Inside Arsenal 2.0: Arteta's 3-1-6 Shape, the Lewis-Skelly Pivot and Why Rice Is Dropping Deep

Mikel Arteta has fashioned many versions of Arsenal. Taking over a side in need of new life in 2019, he won the FA Cup in his first season by playing a defensive style of football, unafraid of using a back five. As time passed the Gunners played a free-flowing, attacking game — best seen in 2022 — before building a side that reduced the variance of a match, maximised control and became physically difficult to compete with.

Having finally won the Premier League title, Arteta is reinventing his team again. Perhaps freed by having lifted the trophy, the Spaniard has taken more gambles in personnel and tactics. Arsenal finished seven points above second-placed Manchester City last season, and this season they had won every game before a 3-0 defeat at Brighton left a lingering sense of uncertainty going into the extended international break. An increased appetite for risk means the wins can be greater — but so can the losses.

The 3-1-6: Arsenal's new in-possession shape

Last season, the heart of Arsenal had Martin Zubimendi at its base with Declan Rice in a more box-to-box role to his left. Arsenal lost some momentum as the campaign approached its end, but the surprise use of Myles Lewis-Skelly in holding midfield reinvigorated them and helped them over the line. Arteta has since continued to trust the 20-year-old in that key role.

This season, Arsenal have used a 3-1-6 shape in possession, formed by Rice dropping deep — rather than pushing on as he did in the first part of last season — to create a back three alongside Ezri Konsa and Gabriel Magalhaes. Lewis-Skelly plays as the single pivot, linking the back part and the front part of the team.

To label the rest of the team a "front six" is perhaps an oversimplification, given the more specific roles certain players have. Riccardo Calafiori, Ben White and Martin Odegaard take turns to drop deep, becoming a fifth player in Arsenal's base in moments. These dynamic arrivals, which create a 3-2 or a 4-1 base, require an alertness and reaction from the opposition to track them that isn't always possible. The movements therefore help Arsenal outnumber opponents, play around them and get up the pitch.

Against Sunderland, Odegaard dropped deep to turn Arsenal's 3-1 base into a 3-2 shape. By arriving suddenly he went untracked, giving Lewis-Skelly an easy passing option and allowing Arsenal to bring the ball up the pitch.

Why Rice is the man dropping in

In William Saliba's absence, Konsa is a capable ball-playing centre-back. Rice, however, possesses both the passing and carrying quality of a world-class midfielder. Facing forward, with more time and space on the ball, using him in the back three maximises many of his strengths and minimises the time he spends in small spaces with his back to goal — a relative weakness for a player of his frame.

Lewis-Skelly thrives — and England copy the blueprint

Lewis-Skelly has made the link position his own for reasons including his calmness under pressure, his hold-up strength, his ability to dribble past players one-v-one and his willingness to take risks when deciding to carry the ball or play direct passes for his attackers.

His effectiveness has been noticed by England head coach Thomas Tuchel who, during this international break, has emulated Arteta's use of Lewis-Skelly. For England it has been Elliot Anderson taking up the "Declan Rice role" in the back three, with Lewis-Skelly operating as the lone pivot exactly as he does for his club.

Given the demands of the role, part of the reason Arsenal may have struggled against Brighton was that Bruno Guimaraes took up the holding midfield position instead of Lewis-Skelly. Against an effective Brighton man-to-man press, being used there was always going to be a difficult challenge, although the time Lewis-Skelly has already spent in the role suggests Guimaraes can get to grips with it.

The next chapter

Arteta's response to Brighton, starting when Arsenal host Leeds on Saturday (12:30 BST), will be another chapter in his team's evolution — one that is both proactive and reactive. This season has also brought more asymmetrical and fluid play, particularly down their right, another feature of a side that keeps being rebuilt even as it defends a title.