Arsenal: How does Mikel Arteta set up against Man City for title charge?

Bournemouth looked to apply pressure more aggressively. Instead of lining up with a flat front four, their left-sided midfielder James Tavernier moved inside to support his central midfielders – particularly when Kai Havertz dropped deep looking to form a midfield three with Martin Zubimendi and Declan Rice.

This decision left Ben White free at right-back, but striker Evanilson constantly looked to curve his runs to block off passes to the right, making accessing the full-back harder.

City and Bournemouth‘s press differed slightly but there were principles both used that were effective – one being how both sides looked to funnel Arsenal‘s play down the left. Gabriel was challenged to dictate the game from deep areas, something his counterpart William Saliba is better at.

When play was forced down that side, Andoni Iraola’s team were able to lock on in a man-to-man fashion. When this happened, Arsenal‘s players and coach alike often gestured to Gabriel to look long for striker Viktor Gyokeres.

Since the turn of year, Arsenal have leaned into attacking the spaces that open up when opponents press man-to-man with the likes of Noni Madueke, Gyokeres, Gabriel Martinelli and Havertz, in theory, having the underlying skillset to punish teams in transition.

The issue against Bournemouth was that Sweden forward Gyokeres, contrary to his physical frame, has struggled to win his individual duels against Premier League defenders, leading to Arsenal failing to dominate possession and get up the pitch. His strengths instead lie in getting his team forward by running the channels, where he showcases strong ball-carrying ability.