How football works: Wide rotations to disrupt the defensive structure

This is part of the How football works series, a step-by-step look at how the game works.

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The secret to Arsenal's success is that players know their roles. Bukayo Saka plays high on the wing. Martin Odegaard works between the opponent's lines. Then there's boring old Ben White, a former centre-back who plays as a wing-back and whose job is to protect the two stars by taking up a safe position somewhere at the back.

Record scratch. Frozen image. Yes, that's our boy Benny. You're probably wondering how he got here.

If you've ever read a tactics article and if not, wait, please don't leave, you know that Arsenal do something called positional play, which is a fancy way of saying they like to maintain a careful structure in possession. However, that doesn't mean boys can't get around. The nice thing about structure is that it makes it easier for players to switch positions and still know exactly what everyone should be doing.

In a well-trained team, such as Arsenal, you see teammates reading each other's movements for clues as to where to go. When a player leaves his position, another player arrives to fill it. Then someone else can fill it That guys spotting and so on, so that the team in possession ends up in more or less the same shape as before, while the opponents are forced to make all kinds of choices about who to follow.

This exchange is known as rotation and is a fundamental part of how positional sides disorganize defenses.

Switching places with a teammate is nothing new, it was what the whole Total Football thing was about half a century ago, but in the hyper-controlled game of Pep Guardiola disciples like Mikel Arteta, rotations are rehearsed down to when and how players will switch . positions in response to a certain ball movement or defensive adjustment. They are as much a part of modern tactics as passing patterns or pressing plans.

One of the most common rotations you'll see on many teams is a triangular exchange on the touchline: a full-back moves up the flank, a winger comes in and a midfielder drops out to where the full-back was standing. can receive the ball in space. (In some variations, the winger stays wide while the fullback moves to an inside channel.) Call these wide rotations.

Not every coach is a fan of this extensive playing style. When the United States played Mexico a few weeks ago, Jesse Marsch stirred up the debate during the halftime show by criticizing Gregg Berhalter's tactics. Why should Gio Reyna, an attacking midfielder who likes to play between the lines like Odegaard, move all the way to full-back? Marsch didn't see how these complicated rotations helped the team.

Every tactic has its drawbacks, of course, but some of Arsenal's best games against Bayern Munich in the Champions League this week showed why wide rotations can be worth it.

At the start of possession, where White departed with a striker run, Arsenal embarked on their usual extended 4-3-3 against Bayern's classic Thomas Tuchel defensive formation: a flat line of five at the back, across the width of the pitch, and a narrow pentagon in front that negates the center. That left space on the flanks, where Arsenal's full-backs would normally operate.

White is quite good on the ball for a defender, but you probably don't want him orchestrating your entire attack. If the only space Bayern would allow Arsenal was wide, Odegaard wanted to be the man pulling the strings in possession. As soon as the build-up started, White ran backwards along the touchline to make room for Arsenal's best passer to turn towards the full-back.

Their position change got a few more players moving. Saka hid in the half-space and completed the wide triangle by taking Odegaard's usual attacking position. Kai Havertz, the centre-forward, dropped to the same side to show that he had a line-breaking pass. That gave Arsenal a major overload of four attacking players outnumbering the three defenders in the area and put their most creative player on the ball.

It's important to point out that rotation isn't just about switching positions so players can get the ball in unusual places. The main advantage is what happens off the ball during the day the switch, as defenders scramble to figure out their new assignments. Rotations are often designed to drag specific players out of position, creating space that the offense wants to exploit.

The unfortunate victim in this match was Konrad Laimer, the left half of Bayern's defensive midfield. As Odegaard passed the pointed edges of Bayern's press, it was Laimer's job to shift wide to stop him. But every time play returned to Arsenal's left and Odegaard began to drift into midfield again, Laimer had to turn back inside and run 30 yards to protect the center of the pitch.

Odegaard played with Laimer by carrying the ball down the right flank, pulling it out and then passing back to a centre-back, sending Laimer back inside. He repeated this three times until Laimer, tired or perhaps just irritated, didn't bother to close. Odegaard stayed in enough space to collect his pass and took advantage of Arsenal's overload on the right to play Saka behind him for Arsenal's first goal.

Most rotations are not a simple one-time switch. Attackers will wander back and forth, not fully in one position or the other, prolonging the moments of indecision as the opponent adapts to different looks. The rotating players may not find a situation they like until the second or third attempt, but as long as they have the ball they can continue to rotate and confuse the defense.

Watch almost any high-level match and you'll see a central midfielder ducking outside the opposing team's box, while his full-back and winger in front of him switch roles and test opponents with wide rotations.

Toni Kroos, to take a prominent example, delights in rotating onto Real Madrid's left flank while Ferland Mendy scans the channels either side of Vinicius Junior. They did that a lot against Manchester City, sometimes with deadly consequences.

Even in that match where Marsch complained about the USMNT's wide rotations, they had great success scrambling the Mexican defense by pulling Reyna deep while Christian Pulisic tucked inside and Antonee Robinson stood up on the wing.

But Marsch was also right: wide rotations can cause headaches for the attacking team. They can leave players in unfamiliar roles. It's not crazy to think that you might prefer to have your best attacking midfielder in midfield and a defender who defends rather than letting attackers run. And if you're not careful, the same confusing transitions between shapes that confuse opponents can sometimes leave holes in your own team's possession.

Not long after Arsenal's first goal, they tried the same wide rotation again: Saka on the wing, White with an attacking channel and Odegaard dribbling around the edge of Bayern's defense, sniffing for a through ball. This time, however, Laimer crossed in time to make the stop, and the result was almost disastrous for Arsenal.

Bayern failed to convert that counter-attack, but by forcing Arsenal to contort themselves into unusual shapes, they managed to escape London with a crucial 2-2 draw. Constant wide rotations, even cleverly executed by an elite positional playing side, will not always achieve victory.

But hey, at least we got to see a central defender as a striker.