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EPL Premier League Action Arsenal needed to evolve this season if they were to have any hope of finishing above second in the Premier League.   After 10 games in all competitions, Mikel Arteta’s team are starting to show a point of difference — mainly thanks to their ‘bounce’ passes. Different factors have held them back when coming second in the last three seasons. In 2022-23, Arteta failed to adapt quickly enough to stop a harmful run of three successive draws in April. They solved that in 2023-24, instead dropping costly points against teams lower in the table. Last season, injuries to Bukayo Saka, Kai Havertz and Martin Odegaard — and six red cards — proved decisive.   Advertisement Their style of play has stayed similar, but Arteta recognised the need for something different this year.   After Arsenal’s 5-0 win over Leeds United in August, he said: “(We need to) make sure that when we are evolving, we are maintaining the great things that we do and just tweaking things that can give us big value. “That is what we have done, and that is what we will continue to do — you will see them. ” Eight games on, the adjustments are noticeable — particularly in midfield — with Arsenal top of the Premier League. Under Arteta, Arsenal’s passing could become too slow and pedestrian when opposition teams remained compact in the middle third of the pitch last year. They would struggle to move the ball forward quickly and effectively, but this season they have been utilising bounce/wall passes to find ways through stubborn defensive structures. Bounce/wall passes are simple. They involve two to three players, with the second being the focus for the opposition. Player A will pass to player B, who is directly in front of him and attracting pressure from an opponent. That player immediately bounces the ball back to player A (or player C if there is another option) and they can then exploit the space left by the defender who rushed forward to player B. It was first apparent in their pre-season win over Athletic Club, with new midfield signing Martin Zubimendi, who had arrived from Real Sociedad, and Odegaard combining well to find Saka in space. The tweak has made Arsenal look more fluid — in flashes. The first real look at this during the season came after the first international break in September against Nottingham Forest.   Fixtures at that stage are often when managers have the chance to implement new ideas after time with all their new signings, and Arsenal had five of their eight summer arrivals start the 3-0 win. Advertisement Early on Cristhian Mosquera, the 21-year-old Spain centre-back who arrived from Valencia in July, wrapped the ball into Odegaard’s feet, and he bounced the ball back to Zubimendi with his first touch.   Forest’s Elliot Anderson reacted, chasing the ball and leaving space behind that Zubimendi then passed into to find Riccardo Calafiori in the centre circle. He laid the ball back to Odegaard, who was wasteful with his final ball, but the opening was there. Odegaard went off injured (shoulder) shortly after, but these first-time passes kept coming. Ethan Nwaneri replaced the Arsenal captain and combined well with winger Noni Madueke to create openings for Zubimendi, who would go on to create chances for Eberechi Eze. Rather than Arsenal’s passes being slow and predictable, they were snappy and injected pace. Time and again against Forest, these quicker passes allowed them to pull midfielders out of their structure to open up spaces to exploit in the opposition half. A similar passage unfolded against Olympiacos in the Champions League on October 1. This time, goalkeeper David Raya played the initial pass to Odegaard as he lost his marker. Again, two first-time passes between Odegaard and Zubimendi allowed the captain to receive the ball in more space before he calmly moved it on to Ben White near the halfway line. He then found Gabriel Martinelli on the right wing in a move that ended with Leandro Trossard shooting wide from inside the box when he should have hit the target. When speaking in August, Arteta said: “The evolution comes from the individuals. It’s about putting those players in those positions as often as possible to express their qualities. ” It’s not surprising that Odegaard and Zubimendi have combined in most of these examples. Odegaard’s recent medial collateral ligament injury to his left knee will be doubly frustrating as a result, with that pair now missing opportunities to build more chemistry. Advertisement Zubimendi being the deeper-lying player in these situations does seem to be the more important part of the puzzle, with his vision and passing ability key to moving the ball forward.   The more these patterns are put into practice, the more Arsenal can threaten teams, but these bounce/wall passes have another purpose and other players can slot in. This much was evident when Odegaard did not start in Arsenal’s eventful 2-1 away win over Newcastle United. They were dominant early on, but gifted the hosts a goal that forced them to go all out for an equaliser (and then a winner) late on. Their use of the ball is what brought them control in that first half. Without a win at St James’ Park in their last three visits, Arteta’s players could not feed into the hectic nature of Newcastle matches in the past. That is what most of that stadium wanted. It is what made passages like the one below, where two bounce passes from Eze and Trossard take Arsenal away from a pressure situation, so important. Calafiori was in enough space to motor forward if Declan Rice’s pass was not behind him, but instead the full-back recycled possession.   Arsenal kept the ball for another minute and quietened the home crowd to get a better feel for the game. Minutes later, they were confident enough to produce a flowing move that ended with Trossard hitting the post. Odegaard’s injury aside, Arsenal came through this block of seven fixtures well — winning six and drawing the other. They have another seven-game block between this and the next international break in November. If they show more signs of the evolution Arteta has spoken of, hopes only will increase that this season will bring results, excitement and, most importantly, trophies. Spot the pattern. Connect the terms Find the hidden link between sports terms Play today's puzzle Art de Roché began covering Arsenal for football. london in 2019 as a trainee club writer. Beforehand, he covered the Under-23s and Women's team on a freelance basis for the Islington Gazette, having gained experience with Sky Sports News and The Independent. Follow Art on Twitter @Artde Roche