Despite the suffering of Raya, Onana and Sanchez... Premier League managers insist on playing from the back!

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The world's best goalkeepers have made serious mistakes this season because of the build-up of the attack from behind.

This year's summer transfer window saw new goalkeepers flock to the Premier League, Arsenal, Chelsea, Manchester United and Tottenham.

With the exception of Tottenham goalkeeper Julielmo Vicario, the other goalkeepers faced much criticism for their disastrous form as Andre Onana's start to Manchester United was very poor, and Chelsea keeper Robert Sanchez made a dramatic mistake in the 2-2 draw against Arsenal.

But Arsenal goalkeeper David Raya got the most criticism, after joining this summer from Brentford, with Arteta's desire despite Aaron Ramsdale's highly popular presence in London.

Arteta was criticized for involving Raya, mainly at Ramsdale's expense, and the goalkeeper's shaky form in recent games has caused more criticism.

Why do teams play from the back?
The common denominator among these clubs who have signed a new goalkeeper is their desire to add a player who is good at playing with the ball. For example, David de Gea's lack of passing was a major reason for his departure from Old Trafford, while Hugo Lloris was sometimes accused of indecisiveness in possession of the ball.

"Playing from the back" is not a new concept, but it has become widespread over the last five years and there are only a handful of Premier League teams playing regularly over a long distance and even weak teams now are starting to ask goalkeepers to pass the ball.

The benefits of this method are obvious allowing teams to control games and progressively progress upfield while maintaining their shape, making it easier to execute the coach's offensive vision.

The goalkeeper's involvement in the first stage of the attack is very vital, because it gives the team in possession of the ball a numerical advantage and it is rare for goalkeepers to shine in play in this style, where they need a strong passing technique and tactical awareness to think about two or three passes forward so that their team can overcome the opposition pressure.

It is difficult to find a player who meets all these requirements and that is why Alison Becker and Ederson, the goalkeepers of Liverpool and Manchester City, have proven themselves entitled to the exorbitant amounts of their ability to carry out this style of play with great success.

Criticism of Arteta!
Ramsdale fared better than many expected after joining Arsenal from Sheffield United for £30m in 2021, but is still far from the level of Liverpool and Manchester City goalkeepers, so Arsenal boss Arteta decided to sign a new goalkeeper.

The Janers were impressed with Praia, long ago, so his joining them was unsurprising and it was harsh for Ramsdale, who was quickly disqualified in favour of the Spaniard.

Because of Arteta's decision, he has come under fire, with Manchester United legend Peter Schmeichel saying that having key players at the Premier League level would lead to each player seeking to "prove themselves" when selected, which could lead to mistakes.

The Chelsea manager, Pochettino, called the decision "dangerous" and pointed to a similar situation he faced at Paris Saint-Germain, between Donnaroma and Navas.
Arteta's correct decision
It might sound harsh, but it's easy to see why Arteta made this decision, statistically Raya was far ahead of Ramsdale in terms of shooting saves last season. The Spaniard prevented 5.0xg from Brentford's expected goals, while his now Arsenal team-mate allowed more than a 2.0xG in.

Raya also outscored Ramsdale in the box, earning 8.7% of the crosses he faced, the second highest in the Premier League compared to only 5.8% for Raya.

Raya also distributed the ball more effectively, scoring more successful passes and completing about 70% of his long balls over a far greater 40 yards than Ramsdale, and this difference is striking and speaks of Raya's strength as a goalkeeper playing with the ball.

Raya's mistakes
What works in theory doesn't always work in practice, especially with constant pressure in the Premier League.

Raya made some errors, such as Lance's first goal in Arsenal's shock Champions League defeat, and Raya was shaky in the first half against Manchester City as well, almost allowing Julian Alvarez to score, and finally his mistake against Chelsea.

Arteta happy with Raya
Despite his recent lapses but Raya has had tremendous success for Arsenal and has implemented Arteta's demands, which he has often defended.

"It's my fault, because I asked him to do it, especially against this team, all you have to do is do other things and you're going to get in big trouble, City players start kicking balls everywhere and I told him not to do it and he didn't," Arteta said after the City game.

What Arteta has enjoyed most since Raya introduced the team is his ability to draw the opposition's attention, before passing the ball to one of his teammates and it is very difficult to play that way against the best teams that press, such as City.

Raya's ability to stay calm and wait for the perfect moment to pass often using the soles of his foot to motivate the opponent adds another weapon to Arsenal that Ramsdale has yet to develop and, as last season, Raya outperformed Ramsdale, in all the passing and rescue metrics and claims Arteta wants.

Next to Ramsdale?
Ramsdale is perfectly capable of playing for most Premier League clubs, but if he doesn't settle his fate quickly and takes part in games his chance to be on England's list at Euro 2024 will be difficult, with Jordan Pickford playing mainly for his team, Sam Johnston starting the season well with Crystal Palace and Nick Pope regularly playing in the Champions League with Newcastle.

Ramsdale's departure in January is imminent, but Arteta will not abandon him easily for wanting to compete for the Premier League title.

The Gunners had a substitute goalkeeper last season, Matt Turner, and despite his strong shot-saving ability, he did not seem entirely comfortable in building play.

Arsenal are not the only club with problems
If Ramsdale tries to leave Arsenal next January, he will find plenty of Premier League teams who want to sign him and also Bayern Munich a clear choice.

Chelsea goalkeeper Sanchez stumbled and his mistake against Arsenal last weekend led to questions about his real ability to play from behind.

Finally Onana, who seemed well suited to the next phase of the Ten Hag project, but got off to a disastrous start and whether it was a failure to routinely tackle, or to test United fans' hearts with his suicide passes, it is clear that Cameroon is experiencing a crisis of confidence.

Support trainers despite mistakes!
Onana and Sanchez both received public support from their coaches, and Tin Haag defended the Cameroonian guard and said: "Every time you have a different defensive line in front of you, it's not helpful you don't understand the routine. This is a problem, but you have to deal with it.

"Sometimes there are different groups that haven't played much together, so sometimes you feel hesitant and in these details the opponents benefit from."

The Chelsea manager commented on Sanchez's error against Arsenal, saying: "I think this can happen, this kind of situation you have to accept today, we are in the age of football the way we want to play from the back."

These situations are typical for coaches in 2023, and yes, involving the goalkeeper in the build-up of the attack can lead to sometimes worrying results but ultimately the advantages far outweigh the risks.