Three ways Tottenham can line-up vs Arsenal with Postecoglou tactical change
Ange Postecoglou’s position is obvious. With as much defiance as the most unassuming Australian ever to play in the Premier League could muster, he stated, “From my perspective, I have often said I don’t set up my teams to play football that is nice to watch.”
I organize my team to play winning football. Fans of Tottenham can delight in their ongoing relationship. Everyone in the game continues to be won over by Postecoglou. It’s unlikely that all Spurs fans are ardent Postecoglou admirers. His biggest supporters are unaware strangers, and the players are reaping the benefits.
There is renewed confidence and optimism heading into a match that has provided very little of those for Spurs in recent years, especially away from home, after an undefeated start to life in the Premier League. It’s the most home side-dominated matchup in top-flight history, but Postecoglou and his team don’t seem to be concerned by this.
He has occasionally been called foolish for his performance in crucial games for Celtic, and Mikel Arteta’s team will present a fresh challenge unlike anything he has ever encountered before. Postecoglou is unlikely to change his nimble plans as a result, though.
The basic principles of the kind of team we want to be, however, are something I won’t back away from now because we’re facing a good team, he said before the game. “There are always tweaks that happen because the opposition will force you to adjust certain parts of your game, but the underlying principles of the kind of team we want to be, no I will not shy away from it now because we’re facing a good team,” he said.
We need to challenge ourselves to play the football we’ve played up to this point against a squad that will be contending for the championship. There are few people who want to make an early prediction on whether this audacious strategy will succeed at the Emirates Stadium.
If it ain’t broke
Postecoglou can do very little wrong right now so maybe this is the best idea there is. Why change a winning system?
There is no reason to expect much of a departure from Tottenham’s successful 4-3-3/4-2-3-1 formation, which has served them well this season. Against Sheffield United, it did require a few late substitutions to secure the victory, but Spurs had already generated more than enough offense to lead at that point.
There is a pre-made assault strategy with Pedro Porro going after the opening created by Oleksandr Zinchenko moving inside and Destiny Udogie going narrow on the other. Son-Heung Min is looking good in the middle, and James Maddison doesn’t need to do anything different from usual. Manor Solomon has previously proven himself worthy of trust in a game like this.
The midfield picks itself, so does the defence, it’s a winning formula and there’s no need to change. It’s hard to see why Postecoglou would change too much.
Possible Tottenham XI: Vicario; Porro, Romero, Van der Ven, Udogie; Sarr, Bissouma, Maddison; Kulusevski, Son, Solomon
Just copying Pep, mate
Go ahead and make us laugh a little. After the 2-0 victory against Bournemouth earlier this season, Postecoglou was asked what his secret to turning things around in north London was. “There’s no secret, mate; I’m just copying Pep [Guardiola], mate,” he replied.
What if the 58-year-old is actually just emulating the manager who recently won the Premier League? In the end, it wouldn’t matter much because, after six weeks, no one else is performing it any better than he is. Spurs will be there or close to it in May if they keep up their imitation work.
Obviously, things are a little different in practice. The demands and styles of football are essentially different. However, Arteta is a far better match for the former Barcelona coach and has done a good job of imitating the deft on-ball play. If Postecoglou believes that partially matching this up is the key to success, it might resemble having Emerson Royal invert, as he did against Brentford on opening weekend.
Son dropping deep, Kulusevski moving inside to take up dangerous positions in the half-space, and Maddison clipping passes behind the opposing full-back might result in a midfield overload.Although not many people would change in terms of personnel, one possibility is to adopt Arsenal’s strategy.
Possible Tottenham XI: Vicario; Emerson, Romero, Van der Ven, Udogie; Sarr, Bissouma, Maddison; Kulusevski, Son, Solomon
Richarlison role
It’s difficult to avoid mentioning this, but Postecoglou must make a significant choice on Richarlison. Richarlison should play if a fixed, more focused point of attack is favored, which it very well could be.
This would entail moving Son to the left and Solomon to the bench, but it might be essential. Son, despite the fact that he scored all three of his goals in the center of the field, is more than capable of challenging Benjamin White, where he may choose to put more of his support than against Gabriel Magalhaes and William Saliba.
Contrarily, Richarlison is a character that appears destined to succeed in a game like this. He may be the one to exhaust Arsenal’s defenders for the day and he will certainly present them with a greater physical challenge. This would be a confidence-boosting choice for Postecoglou following his goal against the Blades, and it might be exactly what he needs.
Possible Tottenham XI: Vicario; Porro, Romero, Van der Ven, Udogie; Sarr, Bissouma, Maddison; Kulusevski, Richarlison, Son
