Arteta’s £110m duo could be like a ‘left-wing White & Saka’ at Arsenal

Are Arsenal now ready to bring the biggest trophies back to north London?

The Gunners made a serious statement on Tuesday night by crushing Atlético Madrid 4-0 in the Champions League, with all the goals coming during a 12-minute second-half scoring streak.

New striker Viktor Gyökeres scored twice, taking some of the pressure off his shoulders, while his summer compatriot Martín Zubimendi produced another eye-catching display.

So, the additions made this summer have taken Mikel Arteta’s side to another level, but is balance one of the hidden reasons why the Gunners have found red-hot form of late?

Arsenal’s right-handed bias

In previous title battles, a high proportion of Arsenal’s attacks have been towards their right flank.

The Gunners’ peak form under Arteta came in the second half of the 2023/24 campaign, winning 16 of 18 Premier League matches, with Benjamin White, Martin Ødegaard and Bukayo Saka attacking the trident on the right side, by far their most dangerous outing.

As documented by The Athletic, the most common combination would see White overlapping each other, leaving room for Saka, with Ødegaard’s main task being to find one or the other, with this working thanks to White’s “energetic and well-timed runs” alongside Ødegaard’s “exquisite passing” as well as Saka’s “dribbling ability”. [which] forces teams to double on him’

Meanwhile, the Telegraph have highlighted that 45% of their attacks last season took place on the right flank, compared to 38% and 41% in the previous two campaigns, making this a clear trend over a sustained period of time, something they describe as a problem when the opposition are able to negate this.

We could have included dozens of goals to demonstrate the threat Arsenal pose on their right side, but Kai Havertz’s late goal against Brentford in March 2024 illustrates it well.

Now, recent acquisitions have made Arteta’s side significantly more balanced, no longer relying solely on Saka’s magic, while neither White nor Ødegaard have performed particularly well, for various reasons, so far this season.

So, Arteta has reshaped his left side, so has it become just as effective?

The creative new look of Arsenal’s left side

Where Oleksandr Zinchenko was once Arsenal’s marauding left-back, Riccardo Calafiori is the current occupant of that position.

The Italian has started all eight Premier League matches so far, paradoxically described as both “very solid defensively” and “the most electrifying man in sports entertainment” following last weekend’s 1-0 win over Fulham at Craven Cottage.

The chart below documents Calaifori’s importance this season.

As the table notes, surprisingly only Gyökeres has attempted more shots among Arsenal players in the Premier League this season, while the Italian contributes in all areas of the pitch, including being second only to Declan Rice in terms of ball recoveries.

However, as the Whites can attest from the other flank, a full-back is only as good as the players in front of him, so could Eberechi Eze be that man for Calafiori?

Currently, the England international is deployed further to the right, replacing Ødegaard, with Leandro Trossard and Gabriel Martinelli, who both scored crucial goals this week, sharing time on the left flank.

However, Eze’s natural tendency is to drift to the left, something he must fight against at the moment.

Thus, analyst Ben Mattinson posited in 2024 that the pair could be something of a “White and Saka on the left”, noting that there are “a lot of similarities”, adding that Calafiori is a “better carrier” and Eze is “creative”, concluding that this could be enough to propel Arsenal to the Premier League title.

The overly excited Crystal Palace arrival picked up his third August assist for Arsenal on Tuesday, scoring the first of Gyökeres’ two goals as he opened his own Gunners account at Port Vale in the EFL Cup last month.

With Arteta looking for more central creativity, Eze has been regularly deployed in the middle so far, but has also started on the left.

The best example of what he is capable of from a wider position came against Nottingham Forest, bursting in behind to collect the ball over the top of, you guessed it, Calafiori, before placing it for Gyökeres to tap home.

That goal could prove to be just an appetizer of what this £110million pair are capable of contributing this season. So, if Arsenal’s left side becomes as powerful as their right, supporters have every reason to believe that this could truly be their year.