PLAYING OUT FROM THE BACK IS POETRY... WHEN IT WORKS!

A TEAM scoring a goal from back to front is one of the most satisfying sights in today’s game. It is a rare occurrence but when it works, it’s a thing of beauty, as shown by Arsenal’s opener against Southampton last weekend.

Ralph Hasenhuttl’s side are one of the best in the Premier League at pressing high. They’re up there with Liverpool and Manchester City in their desire to win the ball back close to the opposition’s box and Arsenal struggled with that in the opening 20 minutes.

But Mikel Arteta’s insistence on having his players stick to his philosophy and play out from the back paid dividends eventually. Positioning is vitally important and that is why coaches such as Pep Guardiola and Jurgen Klopp dedicate so much time to working on this tactic in training.

Using Arsenal’s goal as an example, goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale had the ball on the edge of his six-yard box. Centre backs Ben White and Gabriel were positioned in each corner of the 18-yard box and midfielder

Thomas Partey was central. Ramsdale exchanged passes with Partey, then with Gabriel. Arsenal did this with the aim of tempting their opponents to engage. You don’t have to be in a hurry to play it out, it’s better to wait for the most opportune moment.

Once Southampton striker Armando Broja broke forward to press Ramsdale, that was the trigger for Arsenal.

Ramsdale responded by passing to White on the right and, as our graphic shows, each pass from then on was played forward diagonally to progress the ball up the pitch.

As it went wide to White, central to Partey, wide to Takehiro Tomiyasu, then central to Martin Odegaard, each pressing Southampton player was just a fraction too late to make his tackle.

The Arsenal players’ positioning was perfect and they were precise in their one-touch passing. Southampton’s pressers were made to look hopelessly out of position. Bukayo Saka was then able to carry the ball down the right wing unopposed

as Kyle Walker-Peters had already been taken out of the game when he tried to press Tomiyasu high up the pitch.

southampton’s left-sided centre back Jan Bednarek was reluctant to push across. saka was given too much time to pick his pass and found alexandre lacazette, who finished with aplomb.

This tactic doesn’t always work. The statistics say arsenal have made the most errors which have led to opposition shots and they have conceded four goals after giving the ball away. But when it works, it’s beautiful.

arsenal have managed to score this way several times under arteta, including against two of the game’s best teams at pressing. They got a goal from back to front against manchester city in the Fa cup semi-final, and against liverpool in the community shield.

Guardiola’s players are also masterful at playing out from the back. They believe that no matter how good you might be at pressing, they’re better at passing.

The bonus city have is that ederson is extraordinary with the ball. he’s a goalkeeper who can pick any pass, whether a dink into a full back who’s stationed by the sidelines or a direct ball behind the opposition back line.

Back in the 1980s and 1990s, goalkeepers would often launch it long and defenders would then be involved in countless individual duels. But the game has evolved way beyond that.

We’ve got a three-horse race for the Premier league this season and the team that will be victorious will be the side who both press and pass the best.

They know what it takes to switch mindsets between the two. Pressing is about aggression. But when you’re playing out from the back, it’s about being calm, creative and ready to play that perfect pass up the ladder.

When it goes wrong, it can be costly. But when you get it right, it’s poetry in motion.