The Illusion of Fixed Positions: How Arteta is Building a Positionless Juggernaut

For Arsenal fans, it’s been far too long since we found ourselves in this position… staring at an embarrassment of riches in the middle of the park. Options on top of options for our midfield? Pinch me.

With Bruno Guimarães heavily linked to the Emirates, it feels like Mikel Arteta is finally assembling his dream “Swiss Army knife” midfield. As supporters, we love to neatly categorize players into rigid positions (6, 8, 10) because it makes tactical debates easier. But looking at where this squad is currently positioned, that traditional denoting of positions is a massive oversight.

The signing of Declan Rice should have shattered those old paradigms. The likes of Gary Neville and a host of mainstream pundits confidently assured the world that Rice was bought strictly as a lone 6, a pure defensive asset. What a grave miscalculation. This is Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal: it is driven by his unique vision and stamped with his distinct tactical fingerprints. In this system, no outfield player is cemented into a single role. Aside from David Raya in goal, structural fluidity is the law.

Look at the evidence across the pitch: Mikel Merino being utilized as a pseudo 9, Martín Zubimendi operating as an attacking 8, and Myles Lewis-Skelly smoothly transitioning from left-back to central midfield. Riccardo Calafiori is his own special entity entirely, a defensive chameleon. Then you have Ben White, Jurriën Timber and Mosquera, all deployed across a variety of roles depending on the phase of play.

Arteta himself recently hinted at this philosophy. When reflecting on what pleased him most about the team’s evolution, he highlighted three specific qualities: resilience, ambition and adaptability. Maintaining those traits over the course of a gruelling Premier League campaign is immensely difficult, but it is exactly what he demands.

Arteta’s blueprint: outgrowing rigid formations for ultimate tactical adaptability

▶Watch the clip on XMikel Arteta interview · 0:08

Take Arteta’s recent comments on Ethan Nwaneri’s development during Bukayo Saka’s injury absence:

“The context of Bukayo’s injuries and not having a replacement opened that opportunity for him to break in… Now that he is more settled, he’s more stable, more mature, we see him a lot playing inside in both positions, that’s where his biggest threat is. That’s where he feels most comfortable, and he can connect better with teammates. It doesn’t mean that he cannot play wide. He can do it still, but we need to start developing more in one position.”

Piecing the puzzle together, it always comes back to tactical flexibility. Arteta wants multiple solutions for the diverse questions the Premier League asks. All of this context points to one exciting reality: our midfield next season will feature an array of devastating combinations.

Breaking the horseshoe

Should opponents double down on low blocks next season, our tempo control must be flawless. The infamous “horseshoe” passing structure isn’t inherently a flaw; the issue is how long we stagnate in it and how dynamic we are once we sustain that shape. This is precisely where Bruno Guimarães changes the game.

With Declan Rice likely needing managed minutes or altered treatment early in the campaign, I fully expect Bruno G to be at the heart of our midfield from day one. It’s a seamless transition: one elite, all-phase midfielder stepping in for another. Long term, a double pivot of Bruno and Rice, with Ødegaard or Rogers pushing forward in the attacking midfield role, is a mouth-watering prospect. It mirrors the old Xhaka–Partey–Ødegaard triangle, but evolves it to the next level. How?

In possession, you gain a deep-lying playmaker and a world-class long and short passing specialist in Bruno G. Pair him with Rice’s rapid distribution, and top it off with the explosive power and ball-carrying of Rogers, or the elite transitional passing range of Ødegaard. It presents a defensive nightmare for the opposition.

The objective for 2026/27

The objective for next season is clear: vertical progression and physical power in transitions. This is why a profile like Morgan Rogers makes perfect sense. Add Bruno G, and perhaps even a Manu Koné, to a rotation already boasting Merino, Zubimendi and Lewis-Skelly, and you have a world-class engine room.

The ultimate key will be creating space to stretch the opposition on the left flank via an incoming left winger, backed by a midfield with the vision to find them instantly.

By injecting power into vertical spaces, Arsenal won’t just keep the ball — they will relentlessly ask unanswerable questions of opposition defenses in both transition and open play.