Who Is Jagoba Arrasate?
When taking a deeper dive into the personality of CA Osasuna boss Jagoba Arrasate, one could say that he is the perfect embodiment of a football manager.
Known for his love and passion for the game, the former primary school teacher has transformed the club since taking over in 2018, achieving promotion back to La Liga at the first attempt and maintaining their top-flight status ever since.
At only 45 years of age, Arrasate remains one of the most exciting young managers in Europe, known for his ‘rock and roll’ football and unwavering desire in the face of a challenge.
Arrasate has grown synonymous with demanding high-pressing energy from both his players and forcing the opposition to work to their maximum also, forcing them to breaking point in order to dissect his side.
Referred to as the ‘Basque Jürgen Klopp’ by his technical director, Jagoba Arrasate offers a direct style determined by its rigidness and defensive reliability whilst also looking to counter with pace should they win possession.
Tapping into the local ideologies and love for football, Osasuna have developed an incredible home atmosphere, with El Sadar looking to resemble an unnerving place to visit in the hopes of securing a result.
After a European qualification and Copa Del Rey final appearance last season, we gained a glimpse of the heights that CA Osasuna could reach under his tutelage.
This tactical analysis will highlight how Arrasate’s Osasuna have evolved over the past four years, with varying tactics and profiles shaping him as a manager.
This Jagoba Arrasate analysis will look to address the overall philosophy and subtle adaptations made, which culminated in him earning the title Johan Cruyff Manager of the Year (LaLiga) for the 22/23 campaign.
Jagoba Arrasate Tactics & return to La Liga
When making the leap back to the highest level of Spanish football, Jagoba Arrasate failed to let the fear of relegation alter his mindset.
Despite being tipped to go straight back down, Osasuna maintained a direct approach with clear intent to dominate the play in the opponent’s half.
Their 4-4-2 formation appeared to have a healthy balance of both attacking threat and defensive solidity, recognising the elite opposition they would regularly face.
Most importantly of all, the Basque manager has consistently highlighted that he ‘doesn’t like the ball just to have it’.
Jagoba Arrasate Attacking phase
Osasuna’s identity since 2019 has been built upon several principle values.
These would include having fewer touches of the ball to progress the ball up the pitch as early as possible.
The intensity of their play in the attacking phase had been requested to pose problems and exert significant effort from their opponents.
Their desire to stretch the opposing defenders is executed by the Osasuna wingers pressing up as high as possible, allowing their full-backs at the time, Pervis Estupinán and Nacho Vidal, to stay mounted and tight to the opposing wingers.
Their advanced positioning allowed them to become impactful in the direct build-up play but also to influence the positioning of the other side’s defensive line, often causing them to retreat and create additional space.
This, in turn, allows the wingers to come further inside and have more of an influential role in the attack closer to the two forwards.
The progression of their players within the opponent’s half gave room for the two centre-backs to look to play diagonal long passes- usually more successful than not due to their elevated presence and anticipation for the flick-on.
The critical factor to their attacking style would be capped off with their ability to win the second balls and, therefore, pin the opposition within their third of the pitch.
Jagoba Arrasate Defensive phase
When they are out of possession, Arrasate’s team maintains the 4-4-2 shape but can also adapt to more of a diamond variation- bringing the wingers inside to overload the central areas.
Whilst the central positioning has proven effective in their attacking game, Osasuna relied on the inversion of their wingers to provide additional pressing support and execute a midfield overload.
In their crucial home match against Barcelona in the early stages of the 2019/20 LaLiga season, Arrasate allowed the wide midfielders of Roberto Torres and Rubén Garcia to press the blind sides of the Barca central players.
Focusing on Sergio Busquets, they looked to anticipate any loose balls and intercept key passing lanes to lead the turnover.
An additional advantage to the traditional formation would be that it allows the lines of midfield and defence to be nice and compact, eliminating space between the two.
As a result of their overall philosophy, the Osasuna defensive line looks to operate as high up the pitch as possible, with aggressive and energetic pressing from the front in order to create a turnover.
From the very offset, Osasuna have been willing to sacrifice a man-for-man press to create more pressure for the ball carrier.
As shown below in the 22/23 Copa Del Rey final versus Real Madrid, Osasuna have stuck with the idea of leaving a player free on the far side to aggressively press the player in possession.
Despite Carvajal being unmarked on the opposite flank, Osasuna’s goal is to create a ‘funnel’, almost forcing the opposition to play down the wing and up the pitch, leading to opportunities to regain possession.
The concept, which has shown similarities to Thomas Frank’s defensive style with Brentford, works on the basis that there is increased difficulty and risk involved with accurately finding the player on the far side.
Learning through experience
Despite their initial success and ability to remain in the division comfortably ever since Jagoba Arrasate has had to come to terms with adapting his play.
While the overarching principles remain the same at Osasuna, Arrasate has been willing to adapt their way of playing to witness greater achievements on the pitch, breaking through their assumed ceiling.
Suffering from their success in many ways, the loss of key figures through transfer or injury has become detrimental to their ability to persist with high-energy pressing due to the lack of personnel.
The loss of Chimy Ávila to successive cruciate injuries was particularly detrimental, with no one able to accurately replicate his mobility.
Having only spent €26.35m since the 2019/20 season, they lack the financial muscle to replicate the spending of the European giants they contend with every year.
Therefore, desired stylistic replacements have been much harder to come by as they have had to lean heavily on their academy graduates elevating into the first-team squad.
At the root of their recent success has been acknowledging and modifying areas of deficiency whilst not straying too far away from the foundations that got them in the division.
Jagoba Arrasate midfield evolution
In an attempt to negate the notion that teams in LaLiga have been able to ‘figure them out’, Arrasate has explored varying formations in order to create balance and control.
An important factor in their successful 22/23 campaign would be the recognition that they were weak in positional play and wanted to reduce their number of direct attacks when it wasn’t optimal.
The introduction of different profiles, particularly in the midfield, has led them to make strides in their in-possession play without altering their defensive solidity.
Over the past couple of seasons, Osasuna have often lined up in the 4-3-3 or 4-2-3-1, directly correlated to the signings of creative ball-possessing players like Moi Gómez.
His comfortability with the ball has meant that Arrasate has gained confidence in having more build-up and success in the middle third, highlighted below through their passing combinations against Granada in October.
This season, they currently have the highest average possession since Arrasate’s appointment (49%), which is indicative of their switch to reducing directness and slowing down the pace of the game.
Whether it be in a double or single pivot, Osasuna now have the optimal balance between defensive duties and progressive build-up for their interior play.
Protecting the lead
We have also seen how Jagoba Arrasate has enhanced his conservatism over recent years, learning how to protect a lead and retain results.
A criticism in the past revolved around Osasuna’s inability to divert from their direct approach, often overcommitting players high up the pitch and subsequently being vulnerable on the counterattack.
In games against particularly tough opponents, Osasuna have lined up in the 5-3-2 from the outset or even allowed the single pivot in a 4-3-3 to drop between the centre-backs mid-match.
Much like the aforementioned defensive 4-4-2 shape, their lines are tight and deep in the second defensive phase to force the ball over the top and frustrate the attacking side.
Even though defensive duties are at the forefront of their minds, the increased midfield presence can look to collapse the space and revitalise the threat in transition should the opportunity present itself.
The future of Osasuna
When it comes to the present day, Osasuna have been unable to perfectly replicate or build upon the successes of last season.
An uninspiring start to the campaign leaves them in 12th place but, most importantly, safe from relegation as it stands.
Currently middle of the pack for most creative and expected metrics, Osasuna have struggled to turn their possession into crucial goals, with one player, in particular, having to carry that burden.
Top goal scorer Ante Budimir has already racked up nine league goals, with his talents matching up well with the attacking philosophy of his manager.
Standing at 6’2”, the Croatian has been excellent in the air, both creating and scoring from aerial balls this campaign.
Having won 5.60 aerial duels per 90 this year, he remains the clear target man for Los Rojillos, exemplifying Osasuna’s desire to flood the box with crosses.
Their ability to create 168 high turnovers this season has meant crosses into the box from the wing or half-space have been from more dangerous positions.
Whilst things may not seem the best currently, Osasuna fans will undoubtedly place their faith in Arrasate tactics, who has had experience steadying the ship and adapting to the new challenges faced each year.
The club have witnessed a period of evolution, not revolution, with Osasuna continuing to defy the odds and punch above their weight, placing a clear focus on smart business and the development of youth talents.
The 45-year-old has certainly displayed why he is one of the most respected and exciting managers that Spain has to offer as we head into the business end of the season.
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