"Passing combinations can be extremely revealing when it comes to how Premier League teams play. Who sees the ball a lot, and who do they pass to? Who receives lots of passes -- and, intriguingly in some cases, who doesn't? We're still only six games into the season and therefore working with a small sample size, but already some trends are emerging."
"True to form, Arsenal's most common connections are William Saliba to Gabriel Magalhães (54 passes) and Gabriel back to Saliba (50 times). But the first non-defender to appear in the list is new signing Zubimendi, which feels significant. There's no doubt the Spain midfielder already has a firm grip on this team's possession play, and what's notable is that he's distributing the ball much more evenly from left to right than Arsenal are perhaps used to."
Passing combinations reveal how Premier League teams circulate possession, who receives and who does not. Only six games into the season provide a small sample, but early trends are visible. Arsenal's most frequent connections are between center backs William Saliba and Gabriel Magalhães, with 54 and 50 passes recorded. New signing Martín Zubimendi appears in six of Arsenal's 15 most common combinations and has already taken a central role in the team's possession structure. Zubimendi distributes the ball more evenly between left and right, reducing Arsenal's recent right-sided bias influenced by injuries and emerging left-side options.
Read at ESPN.com
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