When Oleksandr Zinchenko joined Arsenal in the summer, those who had watched him regularly run the show for Ukraine felt he could transform the way the Gunners play.
The £32million signing from Manchester City has since made an immediate impact at Emirates Stadium. He has revolutionised the Arsenal midfield, but done so from left-back.
Mikel Arteta has long craved more goals from his midfielders and Zinchenko appears to be the key to unlocking that.
He has caught the eye in an Arsenal team that sits top of the Premier League with maximum points from their opening three games.
He has slotted into the team on the left of a back four, but calling the 25-year-old a left-back does not really feel right given that he spends so little of the game there.
Instead, Zinchenko pushes up and tucks into the midfield alongside Thomas Partey, which allows Granit Xhaka and Martin Odegaard the freedom to push on.
The pair have taken full advantage, with Odegaard scoring twice in Saturday’s 3-0 win at Bournemouth and Xhaka finding the net in the 4-2 win over Leicester the week before.
“He gives us the flexibility to attack in different ways in relation to what the opponent wants to do, wants to prevent and makes spaces that we want to exploit,” Arteta said when describing the impact Zinchenko has made.
“It’s something good to have in the team. We encourage him [to move into midfield] and he’s a midfield player playing as a full-back, it gives us the adaptability and the variety of positions to attack and defend spaces. It’s an extra weapon to have because we are more unpredictable.”
It was noticeable just one minute into the game against Bournemouth that Arteta called Zinchenko over for a chat and instructed him to tuck in more.
The thinking behind his role is that Arsenal then essentially play a 2-3-5 formation when in possession, with Ben White and Zinchenko moving up from full-back to flank Partey in midfield. Ahead of them, Arsenal then basically have a five-man forward line because Odegaard and Xhaka have licence to attack.
The results so far have been incredibly positive, not just because Odegaard and Xhaka are assisting and scoring, but because of the manner of their goal contributions. Both Xhaka’s goal and assist against Leicester were from inside the box, which was the same for Odegaard’s brace at Bournemouth.
Arsenal’s front five are flooding the opposition box and it is causing serious problems for defenders already worried about marking Bukayo Saka, Gabriel Jesus and Gabriel Martinelli.
Arteta has finally found the key to unlocking goals from midfield - and all it took was a signing new left-back
Arteta often speaks about creating “overloads” and this new 2-3-5 formation is a prime example of that, with Arsenal getting more bodies forward and reaping the rewards.
Zinchenko is the key. He takes up a more central position, whereas White, as shown by Arsenal’s second goal against Bournemouth, still looks to get out wide to overlap Saka on the right.
In contrast, Zinchenko dominates the middle of the pitch in a similar way to Joao Cancelo for Manchester City. Cancelo revolutionised the full-back role, and the early signs suggest that Zinchenko is following in his footsteps at Arsenal.
Opposing teams will surely get wise to the new tactical system and attempt to work out plans to stop it, but right now it is paying dividends for Arteta. The Arsenal manager has finally found the key to unlocking goals from midfield - and all it took was signing a new left-back.
