In the Zone: Arsenal 2-0 Sevilla performance analysis

Arsenal swept Sevilla aside with a commanding show of both technical and physical superiority in their 2-0 UEFA Champions League Group B success on Wednesday.

In this article brought to you by FedEx, UEFA technical observer Hans Leitert analyses several key features of their display, including the sparkling wing play of Gabriel Martinelli and Player of the Match Bukayo Saka.

Team formations

Features

Arsenal overloading the midfield

In possession, Arsenal had a starting set-up of 4-3-3 but as this first video illustrates, that shifted to a 3-2-2-3 as Takehiro Tomiyasu, the left-back, stepped inside alongside Jorginho, acting as a second holding midfielder and forming a 'box' with the more advanced Declan Rice and Kai Havertz (Clips 1 and 2).

There was plenty of movement and flexibility from Mikel Arteta's team as Leandro Trossard, the central attacker, came deep looking to link play and Havertz, similarly, went in search of spaces (see both in Clip 2). Oleksandr Zinchenko did the same as Tomiyasu after replacing the Japanese, though what remained largely constant was the presence of the wingers high and wide – as highlighted below.

Arsenal's impressive flexibility is evident once more in the longer second clip, which shows Trossard pulling out to the wing and Rice advancing deep into Sevilla territory in a sequence where Martinelli and Rice combine to tee up a Trossard shot. Rice got forward and made 12 passes in the attacking third – the same number as Trossard – and it is worth adding that Arsenal's organisation in possession (producing the above-mentioned overloads) can also be an advantage when they lose the ball, ensuring they have enough bodies to win it back.

Arsenal wingers hurt Sevilla

This was an evening when the Arsenal wingers, Saka and Martinelli, delivered a harsh lesson to young Sevilla full-backs Juanlu and Kike Salas. As this video shows, the Gunners pair stayed high and wide and caused Sevilla no end of problems, whether the visitors were operating in a back four or back five (with Adriá Pedrosa dropping to play outside of Salas).

The first clip pauses the action and breaks down the areas of the pitch from which Arsenal's attacks originated – with almost half of them (47.6%) coming down their right where Saka roamed, supported by Ben White. More than one third (35.8%) came down the left, and Clips 1 and 2 both end with Martinelli getting the better of his man in one-v-one situations before providing a cross or cutback (seven in all, with one completed).

Martinelli also ended the game with 17 take-ons – more than any other player in Champions League action this week – and was successful in over half of them (52.9%). Meanwhile, together with Milan's Rafa Leão, he produced nine ball carries following a one v one – which again was unsurpassed this week.

Clip 3 focuses on Saka's role in Trossard's opening goal. From Jorginho's clever pass, he manages to get in behind Salas before squaring for the scorer. On a night when Saka made the scoresheet too, he also stood out for the number of free-kicks he won, drawing five fouls in all – the joint-second highest number this week.

Arsenal's high press – and 'rest defence'

There is a twin focus to this third video as Arsenal's work out of possession contained two impressive features. First, as we see in Clip 1, the north London side were excellent in pressing high up the pitch – especially in the first half – and in disrupting Sevilla's attempts to build play, forcing them to go long.

When they did, as this example shows, an Arsenal player would invariably win the header. To underline their aerial superiority, William Saliba, who did well to control the threat of Youssef En-Nesyri, won all four of his aerial duels, while Arsenal as a collective recorded a 61.9% success rate with their aerial battles. (By contrast, En-Nesyri, so often a potent threat in the air for Sevilla, won only 28.6% of his duels in the air.)

The second aspect of Arsenal's excellence out of possession was their 'rest defence', an aggressive approach which helped them keep Sevilla pinned in their half. Clip 2 shows red shirts in position and ready to pounce every time the ball is cleared or deflected away by Sevilla (which happens seven times in this sequence). It is not just the midfielders and defenders either – just watch Trossard's hunger to win the ball back, nicking the ball off the toes of Salas.

It helps to have a player with the organisational skills of Jorginho, and a centre-back with the authority of Gabriel Magalhães, but this video underlines Arsenal's collective strength on defensive transitions on a night when they limited Sevilla to just one shot (deep into added time). And finally, for the record, it was Rice who finished with the most recoveries – eight in total.

Arsenal's corner strategy

A final feature I would like to highlight is Arsenal's corner routine at the very start of the game. Sevilla, defending zonally, had a line of players protecting the front-post area. Arsenal took advantage with a ball to the back post, where, with the help of team-mates blocking their markers, Havertz had a free header which he mistimed.

Coaches' and players' assessments

Mikel Arteta, Arsenal coach: "The attacking players had a massive influence in what we were able to generate in the final third, but a lot of the time the process has to be better at the back to give them time and the support and space they need to generate those things. They've done that really well today and when that's the case, it is difficult to defend against them."

Diego Alonso, Sevilla coach: "We wanted a dynamic team, with three players in the middle to give us that solidity and quick players on the outside like Pedrosa and Lamela to give us energy on the wings. Unfortunately it didn't work out. We were outplayed. Arsenal are a great team. When we got the ball back, especially in the first half, it was in our own area. And they won the one v ones out wide, especially on the left."

Declan Rice, Arsenal midfielder [on Saka and Martinelli]: "I think tonight was massive for them, with their confidence. I think one-on-one they were frightening. Every time they were in that situation, they drove at them.

"We were very good, high energy, at it from the start, full gas. We didn't let them breathe, I think they had one shot all game. It was just an all-round really good performance, especially with them sitting really deep playing a back five, which is always hard to break down. But once we did it, it was a very good performance."

Fernando, Sevilla midfielder: "We were all back and when we won the ball, we were deep and it was hard to counterattack."