Arsenal has started this season with a potentially historic defensive record. What is impressive about their defense is not only the number of goals conceded, but how dominant it is. Teams are playing whole games against this defense without registering a single shot.

It is important to state the impact of the midfield, specifically Rice and Zubimendi’s role in their defensive record. Nevertheless, their defense has had a historic start to the season. As with every successful team in football, other teams will try to emulate the tools Arteta has used to build such a dominant defense.

The Unusual Pattern: Converting Center Backs to Fullbacks

One of the most notable trends is the way Arteta has built his defensive squad. Arsenal has on paper two right backs: Jurrien Timber and Ben White. Three center backs: Gabriel Magalhães, Saliba and Mosquera. And three left backs: Calafiori, Hincapie and Lewis Skelly.

What is unorthodox about this setup is that all players except for Lewis Skelly started out as center backs.

At Ajax, Jurrien Timber played mainly as a center back, and only occasionally as a fullback. Although Calafiori initially started out as a wingback, he was moved by Motta to play as a left-sided center back, and it was where he had the most success for Bologna. Ben White was a center back at Brighton and initially started for Arsenal as a center back. Hincapie, the most recent addition, played as a left-sided center back (LCB) for Xabi Alonso in a 3-4-3 when they achieved the invincible season in the Bundesliga.

Regardless of their initial background as central defenders, Arteta has successfully been able to transition them to the wings. Timber and Calafiori have developed into two of the most prolific players in their respective positions. But why not buy pure fullbacks?

The Market Reality: Why Elite Fullbacks Are Scarce

The fullback market is very scarce with not a lot of world class talent. This scarcity stems from youth football around the world, where the fullback position is overlooked. The best players in youth teams are not put in the fullback position because it isn’t seen as an important position in contrast to center back if you excel in defending, midfield if you excel in technical ability, wing positions if you excel in athleticism and technique, or the striker position if you excel in pace and finishing.

This is also a trend in elite football. Many players who can’t cut it in, for instance, midfield are converted to fullback. Zinchenko, for example, was transitioned from a center midfielder to a left back under Pep Guardiola at Manchester City.

The few players that excel and show world class potential in the fullback position are snatched early, and teams will be patient with them. For instance, Nuno Mendes left Sporting for PSG at 19 years old, and it took several years for him to establish himself as one of the best fullbacks in the world. Due to this scarcity, it is extremely hard to find elite fullbacks, even harder to buy them, and the price will also be costly due to the above mentioned factors.

Arteta’s Solution: Finding Undervalued Center Backs

Arteta understood that there are many center backs with traits which would make them succeed in the fullback position, and hence would be undervalued in the transfer market.

When it comes to Jurrien Timber, it was his athleticism combined with his toughness that made him suitable for the transition. Ben White was a very skilled passer who was able to play the position in the way Trent Alexander-Arnold does, able to make lane breaking passes. Arteta now had two right backs with different skill sets, which would allow him, depending on opposition, circumstances, or game development, to choose what skill set suited the game best.

On the other side, Calafiori was bought from Bologna after a successful season helping them reach the Champions League. What made Calafiori start as a wingback before his conversion was his passing range. Arteta saw a similar profile to White, in which Calafiori would be able to make that conversion smoothly as it would unlock more of his creative side to the game. He would slot well into the role Zinchenko couldn’t fulfill anymore as an inverted fullback, allowing him to receive the ball in the middle.

In the summer, Arteta bought Hincapie, who gives him another profile to Calafiori. While Calafiori excels in his passing game, Hincapie is more dynamic and energetic, giving Arteta the option for a player with more proclivity to touch the width and cross the ball.

Multiple Skill Sets and Unmatched Depth

The first key aspect of Arteta’s strategy is building a defensive squad with different skill sets. But due to their vast array of skills proven by making successful transitions, virtually any one of them can play at an elite level in the center back position without a noticeable drop off in the short term.

We have seen both Hincapie, Timber, Calafiori, and White as substitute defenders when Saliba and Gabriel are unavailable. The difference between past conversions from midfield to fullback and the way Arteta has set them up is that these “fullbacks” have not been converted because they lack quality to play in their initial position, but because they have a generalist skill set allowing them to play in multiple positions.

Arsenal has lost titles during Arteta’s tenure because of defensive depth issues in previous years, most notably in the 2022-2023 Premier League season when they lost their lead to City in the final stretch due to injuries to Saliba. Arteta has now built a defense with both a variety of skill sets and unmatched depth. No other team has seven quality center backs in their arsenal.

Solving the Squad Size Paradox

This brings us to the most important aspect of Arteta’s approach. Any team which would like to have that depth and do it in the conventional way by buying players who can only play one position will have a squad that is too large, which will affect squad harmony.

Pep Guardiola said ahead of the season that he had requested the board to sell players because the squad was too large. Asked if he was happy with his squad after the victory at Wolves, Guardiola replied:

“Too many people. It’s not about Eddy [Ederson], today [there] was [no] Rodri, Phil, Kovacic, Savinho and Josko. On the bench we had Nathan [Aké] and Gündo [Ilkay Gündogan]. I like a deep squad to compete in all competitions but I don’t want to leave players at home. It’s not healthy. You cannot create a good vibe or atmosphere to compete. The club has known [about] it since last season but the situation is what it is. In the next two weeks, people will talk with players and agents to find a solution. We have to reduce the squad because it will be difficult to sustain the vibe of the team.”

This is the paradox of modern football. There are more games than ever, so the best teams want to have depth in every position, but at the same time, leaving players out will cause disruption—not only from the player but also from the media and their agents.

The solution is the way Arteta has built his squad. With players able to play in multiple positions, you won’t need a large squad, but you will always have depth. It is unmotivated in today’s game to, for instance, have a reserve left back who can only play at the left back position. If you have an elite fullback such as Mendes, Hakimi, or Trent, their reserve’s minutes will be extremely limited, and they will occupy a space on the bench where in most scenarios they won’t be subbed in.

If the reserve left back is instead a player who can also perform at a high level in another position, you will now have, in many ways, a two for one player situation.

The Liverpool Comparison

This is a problem with Liverpool this season. Even though they on paper had the same number of players as Arsenal in defense, there was a lot of worry ahead of the season that they were thin at the back. This is due to the fact that none of their fullbacks are able to play in the center or any other position, except Frimpong who is able to play at the winger position.

Slot wants to play out with a three back line with Van Dijk at the CCB position and Kerkez playing as the LCB. This has not worked out well, primarily due to Kerkez not being effective playing as an inverted left back who is a primary ball handler. Instead, he is more of a traditional fullback that likes to go up the pitch and cross the ball. This is a similar characteristic to Robertson, hence making him redundant. Also, both are not able to play as center backs when needed, which has created a strain on the team as Konaté and Van Dijk have had to play the majority of minutes this season.

In comparison, Liverpool’s fullbacks are shorter on average. Frimpong is 172 cm tall, Kerkez is 180 cm, Robertson is 178 cm tall, and Conor Bradley is 185 cm tall. Arsenal’s players—Calafiori at 188 cm, Timber at 179 cm, Ben White at 186 cm, and Hincapie at 184 cm—are on average taller, though not by a lot. But they are sharply better with their head, likely due to their previous role as center backs, where aerial duels are traditionally more important.

Physical Advantages in the Modern Game

Another aspect Arteta has considered is the way the Premier League has developed. There is much more emphasis on set pieces, and a crucial aspect to them is height and aerial ability. Center backs are on average taller than fullbacks, and that is evident at Arsenal.

Both Timber and Calafiori have proven to be dangerous in set pieces with their head, scoring important goals. The physical presence every fullback has makes them zone dominators in defense. Timber, for instance, has shown an ability to lock down entire zones by himself, which forces opposition wingers to pass the ball backward. This is due to a combination of athleticism, strength, aggressiveness, and reading of the game.

The Trade Offs

A potential drawback is that these converted center backs aren’t as explosive as the best specialist fullbacks such as Mendes and Balde, which allows those players to break the transition line by themselves, being zone dominators in attack and especially transitions. This is one of the reasons why Arsenal’s offense sometimes lacks dynamism, especially without wingers who can vertically stretch out defenses, creating space for the fullbacks and midfielders.

The Blueprint for Modern Squad Building

This leads us to a new blueprint when it comes to building a defensive unit.

For the left back position, you can have one player who is solely a left back if he has exceptional attributes and is therefore one of the best in his position. This is typically a player like Mendes, Hakimi, Trent, Reece James, or Alejandro Balde.

Otherwise, you will have to find two left backs that are complementary. Ideally, similar to Arsenal’s approach, both can play in the center too, either at the back or in the midfield. When it comes to characteristics, one of them ideally has to be able to play as an inverted fullback, being able to tuck into the midfield and act as an LCB in buildup, where most elite teams today play a three back line in possession. The other one has to instead offer different attributes, such as being a player that can hold width, cross the ball, and overlap—something Hincapie is more suitable for.

On the right hand side, Arteta also has two different archetypes. Timber is much more of a physical right back that is able to be very zone dominant in defense and also a threat running into the final third. He is also a set-piece threat. Ben White, on the other hand, is more of a playmaking fullback able to contribute through his passing ability. He is also an overlapping fullback, helping Saka on the right hand side. Once again, both can play at the RCB position, giving the team unbelievable depth.

At the same time, Arteta won’t have to be afraid of players’ morale getting low due to restrained time on the pitch, since he is able to rotate them around. In today’s game, where different matches need different types of skill sets, if you don’t have a superstar in that position that will play regardless of situation, this is by far the most effective strategy in modern football.

The Generalist Philosophy

A cross reference to another sport illustrates this principle. The Oklahoma City Thunder won the NBA championship last year. The team is already one of the most dominant teams in NBA history and is on the path to creating a dynastic run. There are several reasons why this has happened, and it all comes back to their sporting director, Presti. One of the reasons is their squad building.

They have built a squad of two way players, meaning any player can play at a high level in defense and offense. This isn’t as common as people think, with Luka Dončić, for instance, being one of the best offensive players in the league but scoring low in defensive stats. They have also traded away young players with huge upside like Giddey for one of the most efficient two-way players in Caruso. Even though he is older than Giddey and isn’t meant to be a starter, his contribution from the bench on both sides was a huge reason for them winning the championship last year.

In the same way, Arteta is building a team of two way players, or better called generalists, rather than specialists. What is important to note here is that you don’t need to be elite in every facet of the game, but you cannot be a weakness in any aspect of the game. In Arsenal, there isn’t a player that is not able to defend, so you can see even offensive players such as Saka and Merino play a vital part in their defense.

This is the future of elite squad building: versatile players who provide tactical flexibility, genuine depth, and squad harmony, all while being more cost effective in the transfer market than elite specialists.