Man Utd outdated, Chelsea chaotic - Tactical winners and losers of Premier League season so far

After an oddly directionless transitional year, Arsenal are finally reflecting their manager’s tactical beliefs, namely frantic energy, sharp vertical counter-attacks, and high-risk possession.

For example, David Luiz and Sokratis guarantee the odd error but their frenzied playing style is exactly why Unai Emery trusts in them.

In addition, while Lucas Torreira, Matteo Guendouzi, and Dani Ceballos would represent a worryingly erratic midfield for a more conservative coach, it is ideal for Emery, who is already in possession of the dynamic front three he needs to create a Klopp-esque 4-3-3.

Once their first-choice full-backs, Hector Bellerin and Kieran Tierney, return from injury, the Gunners will finally have all the pieces in place for a successful – if chaotic – season.

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer references the United team he was a part of in the 1990s when explaining his tactical philosophy.

‘Pace and power’ is the long and short of it, with Marcus Rashford, Anthony Martial, and Daniel James expected to freestyle attack the opposition defence to create the waves of pressure that characterised Sir Alex Ferguson teams.

It has been 20 years since the days of Andy Cole and Dwight Yorke, players name-checked by Solskjaer when asked to describe his tactics. In 2019, Big Six clubs are forced to hold the vast majority of possession while opponents sit back, which explains why Solskjaer’s out-dated methods aren’t working.

There is simply no space in the final third for United’s speedy attackers; Crystal Palace won’t be the last team to park the bus at Old Trafford and emerge with three points.

Marco Silva's penchant for aggressive attacking football – characterised by extremely high full-backs and constant pressing – explains why Everton were so often formless last year, one minute playing cohesively and collapsing the next.

The addition of Fabian Delph in central midfield adds dynamism on the ball and athleticism off it, potentially preventing matches from spiralling out of control.

Moise Kean finally gives Everton – and Gylfi Sigurdsson, in particular – a target to create chances for, while Richarlison’s directness is nicely balanced by the hard-working Alex Iwobi on the other side.

In short, Everton’s tactical approach hasn’t changed this season but they have signed exactly the right players for Silva’s coaching to bear fruit.

Although Norwich and Aston Villa are being praised for playing aesthetically-pleasing football so far this season, both Daniel Farke and Dean Smith could be accused of playing with a too-wide formation and a too-open midfield.

Villa don’t use a defensive midfielder and instruct the full-backs to bomb forward, which led to Bournemouth scoring two early goals against Villa a fortnight ago before Crystal Palace – arguably the least creative team in the division – managed 22 shots on goal at Selhurst Park on Saturday.

Norwich were praised for throwing caution to the wind at Anfield on the opening day, but they should not have done the same at West Ham. The hosts repeatedly cut through Norwich primarily because they allowed Pellegrini’s side to play on the counter-attack.

In the Premier League, many home teams would rather sit back but are denied the opportunity. It would be naive for Norwich to assume winning the possession battle is automatically a route to victory.

Sheffield United have adapted to Premier League life seamlessly. It is clear they do not possess the technical quality of almost any other team in the division, and yet such is the complexity of Wilder’s tactics, this shortfall doesn’t seem to matter.

Their overlapping centre-backs naturally make the headlines, but there’s so much more to United than that. Wilder’s three-man midfield is ultra-fluid, their roles alternating throughout a game, and left wing-back Enda Stevens looks like an established Premier League attacker.

An underappreciated benefit of being tactically well-drilled is that it breeds confidence. United had the self-belief to fight back at Stamford Bridge last weekend partly because they trusted Wilder’s instructions and, therefore, trusted their instincts.

Manuel Pellegrini converted West Ham into a patient counter-attacking team last season, deploying a deep block with Declan Rice screening the centre-backs so that Arthur Masuaku and a quick front four could break quickly when the ball was won.

Injuries to Manuel Lanzini and Andriy Yarmolenko ultimately held them back, as did the lack of a fulcrum to hold up the ball and initiate the counter.

Sebastien Haller is the missing piece of the jigsaw.

Strong in the air and possessing an excellent first touch, West Ham are launching more long-ball counters this season via Haller – who is already linking well with Lanzini, Yarmolenko, Masuaku, and Felipe Anderson. The striker wins 5.7 headers per game, more than any other non-defender in the division.

Tottenham’s 1-0 defeat to Newcastle United in their most recent home game is far more worrying than blowing a 2-0 lead against rivals Arsenal.

Throughout 2019 Spurs have gradually seized up at home, struggling to break through deep-lying defences deployed by opponents happy to concede possession and frustrate Mauricio Pochettino’s side. Prior to a 1-0 defeat against West Ham in April, it had taken at least 80 minutes for Spurs to break down Brighton, Crystal Palace, and Newcastle.

This is a worrying trend, then, made worse by Pochettino’s apparent inability to solve the tactical problem. In the Newcastle defeat his use of Son Heung-Min and Lucas Moura as wide forwards made little sense as both players laboured against the wing-backs, while his decision to leave Christian Eriksen and Giovani Lo Celso on the bench was baffling.

Spurs needed guile in the final third and by the time they were introduced in the 62nd minute, it was too late; the pattern had been set.

It might not be particularly interesting – because it’s nothing new – but the defining story of the 2019-20 season so far is that Liverpool and Man City are still going, still racking up wins with extraordinary football.

Liverpool are benefitting from consistency in the squad and are evidently riding high after their Champions League triumph. Joel Matip, Fabinho, and Divock Origi have clearly moved up a notch over the summer.

Pep Guardiola hasn’t introduced any tactical innovations at City, although the returning Kevin De Bruyne is taking more wide right positions this season to support Riyad Mahrez. It’s a small tweak, but De Bruyne already has five assists, four of them coming from positions traditionally associated with a right winger.

Frank Lampard's Chelsea share some similarities with Frank Lampard the player: hard-working but ill-disciplined.

He preaches high-pressing possession football but does not appear to be matching the intent with the same level of complex positional coaching that defines similar projects at Liverpool or Manchester City.

Consequently, they press manically as individuals rather than as one, so when legs begin to tire, the shape completely falls apart.

The trend is consistent; Jose Mourinho’s complaint that Lampard’s side are too decompressed when the ball is lost still holds true three gameweeks later.

Chelsea were fortunate not to concede more second-half goals against both Leicester and Sheffield United at Stamford Bridge, while their win at Norwich was alarmingly uncontrolled.

All three newly-promoted clubs seeking to play on the front foot, Brighton swapping Chris Hughton for the adventurous Graham Potter, and an influx of new strikers (including Haller, Kean, Wesley, and Joelinton) have conspired to make this a season of gung-ho attacking football. We’ve already had 113 goals in four rounds of matches.

Of course, tactical trends come in cycles and it won’t be long until we bounce back the other way.

Crystal Palace and Newcastle United have both started the season strongly with cautious, defensive football, which could mean that the first Premier League club to sack their manager opts for a fire-fighter in the mould of Steve Bruce or Roy Hodgson.