Arsenal's manager Arsene Wenger has revealed the secrets of Gunners' beautiful game that is universally regarded as the best football in England.
In his interview with a radio channel, the legendary Frenchman revealed that Arsenal's brand of football is based on off-the-ball movement, with the main objective being to give the man on the ball as many alternatives as possible.
When he teaches his wards, Wenger uses what he calls "green lights" and "red lights" to show where his players must be when Arsenal are in possession.
"We plot it on the pitch and, once a player has the ball, there are red lights or green lights. The collective goal is to create the most possible green lights," The Sun quoted him, as saying.
"That is to say to give passing solutions to the man with the ball and to leave the responsibility with that man to make the best choice possible, allowing the team to keep possession but at the same time - if possible - make the game progress towards the attack," he added.
Wenger, 60, admits his biggest challenge is to prepare his team mentally.
"When doubt creeps in, the green lights become red lights. Because each player takes fewer spontaneous initiatives and, all of a sudden, it's absolutely unbelievable at what speed all those lights become red and the player with the ball finds himself in the s***," he said.
"And, on a psychological level, we must give them a taste for audacity and for developing connections between each other," he added.
Wenger pointed out that to maintain the quality of Arsenal's game he simply cannot afford to bring in too many players at once.
"When you change more than three players from game to game you take a technical risk. You change three players and bring in three or four new faces who do not know your playing philosophy and it can hit your team like the flu," he concluded.
