession based-controlling football, playing with a style that limits opponents chances whilst maximising the little percentages you can create yourself.
For Arsenal that means a stronger defense, more emphasis on set-pieces, trying to dominate possession, trying to quickly regaining possession through strong pressing, It means having a shape on the ball and a shape off the ball. And so far this season it means (for numerous reasons) it’s meant not risking too much for the sake of attack. Essentially, Arsenal is following the groove in the road set by Man City and the Guardiolian template.
Now, to be fair and to keep tings in perspective, we’ve not had a full complement of players this season. Party, Jesus, Smith-Rowe, Timber etc. have all been on the injury list. Arteta has had difficulty filling the Xhaka-shaped hole with a Kai Havertz shaped player, who’s been having his own difficulty finding his feet. Ødegaard has been flickering a little recently. In short, there’s practical reasons why Arsenal have been less oiled and more clunky in there flowing attack. But we’re also attempting to slide along that trend groove formed by a successful style of football.
Naturally this won’t last forever. Perhaps Arteta will outshine his old mentor and create and Arteta Template. Perhaps a new and fascinating style of football will evolve from the Relational Football side of the game and Positional Football will go the way of the Roman Empire. Because nothing lasts forever. But for now, this is the way of things.
The question then becomes what kind of football do you prefer?
In some way this is a false dichotomy because trends dictate fashions and clubs will veer toward the most successful style, until they don’t and a new trend appears. But fan preferences still occur regardless. We know last year’s excitement could never last, nothing ever does. And we know the swashbuckling style will return, everything always does. But how are we coping as fans with this sessions change in tempo? I don’t think this season is some kind of failure (especially when we consider out points tally and position), it’s just Arsenal being drawn toward the gravity of success in the way all organisation are drawn toward the gravity of success.
But given the opportunity, wouldn’t we all want to relive young love again? Don’t we miss that crazy beautiful manic madness of last seasons slight lack of control? Isn’t there more poetry in the uncertainty? What do you think? Am I making sense or am I creating a narrative where none exists? Who knows? But whatever you answer, however you like your football flavour, comfort food or sizzling surprises, let’s rejoice that were having to decide from the dizzy heights of the Premier League summit and not struggling along wondering how to climb from our far too long rest in mid-table. If there were ever first-world-footballing-problems, feeling disgruntled about not playing exactly the style we want whilst tallying up the points is certainly one of them!
So there you go Arsenal Wonderlanders. Let’s hope this tedious inter-lul passes quickly some can continue in our winning way. Hope you slide along the groove of success all week and truly stand out from the crowd.
I get what you mean. I get how you feel about this. In many ways I feel the same. There was a certain charm, an exuberance, a flow to Wengerball that has been admired beyond the lines of club loyalties. But I also believe that one must find their footing and then go for style. We haven’t been very successful in a very long time. We first need to win. And I take solace in the age old paradigm of the game, ‘Attack wins games. Defense wins tournaments.’ And defensively, we have been flawless this season. Hope it stays like that till Match day 38.
Also, whether people see it or not, Wengerball is part of the Arsenal identity. Once we are back to our winning ways and the swagger is back, we will all realise that underneath it was always there. Le professeur has done it again!