SPEAKING to Dutch media early in his Rangers tenure, Giovanni van Bronckhorst revealed the most significant alteration made during the brief time at Ibrox.
“I would say the biggest change since I came in is that we have started playing with out-and-out wingers - we have the players with those qualities to do that,” he told Dutch show Rondo.
Due to a number of factors, van Bronckhorst has moved away from this wide duality. The lack of a consistent option on the right, compared to Ryan Kent’s output on the left, accommodates the decision to play an asymmetrical system. Additionally, playing an extra midfielder as part of the front three can facilitate James Tavernier’s attacking freedom and offers greater passing options through the pitch.
To help visualise this, we can look at the passes Connor Goldson has played to Scott Arfield, who has filled this right-sided slot, in the Scottish Premiership from the Hearts tie on February 6th until last weekend’s win over Aberdeen; the period in which this shape has featured predominantly.
Looking at the ground passes attempted, Goldson isn’t finding Arfield by the touchline but inside the pitch. The Canadian can often rotate infield and therefore receive the ball unmarked because opponents don’t defend man for man in this situation, the left-back will normally stay put.
It’s a slightly unorthodox role that can be uncomfortable for teams to combat. If the player lining up in opposition to Arfield, the left-back, tracks him tight into midfield they risk leaving a gap in the defensive block. If they don’t, Rangers can create an overload in the centre and open clear passing lanes through the pitch. It’s a similar dilemma Alfredo Morelos’ poses opposition defences when dropping into midfield.
An example against Hearts is seen below. Goldson punches the ball into an unmarked Arfield between the lines, who has rotated infield from the right.
Comparison of the successful ground passes Arfield has received in the last month compared to Ryan Kent further shows the difference in left and right-wing roles.
Kent has received far more ground passes by the touchline as he maintains width, the goal being to isolate him against defenders. Contrastingly, Arfield is in the side to combine with Morelos and Tavernier, create central overloads and add third-man runs.
This asymmetrical shape is best described as a 4-2-3-1, given Ryan Jack and John Lundstram (or on Sunday James Sands) play in a midfield two and either Glen Kamara or Joe Aribo sit higher up the pitch. This is shown clearly in the 5-0 win over Hearts immediately after February’s Old Firm defeat.
Coming in for just his second start since arriving on-loan from Juventus this weekend, Aaron Ramsey performed well in the position Arfield has occupied up until now. This shape appears the base template van Bronckhorst intends to use between now and the end of the season and Ramsey can slot in seamlessly. Because, as explained above, while the teamsheet may make it look like he’s playing from the right-wing he is in fact given positional freedom.
READ MORE: Rangers' vertical attacks and unorthodox rotations offer Giovanni van Bronckhorst greater variation
The number of bodies around the ball on the right means the Ibrox side look to build play and work quick combinations down this flank before switching play to the left, where Kent is often left isolated against a full-back.
This passage of play carries out below. Rangers draw in Dundee with Ramsey and Tavernier combining before the right-back plays in Morelos.
The striker turns brilliantly and can pick out Kent on the left, who has stayed tight to the touchline while the opposition has been attracted towards the earlier overload.
Ramsey was granted freedom to move centrally and this movement troubled Dundee. Given they opted to not man-mark the Welshman, he could make the occasional run beyond the defence as seen below.
Sweeney is tracking him through midfield but chooses not to follow the No.16 into the defence and a shot tests the keeper.
The midfielder’s best moment in the game arrived in the build-up to a penalty. Again, he can drop inside the pitch unmarked and offer a forward passing option.
As he turns on the ball notice Dundee No.3, Jordan Marshall, at the bottom of the frame. As explained in the Arfield anecdote above, Ramsey is technically Marshall’s man. However, the defender seems caught between holding his position in defence and staying tight to stop the ball into Ramsey’s feet. In the end, he does neither.
With Marshall out of shape, Tavernier exploits the space brilliantly as Ramsey lofts a reverse pass into the right-back.
As the move continues, the midfielder is on hand to receive centrally and lay the ball off prior to Tavernier being brought down in the penalty area.
Before moving to play behind the striker, Ramsey constantly rotated intelligently from outside to in, getting on the ball and aiding his team’s possession from back to front
READ MORE: How James Sands gave Rangers ‘in-possession platform’ with versatility, duel domination and depth
As the Rangers Review explained when the ex-Arsenal player joined van Bronckhorst’s squad, he is not necessarily a back to goal player, as detailed by his former manager at Juventus Maurizio Sarri.
Sarri said: "He [Ramsey] maintains that he needs to see more of the pitch in front of him, or he gets a little lost.”
Ramsey struggled to fit into Unai Emery's system at Arsenal which featured two No.6s and one No.10. He is by every metric at No.8, at his best when combining, creating and running beyond.
Playing the role fulfilled on Sunday, the 31-year-old can combine with Tavernier and receive passes unmarked, because left-backs will rarely choose to move inside with him. If he was playing as a No.10 in this system, he may well be directly up against a midfielder and face closer attention from the opposition.
If Rangers can keep their marquee signing fit, he has a clear role in their starting 11 and as sharpness increases so too should his impact.
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