Michael Cox: White’s role change to sixth attacker swung the derby for Arsenal

Throughout the first half of Arsenal’s 3-1 victory over Tottenham on Saturday, the pitchside hoardings advertised the Arctic Monkeys’ upcoming concerts at the Emirates Stadium — so it was fitting that the Gunners’ system could be interpreted as a 5-0-5.

Five to defend, five to attack. Mikel Arteta has tended to use this approach throughout his time in charge of Arsenal, but rarely has it looked so cohesive. Arsenal have found the right balance between being structured and being fluid — the roles on the pitch are well defined, but the players who occupy them rotate.

The defensive five remained tight together, with Oleksander Zinchenko as a left-sided half-back, Ben White initially as a third defender or third midfielder, and Thomas Partey in front of the centre-backs.

Further forward, though, was where things became exciting. This was the usual pattern, with effectively five attackers spread across the pitch: Bukayo Saka on the right, Martin Odegaard theoretically a No 10 but really an inside-right, Gabriel Jesus up front,