"The Telegraph" wrote an article analyzing that Arsenal coach Arteta's preference for left-footed players has become almost obsessed. This has become a clear recruitment strategy for the club and has made Arsenal the team with the highest proportion of left-footed players among the five major European leagues.
According to statistics from The Telegraph, among the 30 non-goalkeeper players introduced under Arteta, as many as 13 and 43% are left-footed players, far exceeding the 27% average of mainstream European leagues. Currently, left-footed players account for an astonishing 44% of Arsenal's first-team lineup, which is more than newly promoted Sunderland's 42%.
The proportion of left-footed players in each Premier League team
This obsession started with Arteta’s first signing after taking office, left-footed central defender Pablo Mari. Arteta inherited an "unbalanced squad" at the time and was in desperate need of a left-footed centre-back to improve his play from the back. Since then, he has successively introduced many left-footed central defenders such as Gabriel, Chiviol, Calafioli and Incapie.
Arteta explained why he values left-footed players so much, especially in defence. He believes that left-footed players can provide better angles and depth for the ball on the left. For example, when a left-footed center back passes to a left back, the natural arc of the ball can guide the latter forward; while a right-footed player can easily pass the ball to the sideline, forcing teammates to retreat.
Guardiola has expressed similar views, praising Laporte's left foot for speeding up Manchester City's organizational advancement. It is reported that Arsenal even asked the youth training coaches to "specially train left-footed center backs" a few years ago and restructured the positions of some youth training players for this purpose.
This preference is also reflected in the midfield and frontcourt. Odegaard usually plays in the right midfield in order to cut inside to shoot with his left foot or link up with right winger Saka who also likes to cut inside. When the other left-footed winger Madouekai is healthy, he will be placed on the left, forming a "one smooth and one reverse" wing combination with Saka, providing different attack angles and cross trajectories. Arteta explained that the difference in dominant foot determines the direction of the pass, the choice of attacking space and the way the ball enters the penalty area.
Of course, there is also an element of "luck" in Arsenal's having so many left-footed players. The youth players Nwaneri, Lewis Skelly and Dauman who have emerged in recent years happen to be left-footed players. Arteta calls it a "coincidence."
But the article also suggested that perhaps "aesthetics" is also a factor. The football world generally considers left-footed players to be "more elegant and pleasing to the eye", and Arteta, a coach who also relies on intuition to make decisions, may simply be attracted to these technical left-footed players.