Hi, please read the entire ad. Feel free to contact me with any more questions about the space.
The rent:- Renting starting April 2nd until May 31th of 2023. 2 months.- It is $1,700 a month, includes utilities: Electricity, gas, FIOS (a 100% fiber-optic network - high speed WIFI internet).- First month's rent and one month's security deposit ($3,400 total) to be paid before moving in.- Second month's rent (May) to be paid on April 30th, 2023.- Deposit will be return at the end of the rental period.- I’m open to extent the sublet for an extra month if is requested.
The room:- Cozy bedroom with three big windows to the streets, There's very little street noise.- Has a full memory foam mattress, memory foam pillows.- A working area desk.- A small closet.- Blackout curtains and a cute bench near the window.
The apartment:- 4 rooms: 2 bedrooms, 1 Kitchen, 1 bathroom. No living room.- Fully equipped kitchen with Reverse Osmosis water filter, dining table with art, books, board games, clean and tidy!.- Clean bathroom.
The building:- Please be aware that the apartment is in a building that is over 150 years old, while the apartment is newly renovated there are still features of its time.- Please also be advised we are a 5th-floor walk-up (NO-LIFT) so stairs will be involved. :)- You'll have rooftop access.
About the area:- On Orchard St. We are centrally located on one of the most historic blocks of the Lower East Side of Manhattan.- Outside the doorstep, you will find cafes, restaurants, boutiques, art galleries and much much more. Very lively LES nightlife just moments away.
Getting around:- Very close walking distance to Manhattan's well known Chinatown, SOHO and East Village.5 Major Subway trains(F/J/M/Z/B/D) with in 2 minute walking distance.
About me:- Mid 30's, male, low key working professional Graphic designer and student. Respectful, chill and clean.
About you:- In a nutshell, I’m just looking for a kind, respectful, mature and trustworthy person to have around.- Looking for someone that isn't working from home.- Clean and tidy.- Sorry but no pets and no couples.- 18+- Please email with some info about yourself and why you would make a good roommate.
Thanks!.
This is the room.

Not only does it live up to the original Land Rover Defender brief, the Grenadier goes above and beyond but it's not perfect.
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https://preview.redd.it/rizu8018k9oa1.png?width=800&format=png&auto=webp&s=1c4544853e9d4c891199a795e6e7a6c70c08ce3c
The Ineos automotive brand might be new, but what has led to the creation of the Grenadier wagon and soon, the Grenadier ute is nothing short of extraordinary.
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With the absence of the Land Rover Defender in its original, tough ladder chassis form, the gap in the market for a fully capable off-road vehicle that feels at home in the city and one which you can hose the mud out of, was left to no other than British billionaire and chemical engineer, Sir Jim Ratcliffe.
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The original idea was to simply buy the tooling and the manufacturing products from Land Rover and continue producing the Defender one way or another, but the British brand evidently wasn’t very keen and what was then conceived at the Grenadier pub in London almost as a ‘we can do it better ourselves any way’, became the Ineos Grenadier.
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Imagine this; start with a near-unlimited budget for a passion project and hire the likes of Magna Steyr to engineer your vehicle, BMW to produce the engines, ZF to make the transmission and Bosch to supply a great deal of the other parts… then you buy a pre-existing Mercedes-Benz production facility and further invest a claimed $770 million AUD in upgrades to produce the vehicle.
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That probably needs some context because if you don’t know, Magna Steyr happens to be the same company that makes a similar car, the Mercedes-Benz G-Class – or G-Wagen.
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Yep, that’s right, the same company that produces what is probably the most famous SUV in the world also happened to engineer the Ineos Grenadier. Conflict of interest? Don’t tell Mercedes.
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It gets better though; because having talked to the engineers who have made the project come to life, most are from the likes of Mercedes, Jaguar Land Rover, and even McLaren.
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Thankfully, the Grenadier starts at $97,000 (originally $85k) and not the $400,000 on-road the G-Wagen has become, and that is perhaps what the Grenadier is here to do. It’s to provide a fully capable alternative to the ultra-expensive off-roaders that have become as much a fashion icon as anything else.
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The main question isn’t about the Grenadier’s intent or its individual parts, however.
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We know Magna can engineer a car, we know BMW can make great engines that work amazingly well with ZF transmissions, and we know Bosch supplies automotive parts to the absolute majority of other manufacturers.
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The real question, is whether the Grenadier is a genuine alternative for the original Defender and befitting of a new model in 2023? The answer to that question is actually a resounding yes, but with some caveats that we will discuss in this review.
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How much does the 2023 Ineos Grenadier cost?
As previously mentioned, the Grenadier saw a substantial price increase last year which added as much as $13,000 to the price of the Wagon and Ute.
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Although Ineos has put this down to the increasing cost of materials – which is definitely a contributing factor – we also have no doubt that the increase is also driven by market dynamics of supply and demand and perhaps a repositioning of the brand itself given just how popular the original price point was with buyers.
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2023 Ineos Grenadier pricing:
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Utility Wagon
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Base: $97,000 (up 14.8 per cent or $12,500)
Fieldmaster Edition: $107,400 (up 12.5 per cent or $11,905)
Trailmaster Edition: $108,525 (up 13.6 per cent or $13,030)
Station Wagon
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Base: $98,000 (up 14.6 per cent or $12,500)
Fieldmaster Edition: $109,525 (up 13.5 per cent or $13,030)
Trailmaster Edition: $109,525 (up 13.5 per cent or $13,030)
Prices exclude on-road costs
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If you were lucky enough to get in at that price, you have got yourself a bargain, but for the rest the price increase does genuinely position the vehicle in a place now that makes you really have to consider whether you can trust a first time manufacturer to produce a vehicle that costs well in excess of $100k.
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While the price increase is unfortunate, options in the hardcore 4×4 market are limited considering orders for the LandCruiser 70 remain closed on the back of rampant demand unmatched by supply.
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There’s also no haggling given Ineos is using an ‘agency model’ with fixed pricing. The company will control inventory and pricing, and pay dealer partners a “straight-forward commission”, much in the style of Mercedes-Benz and Honda.
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Australia is a huge market for the Grenadier in terms of orders, coming in the top five, which means local market feedback and input has been well and truly taken into account. You can find a list of Ineos Grenadier retail locations here.
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What is the Ineos Grenadier like on the inside?
First impressions when you get inside the Grenadier cabin are that of a modern and actually not all that austere interior. It was not what we expected and it’s fair to say we were pleasantly surprised.
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The Recaro seats are comfortable in all available configurations, whether it’s cloth, vinyl or leather. We found the seating position in the front to be excellent for visibility and ease of access to the switchgear and cabin.
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With the majority of off-road controls cleverly placed on the roof – inspired by aircraft cockpits – there is heaps of room in the cabin itself and it never feels overwhelming or unusable.
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This is a case of what happens when a new company that has never made cars is allowed to rethink the basics. Having used the 4WD controls on the roof, the question becomes – why don’t all cars have this?
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So front seat ergonomics are fantastic, but not perfect. There are a couple of issues for right-hand drive models that seem a little bizarre.
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Firstly, the windscreen wiper does a terrible job of cleaning the edge of the right side of the screen. A decently sized area near the A-pillar on the right of the windscreen is basically untouched and given the wet and muddy conditions in which we drove the Grenadier in, it becomes a genuine visibility issue when turning right.
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You get used to it and its likely not an issue for the absolute majority of the time you are driving, but it is nonetheless a strange thing to encounter in a modern car.
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Secondly, right-hand drive vehicles are disadvantaged with the exhaust manifold of the BMW engines (diesel or petrol) both taking up an unusual amount of space in the footwell where you would usually have your footrest.
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This means your left foot is sitting a fair bit higher than one would probably be used to and if you happen to use the car on a farm, with big boots, this further exaggerates the problem.
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Again, we got used to this unexpected feature after a few hours of driving but as with the wiper, it’s not something you would expect from a modern car.
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When quizzed, Ineos engineers told us they initially planned to change the engineering of the vehicle to address it, but it would have changed the cabin or chassis size and this wasn’t feasible.
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It’s also worth mentioning that in some of the vehicles we drove, the fit and finish of the interior were not as great as we would have wished for.
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From the roof control panel feeling easy to pull off to the outside door handles that jammed (we are told these will be fixed for all Australian-delivered vehicles), there is no doubt that first batch production vehicles have some room for improvement; and hopefully those improvements are passed on to the first vehicles delivered for our market.
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For all the niggling issues, the interior is genuinely excellent for its intended purpose – it’s comfortable, it’s spacious and has heaps of storage.
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The back seat is also a great place to be for long drives as you can easily fit two six-foot adults behind one another, given the ample leg and headroom in both rows. In saying that, while the front Recaro seats are ideal for off-roading, those sitting in the back have literally no support outside of holding on to the handle.
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The 12.3-inch touchscreen display is super clear and very high resolution with wireless Apple CarPlay that works brilliantly. Ineos has outsourced the unique software and it’s on par if not better than some well-established manufacturers. You will have no issues using the infotainment system.
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Without a traditional instrument cluster, though, you are forced to use the centre screen to see your speed and we did find that a little frustrating because, unlike other vehicles in which that is also the case (Tesla being the prime example), the Grenadier’s interior is vastly larger so the focal change point from the road to the screen is also more than other vehicles.
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Given the Grenadier’s ‘instrument cluster’ is a tiny screen to show things like ignition light, check engine light etc, we feel it would have made a lot of sense to put a basic digital speedometer in that position.
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The front and rear diff locks, plus the off-road mode and wading depth controls, are on the roof but to actually engage low range and lock the centre differential you need to use an old-school lever and, to be fair, it does look a little odd sitting next to the BMW-sourced gearstick which is super modern in design and appearance. So this is definitely a case of lots of parts being put together.
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Even the steering wheel itself is interesting because, given the recirculating-ball setup, the number of wheel turns you need to do in basic manoeuvring lends itself to using a wheel that is not so circular and allows for a better understanding of the top and bottom.
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The 1255L boot is huge, and the way the rear doors open allows super quick access from the left side using the smaller door, because opening the larger one on the right is not only a heavier operation (it carries the spare tyre) but also requires far more room to swing open.
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What’s under the bonnet?
Ineos will offer 3.0-litre straight-six diesel and petrol options, both of which have been sourced from BMW and are codenamed B57 (diesel) and B58 (petrol).
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Ineos says these engines, used across BMW’s sports cars and SUVs since 2016, have been tested in the Grenadier across 1.8 million kilometres and diverse climates. It’s not a straight fit and play, with ECU tuning taking place to better unlock torque down as low in the rev range.
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The 3.0-litre twin-turbo diesel six makes 183kW of power (3250-4200rpm) and 550Nm of torque (1250-3000rpm) and is capable of moving the Grenadier from 0-100km/h in 9.9 seconds.
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The 3.0-litre single-turbo petrol six makes 210kW of power (4750rpm) and 450Nm of torque (1750-4000rpm) and is capable of moving the Grenadier from 0-100km/h in 8.6 seconds.
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Both engines come mated to a ZF eight-speed automatic transmission (codenamed 8HP51 for the petrol, 8HP76 for the diesel), with what Ineos calls a new “heavy duty” torque converter.
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The WLTP combined-cycle fuel economy for the diesel is a rated 10.3 to 11.8 litres per 100km, while the petrol uses between 13.2L/100km and 15.3L/100km.
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Both engines have stop/start, and the diesel also has a 17L AdBlue tank. The standard fuel tank with both engine options carries 90 litres.
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All Grenadiers come standard with permanent four-wheel drive (4WD), with low-range accessed through a 2.5:1 Tremec two-speed transfer case. Matching the class leaders, the Grenadier will also have a 3.5-tonne braked towing capacity.
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There are no other powertrains confirmed for the Grenadier for the moment, however, the brand is well advanced creating a hydrogen fuel-cell version and is also working on a new model which will be a full electric version on a smaller and all-new platform for 2026.
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How does the Ineos Grenadier drive?
The Ineos Grenadier came to life to meet a very specific design and engineering brief.
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The wagon and utility versions are essentially a modernised iteration of what would otherwise be considered commercial vehicles; in fact they are very much considered commercial vehicles when it comes to tax purposes.
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With that in mind, it’s vital that buyers looking at the Grenadier understand this is not a cheap G-Wagen, nor is it a new-old Defender. It’s its own unique vehicle, with its own set of characteristics and traits – some of those are better and some are worse than said vehicles.
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When it comes to driving, we will break this down into two parts; on-road and off-road.
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From an on-road perspective, the Grenadier rode exceptionally well, even on poorly surfaced roads. There is no doubt that you can drive this vehicle in the city and it will do an excellent job of keeping you happy and comfortable.
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The suspension setup and the way the vehicle behaves on sealed roads is a credit to the engineering team behind it.
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The diesel engine is undoubtedly the powertrain that makes more sense to most buyers looking to tow or do long-distance rural driving, with better fuel economy and more torque.
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Nonetheless, if you’re buying this and intend to do a fair bit of inner city driving and actually enjoy the driving experience, the petrol is a fantastic option – it’s faster, more responsive, sounds great and makes the Grenadier feel far more engaging and purposeful.
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This tester would pick the petrol regardless of requirements just for its capacity to overtake other vehicles on the highway with significant ease.
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The ZF eight-speed transmission is mated beautifully to both powertrain and frankly, given this exact setup has been used in BMW vehicles for a number of years, there is no contention around the powertrain and its ability to perform day in day out. It’s solid and reliable.
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What may catch out some buyers is the recirculating-ball setup steering box, something more suited to trucks than most modern cars.
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According to Ineos engineers, the reason this particular Bosch steering system was picked was due to its incredible off-road durability and capacity. In other words, it has been around and used in heavy-duty vehicles with over 1,000,000 kilometres without issue, and Ineos decided to go with that to suit the rugged character of the vehicle.
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This is all well and good but for on-road driving, it’s a bit of a handful, literally. The amount of turning you need to do to make a basic manoeuvre can get a little frustrating but even just turning left or right at an intersection.
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It will often see you turn, and then turn again and again until you realise you have likely done one too many rotations and turn back to correct. It’s entirely unlike a normal modern hydraulic or power steering system and more akin to driving a light truck.
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You absolutely will get used to it, and by the second day it didn’t feel as cumbersome as our initial impressions, but while this may be fantastic for those that only do long-distance drives mixed in with rural roads and off-roading, it’s not ideal for those looking to drive these around inner-city environments.
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The other option we wish it had was adaptive cruise control. Model-year 2024 Grenadiers will have autonomous emergency braking (AEB) but it will still not enable active cruise, which is unfortunate because this vehicle will likely do plenty of highway kilometres and it would be great to that driving stress further removed.
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Overall though, the on-road driving aspect of the Ineos Grenadier is much better than we expected due to the ride comfort, power and torque delivery. The cabin is also very quiet with low levels of noise, harshness and vibrations.
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Take the Ineos off-road and it goes into its true element. This is a vehicle that was designed to go off-road before it was designed to go on-road. Most car companies tend to put car reviewers on off-road courses that you can usually do in a basic medium SUV, but Ineos didn’t hold back.
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An Off-Road driving mode disengages parking sensors, seatbelt reminders and start/stop, and from a regulatory standpoint we’d imagine this function is only accessible in low-range. The hill-descent control function can brake each wheel independently.
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We crossed some of the most spectacular natural terrains, in the water, up and down Scottish mountains, and four-wheel drive tracks that would make hardcore enthusiasts proud. There is not much to say except that we never got stuck and the diff locks and the powertrain worked spectacularly.
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It can occasionally be cumbersome to engage low-range using the manual lever (neutral to be engaged first), with some occasional crunching – which occurred even to our Ineos engineers – and as there are no sensors to detect differential locking positions (to save complexity and weight), wheel speed sensors are used which means engaging and disengaging the front and rear diffs are basically manual and require movement that highlights the differing wheel speed (like a turn).
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All-terrain tyres are supplied by Bridgestone (Dueler AT 001) or BFGoodrich (AT T/A KO2) depending on spec, and Brembo disc brakes come standard. Electromechanical Eaton diff lockers front and rear are also available either as standard or an option depending on grade.
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Ground clearance is 264mm, wading depth 800mm, approach angle 36.3 degrees, breakover 28.2 degrees, and departure angle 36.1 degrees. Powder-coated skid plates and a fuel-tank plate are standard.
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The other great thing is that the amount of accessories expected for the Ineos (given the company has made the blueprint for the car publicly accessible to support the aftermarket) will be huge, so those looking to start with a base car and build what they need will have plenty of options.
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The Ineos is an excellent compromise between on- and off-road driving as it can one pretty well and the other spectacularly. The only place in which owners may find the driving dynamics challenging is in built-up, city areas that require a lot of close manoeuvring but even then, it’s an intimidating car that will make its own way.
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What do you get?
Grenadier Base highlights:
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17-inch steel wheels
Full-size spare wheel
Bridgestone AT tyres
LED headlights
LED daytime running lights
LED tail lights
30/70 split rear doors
Roof protection strips and rails
Hydraulic jack and toolkit
Immobilisealarm
Cruise control
Recaro cloth and vinyl seats
Tilt and telescoping wheel adjust
Climate control AC (second-row vents for five-seaters)
Heavy duty flooring with drain valves
Loadspace locker and tie-down rings
12.3-inch touchscreen display with rotary controller
Pathfinder off-road navigation system
Wireless Apple CarPlay
Wired Android Auto
Bluetooth audio and phone
Digital radio
USB and 12V sockets
Overhead control panel
Auxiliary switch panel and electrical prep (3 x 10A)
Options (Base) include:
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$2875 Rough Pack: Front and rear diff locks, BFGoodrich tyres
$2875 Smooth Pack: Front parking sensors, powered and heated side mirrors, a lockable central stowage box, puddle lamps, door lighting, auxiliary charge points, Thatcham Cat. 1 immobilisealarm
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17-inch steel wheels
Full-size spare wheel
Bridgestone AT tyres
LED headlights
LED daytime running lights
LED tail lights
30/70 split rear doors
Roof protection strips and rails
Hydraulic jack and toolkit
Immobilisealarm
Cruise control
Recaro cloth and vinyl seats
Tilt and telescoping wheel adjust
Climate control AC (second-row vents for five-seaters)
Heavy duty flooring with drain valves
Loadspace locker and tie-down rings
12.3-inch touchscreen display with rotary controller
Pathfinder off-road navigation system
Wireless Apple CarPlay
Wired Android Auto
Bluetooth audio and phone
Digital radio
USB and 12V sockets
Overhead control panel
Auxiliary switch panel and electrical prep (3 x 10A)
Options (Base) include:
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$2875 Rough Pack: Front and rear diff locks, BFGoodrich tyres
$2875 Smooth Pack: Front parking sensors, powered and heated side mirrors, a lockable central stowage box, puddle lamps, door lighting, auxiliary charge points, Thatcham Cat. 1 immobilisealarm
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Solid paints
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Scottish White: standard
Magic Mushroom: $900
Eldoret Blue: $900
Britannia Blue: $900
Sela Green: $900
Inky Black: $900
Metallic paints
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Sterling Silver: $1230
Shale Blue: $1230
Queen’s Red: $1230
Donny Grey: $1230
Contrast ladder frames
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Black: standard
Red: $1410
Grey: $1410
Contrast roof paints
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Scottish White: $1690
Inky Black: $1690
Contrast Wrapped nose
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Tunic Red: $1060
Emergency Orange: $1060
Contrast wrapped rear doors
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Tunic Red: $1400
Emergency Orange: $1400
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Wheels
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17-inch alloys (base and Trailmaster): $1060
18-inch steel (base and Trailmaster): $1430
18-inch alloys (base and Trailmaster): $2835
18-inch alloys (Fieldmaster): $1775
Other things
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Safari windows (base and Trailmaster): $2465
Privacy glass: $670
Leather seats (base and Trailmaster): $1850
Heated seats (base and Trailmaster): $650
Floor carpet: $370
Front and rear diff locks (base and Fieldmaster): $2790
Raised air intake (base and Fieldmaster): $1100
Integrated Heavy Duty 5.5t winch: $5430
There are also a lot of accessories, some of which we have listed below, the full list is here:
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Outside
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Side Runners: $830
Rock Sliders: $1630
40″ Front LED Light Bar (incl. mounting brackets): $960
Checker Plate for Front Fenders: $460
Roo Bar: $1990
Roo Bar Side Protection Rails: $730
Raised Air intake Cyclone Pre-Cleaner: $420
Inside
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Rubber Floor Mats: $280
Foldable Tailgate Camp Table: $440
Heavy Duty Seat Covers – Front: $490
Heavy Duty Seat Covers – Rear: $490
Cargo
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Roof Rack: $2530
Roof Cross-bars: $580
Utility Cargo Barrier – Half-height: $600
Full-height Loadspace Divider: $550
Loadspace Partition Net: $280
Luggage Retention Net – Floor: $90
Cargo Management System: $360
Collapsible Luggage Organiser: $110
Quick Release Tie-Down Rings (x4): $70
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Recovery
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Removable Winch with Tow Mounting Kit (3.5 Tonnes): $4050
Heavy Duty Spade: $60
Off-Road Recovery Kit: $630
Roof add-ons
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Roof Mounted Bike Carrier: $460
Roof Mounted Ski/Snowboard Carrier: $310
Surfboard Carrier for Roof Rack: $160
Roof Kayak Mount, J-style: $330
Roof Kayak Mount, Saddles: $280
Roof Mounted Adjustable Load Holder: $110
Roof Mounted Cargo Box: $790
Vehicle Integrated Side Awning: $970
Spare Tyre Carrier for Roof Rack: $170
Jerry Can Mount for Roof Rack: $190
Hi-Lift Jack Mounting Bracket for Roof Rack: $160
Roof Mounted Axe and Shovel Bracket: $160
Sand Ladder Flat Mounting Brackets: $220
Sand Ladder Side Mounting Brackets: $160
Spot Light Bracket: $150
Gas Bottle Holder for Roof Rack: $190
Load Mounting Brackets for Roof Rack: $180
Roof Tie-down Rings: $100
Folding Aerial Mount: $160
Lockdown Security Cable: $60
Cargo Load Straps: $30
RotopaX Mounting Bracket: $20
Is the Ineos Grenadier safe?
There is no official crash test data from any resting authority for the Grenadier and there is every chance there never will be, given the position of this vehicle as commercial rather than passenger.
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Standard safety features include:
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Front, side and curtain airbags
ESP with trailer-sway control
Tyre pressure monitor
Reversing camera and sensors
ISOFIX and top tethers (five-seat versions)
There’s no mention of driver-assist active safety features such as autonomous emergency braking or lane-keeping aids, meaning a five-star NCAP or ANCAP rating looks impossible.
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How much does the Ineos Grenadier cost to run?
The Ineos Grenadier is covered by a five-year, unlimited-kilometre warranty with five years of roadside assist.
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Servicing intervals are recommended at 12 months for normal usage or six-month servicing “for continuous use in tough environments”.
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As well as servicing Grenadiers at its retail centres, Ineos has cut a global deal with Bosch Car Service centres to cater to more remote operators. “Flying Spanner” techs based in the Australian HQ are also said to be available, if the service network needs help.
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For owners who want to carry out work on their Grenadier themselves, Ineos is taking a novel approach by providing online 3D interactive manuals with support from the technical team at HQ a call or a click away.
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“The vehicle has been deliberately designed and engineered to be easy to work on inside and out,” the company claims. It bills its “open source” approach, without trying to “ring-fence” buyers into its own ecosystem, as a point-of-difference for enthusiasts.
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It’s not yet clear what conditions will be placed on DIY owners, from a warranty perspective.
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CarExpert’s Take
There is a lot to love about the Ineos Grenadier.
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It started life as nothing but an idea at a pub between friends, and ended up bringing together an enormous amount of knowledge from some of the best engineers in the world and huge amounts of investment to create an ultra-modern, rugged vehicle that is just as suited to the farm and rural areas as it is for a drive from Sydney to Melbourne.
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The Grenadier is an excellent adventure vehicle and those looking to get out of the city, camp and enjoy a more outdoor lifestyle will also benefit massively from the number of accessories available for the vehicle.
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The only asterisks for us are the niggling initial production quality issues that we are very hopeful will be solved before local cars arrive, and a steering system which will take some buyers a bit of getting used to.

Behold! A few dubious observations from the reassuring 4-1 win against Palace!
[As a reminder, you can subscribe here to get this bullshit in your inbox every week.]
--

The retro 2-3-5

A football pitch is a flat rectangle, but time is a flat circle. In tactics, as in fashion, what is old is new again.
In his yearslong project, Arteta has gradually and then suddenly shifted the Arsenal shape, inverting the full-backs to flank Thomas Partey, and pushing Xhaka up into the frontline to join the attackers. This generally brings the team together in a highly modern 2-3-5 attacking setup.
This was, of course, the very first formation adopted en masse, as chronicled in Inverting the Pyramid: The History of Football Tactics:

There is a widespread belief … that the 2-3-5 was first played by Cambridge University in 1883, but there is evidence to suggest they may have been using the system as much as six years before that … Certainly Wrexham were employing a center-half when they faced the Druids in the Welsh Cup Final in 1878.

Here’s a lineup sheet from 1887:
https://preview.redd.it/799qgvilx7pa1.png?width=640&format=png&auto=webp&s=2268a56a9c9ccc20bcfccea95e4c8085f525c451
For the next 35 years or so, the “Pyramid” formation remained king, thanks in no small part to the success of Preston North End in the 1880s. Traditionalists at the time shared their outrage over the formation. Their ire wasn’t about the number of players committed forward, but the gall of these newfangled teams to leave two players back to defend. One poor Scottish club caught shit in the local paper for only putting nine players forward in attack.
In other words: much like Antonio Conte burning his bridges on the way out, the 2-3-5 is true #footballheritage.
The Arsenal have used the shape to devastating effect this year. One of the key reasons behind their success is the concept of “rest defence,” which Tifo explained brilliantly here, and we’ve talked a lot about over the course of the season. As the video posits, a simple way to look at this concept is by asking: “how prepared are you in the attacking phase to deal with a shift to defending?” For Arsenal, the answer is usually splendidly: the team is simultaneously able to maintain maximum width in attack with the front-5, and maximum narrowness with those behind (generally in a 2-3 shape).
It’s incredibly frustrating to play against, and directly led to the first goal against Palace.
At 26’, the team is in their usual attacking shape, with 5 in the front and 3 behind. There have been some rotations (Ødegaard and Saka have flipped, and Martinelli has made a central cut), and Ødegaard fires in a cross.
https://preview.redd.it/tak1n9xmx7pa1.png?width=1456&format=png&auto=webp&s=a527432c6e14a8b27e658ee2a44c80c0ea4b7f87
Palace does an effective job of gaining position and getting the ball, then clearing it. Home free, one would think…
https://preview.redd.it/cif7a07ox7pa1.png?width=1456&format=png&auto=webp&s=b87a2cf94a6fcc78ac79cb65e2533e1b24d4f6f0
Nope. Holding runs up from the backline, and the team swarms Édouard. He dishes it back to Doucouré. Home free again:
https://preview.redd.it/h6z8u16px7pa1.png?width=1456&format=png&auto=webp&s=22a500eb9aae01507c784688d8aa3bb74419c503
Nope. Ødegaard immediately runs at Doucouré and separates him from the ball:
https://preview.redd.it/afyx42hqx7pa1.png?width=1456&format=png&auto=webp&s=407349efa8dd34a61e6b5ec3135a7f74fbf2e138
Partey then runs up and plays the loose ball to a cutting Ødegaard in space:
https://preview.redd.it/yifjevrrx7pa1.png?width=1456&format=png&auto=webp&s=02f9c7a3ba3cf3b2aec1ed2a3a60968eab6f516d
…but he overhits it by a smidge, and Guéhi steps up and intercepts it. Home free again. Guéhi plays it up to Zaha to get rid of it, but uh-oh, somebody’s waiting there, too:
https://preview.redd.it/g2tszcvsx7pa1.png?width=1456&format=png&auto=webp&s=0efc1f6364eb3bfea60f111788967e4196590bc7
…aaaand that’s intercepted, as well:
https://preview.redd.it/3kjc4cvtx7pa1.png?width=1456&format=png&auto=webp&s=f999af5331a55cbba06565557a337dba06500f38
From there, White plays it up to Saka, who crosses it to Martinelli, who slams it home.
One of the first concepts you learn as a kid is the idea of creating space while attacking, and generating compactness when defending. You may remember hearing coaches yell something like “SPREAD!” as soon as you won possession and “SQUEEZE!” as soon as you lost it.
Arsenal’s shape allows them to do both at the same time. The same reasons that early football teams were drawn to it — a fundamental ability to sustain attacks while minimizing vulnerability in the middle on the counter — are the same reasons it’s working today.
It’s claustrophobic, relentless, and dispiriting.

Saka ❤️ Martinelli

Speaking of the first goal, here was the eventual assist:
https://preview.redd.it/wqetdbpvx7pa1.png?width=1456&format=png&auto=webp&s=520de2cba335a145632fe70d19d90f14d81b9fb7
In the post-game interview, Martinelli was asked how much he loves playing with Saka, and here’s what he had to say:

“A lot! He is a great guy. Not just him, but the whole team, we are a family. Bukayo has been playing so well. He’s a brilliant player and I just love to play with him.”

Judging by the stats, the feeling is mutual.
Given that the two stars line up at opposite ends of the pitch, they may make a bit of an underrated duo when collaborating directly.
To investigate, I was messing around with Ninad Barbadikar’s new shotmap tool in Tableau, and pulled up Martinelli.
Point thine eyes to the top-right, and you’ll see that Saka has assisted 15 of Martinelli’s shots, the most of any Arsenal teammate — by some margin:
https://preview.redd.it/62xscpexx7pa1.png?width=1150&format=png&auto=webp&s=0b3ffe7e33c2bce76d96ec0abfe42f2be5b751b1
Together, they have combined for 37 G+A. They’re both younger than Kiwior. And they’re both secured for the long term.
Not bad.

Unexpected rotations FTW

Which brings us to the second goal. If you happen to read these things weekly, you’ll notice a recurring theme. Arsenal goals are so often created after a player takes initiative to begin an unexpected set of rotations.
I’d encourage you to watch this sequence in full. After a ridiculous control touch by Zinchenko on the right, then one of those winding muscular gaited dribbles by Ødegaard, the ball is switched over to Gabriel on the left.
Now, Palace was pretty run-of-the-mill in terms of how low they chose to play against Arsenal — pretty negatively, to be sure, but with some semblance of a press here and there.
When teams play low, one of the key tools at the attacking team’s disposal is the center-back dribble. It carries real risk, but it’s often a worthwhile transaction: the opponent is forced to choose between letting the CB through (and making it easy for him to find a decisive pass) or standing up and marking him (and risk getting bent out of shape). I associate these dribbles with Joël Matip, who is proactive about unsettling settled blocks.
Gabriel did this here. He saw the left half-space vacated, and forced the issue by dribbling through it, and laying the ball off to Xhaka on the LW:
https://preview.redd.it/wvl92vryx7pa1.png?width=1456&format=png&auto=webp&s=4ff1a1e0929b8c3be70bc83e94d3862e45ca9b88
….now look at the screenshot below. Gabriel joins the front 5, the standard Arsenal attacking line. But because he’s an unexpected entrant — “What da hell is a polor bear doin in Arlington texas” — he draws two defenders towards him, leaving Xhaka open to cut on the left. Zinchenko, like Ødegaard, does a brilliant job of masking his body-shape to play it into space:
https://preview.redd.it/4u4e7sxzx7pa1.png?width=1456&format=png&auto=webp&s=6a97467e44f0fe07f6fab66a27ace0b15e7164a4
…this leads to the dangerous Xhaka cross, which Saka corrals and then brings back into play.
He does a 1-2 with White, leaves poor Zaha in the dust, and scores as every Arsenal player calls for the ball:
https://preview.redd.it/ngws4iv0y7pa1.png?width=1456&format=png&auto=webp&s=a7b541b3ff97c15a54430f6e0d8517c8fa109bcb
After that was a VAR check, a kickoff, and a ferocious high-press. Within eight seconds of going up 2-0, Arsenal had created another good opportunity — Trossard had options all around him before opting to shoot:
https://preview.redd.it/n16iges1y7pa1.png?width=1456&format=png&auto=webp&s=1d5c83dc953a453fed9cfe542a8f004a8ba31cea
No rest for the weary.

The evolution of Benjamin White

Benjamin White was probably Arsenal’s most consistent performer before the World Cup break. That consistency has largely stayed in tact, but in a couple matches since — Manchester United, even Sporting CP last week — it’s easy to conclude that fatigue was showing up in spurts.
But a few tired games may have clouded the overall picture, which is that White’s technique, dynamism, and wide 1v1 defending are all on upward trajectories.
The Palace game gives us a perfect opportunity to reflect on this. In August, White made his first start at right-back for Arsenal. He was relentlessly targeted, largely against Zaha on the wing, having to initiate 23 defensive duels in all, the most of his career (which is surprising, given his time under Bielsa). He succeeded through tireless effort and smart positioning, but it always felt a bit of a high-wire act.
Everything has felt more controlled since. But the true improvements have been through his cutting edge as a passer. On the left, you can see White’s passing range and stats from Sunday. On the right was his game against the same opponent back in August:
https://preview.redd.it/s5lbgmx2y7pa1.png?width=653&format=png&auto=webp&s=967b7d2c146fb726cec926ed07b5b1cdcba10170
Some of this should be caveated, as Arsenal played a more dominant game in possession overall. But White contributed to that, of course, and had a blinder of a game, notching an assist and a pre-assist. More than that, his interplay with Saka is looking more dangerous by the week, while his crosses are getting lower, stronger, and more incisive (instead of the pick-and-pop variety that we saw so much of in the first half of the year)
Just last week, he played it to his off-foot and cut a perfect far-post cross to Martinelli, which forced an excellent Leno save:
https://preview.redd.it/5povyka4y7pa1.png?width=1456&format=png&auto=webp&s=331f82559da94abdc0e78694706dd320efbae3d6
It would have been nice to have Tomiyasu to spell him down the stretch, but moving forward, White is one of the big winners of a once-a-week schedule.

Set piece shambles

Despite the beautiful display, a familiar concern resurfaced after White hilariously booted the ball into the stands: corner defending.
Schlupp outmuscled the skipper, Gabriel got a bit boxed out by both of them, and the clean sheet was disappointingly no more:
https://preview.redd.it/rdxnhsb6y7pa1.png?width=1456&format=png&auto=webp&s=1f3dcbf9619494efb2dca2138dd01da4acb997bc
Set pieces are a unique wrestling match all to their own, and I’m likely to devote an upcoming deep-dive piece to them specifically. In the meantime, I went back and took some quick notes on some of the corner goals that Arsenal have conceded to date, in an effort to identify patterns:

• CRYSTAL PALACE (19 March): See above.
• SPORTING CP (9 March): Kiwior doesn’t jump after a potential Matt Turner call.
• BOURNEMOUTH (3 March): Partey just loses Senesi for an easy header to go up 2-0.
• EVERTON (2 February): Tarkowski goal, and this is probably the one to study most. Ødegaard is again isolated on a beast. It’s Jorginho against Onana, Ødegaard against Tarkowski. Saliba gets muscled for position.
• UNITED (22 January): Tomiyasu runs into Ramsdale, and Lisandro Martinez heads it home with his head bandage on.
• JUVENTUS (friendly): Short corner, Xhaka header own goal. Just unfortunate, not a big deal.
• PSV (27 October): Luuk de Jong gets isolated on Tierney (who doesn’t jump), Holding goes up without marking a man, and Ramsdale is boxed out and misses his punch.
• VILLA (31 August): Ramsdale gets tackled and Douglas Luiz curls it in. Super cool, very legal.

As I said, I’ll look to study this a bit more. But after watching them back, here are my initial impressions:

1. Arsenal has a delicate ratio of Big Guys. When a lineup features, say, Trossard, Martinelli, Saka, Zinchenko, Jorginho, and Ødegaard — it’s too easy for a team to isolate one of their beasts on a smaller adversary. In a case like Everton, they’ll have big guys match up with the likes of Saliba and Gabriel; then, they’ll have big guys to spare against the Jorginhos and Ødegaards. The skipper is so good at throwing his weight around in advanced defending but can get thrown off-balance on corners with relative ease.
2. There are probably three cases of ineffective communication between the keeper and his defender: Turner and Kiwior against Sporting; Ramsdale and Tomiyasu tangling against United; and Ramsdale missing a punch and getting boxed out against PSV. The commands may need updating and more indoctrination.
3. Saliba and Holding can still run into problems with jockeying for the ball instead of winning position first.
4. When they’re not in the zone of the aerial duel, I’m not sure Arsenal defenders join Ramsdale on the backline quite enough (see Holding above).

As far as other potential solutions go, that’ll probably be for another post. That’s all I got on this for now.

Introducing right-back Thomas Partey

One of the more interesting developments of the game was seeing who filled in at right-back once White came off: none other than Thomas Partey.
https://preview.redd.it/x6z6okray7pa1.png?width=567&format=png&auto=webp&s=eadc870637c9edafa34e75e31de3842d8c108523
We even got a rare sight. A Thomas Overlap:
https://preview.redd.it/tbzzklwby7pa1.png?width=1456&format=png&auto=webp&s=394e2daafee3b6464811648cd4faf636793fb7d4
This was his first time doing so at Arsenal, but the Wyscout data tabulates about 1,000 minutes at the position over the course of his career.
I went back and watched some of his tape in the position, and it went about as you’d expect. He scored a goal on a give-and-go in his debut in the position back in 2017, and then started there across La Liga, Champions League, Europa League (against us) and Copa del Rey. The most I watched was in a 2-0 loss to Barcelona in 2019, where he played 56 minutes and won 12-of-17 duels, effectively zeroing out the left-wing as a Simeone defender (but I didn’t watch the whole thing, so that view may be incomplete). As a silly way of looking at it, I see his WhoScored rating is 7.41 in starts at RB, compared to 6.93 overall.
Now, hear my bullshit idle speculation (sue me, it’s the international break). My ears perked up whenever I heard that a desired Moisés Caicedo signing would not impact a move for Declan Rice in the summer. Looking at that potential midfield — Partey, Caicedo, Rice, Ødegaard, Xhaka, Vieira, ESR, potentially Trossard, now Jorginho, and I’ll even throw in Sambi to the mix — one has to assume that Arteta has a plan for incorporating them (or otherwise, shipping them off).
While it’s possible there could be some unexpected departures, my hunch is that one (or more) of those players may be slated for more creative utilization, and the full-back position may be a good place to do it: it is, after all, pretty fundamentally a midfield position in this setup. Could Arteta envision a Caicedo or even a Thomas providing actual depth there once the midfield depth chart gets properly stacked? I don’t know. Maybe. But Sunday gave us no reason to fully discount that notion.
Maybe I’m overthinking — who, me? — so here’s a simpler way to look at it in the short-term: if you give Arteta even the slightest chance to play Jorginho, he’ll probably do it. In lieu of actual cover for White at right-back, an emergency Zinchenko/Jorginho/Thomas “3” is entertainingly press-resistant.

Final notes

Let’s bring it home:

• An interesting corollary to the Thomas-at-RB thing is that the team didn’t opt to go for a 5-back as they had early in the season. Arteta was a little bit more flexible with formations in the opening months, popping Holding into the backline to protect late leads, and sometimes moving to a bit of a 3-5-2 (with Nkeitah and Jesus up top) when chasing goals. The results were mixed at best. It was somewhat disastrous in the first United match; it worked when completing a 2-1 comeback against Fulham the first go-around; and didn’t produce results against S’oton. It has, by and large, melted away. The shape is the shape is the shape.
• Holding was magnificent, particularly when pushing forward to break up play in the midfield. His touches were crisp (hitting 9 of 10 long-balls!), and he was great in the air when they hoofed it long (winning 7-of-10 overall). He’s likely to face more direct on-ball pressure in the games to come, not to mention teams who can more reliably generate chances, but apprised himself quite well in the meantime. Sure, he’s no Saliba. He shouldn’t be expected to be.
• Zinchenko’s upfield defending deserves all the plaudits that it gets, but he had a ruthlessly efficient game on Sunday: passing at a 96.1% clip and putting on a defensive masterclass against Olise everywhere on the pitch. That’s a tricky mark, and Zinchenko looked like, well, Tierney.
• Speaking of Tierney, was so happy to see that head-up assist. Everything about his appearance looked strong to me.
• Xhaka looks to be returning to his early-season self. It’s hard to project chemistry, but he and Trossard really seem to have a mindmeld going in these early days, and it’s a lot of fun to see.
• We’ve mentioned it a couple times around these parts, but Kiwior really does seem to have that extra something talent-wise. Arsenal can afford to be patient with him.
• Here’s a concern I never touched on after the loss to Sporting CP. The 2-3-5 rest defence that we talk about above can hide a lot of Jorginho’s deficiencies. He can still get dribbled around, but is active, and when surrounded by other narrow defenders, can be quite effective. The problem, as everyone knows, is his speed, which is probably in the 40th percentile… of referees. Something I saw Sporting CP do to exploit this was to play out of the back, drawing Arsenal defenders upfield, which allowed them to then isolate on Jorginho in space. Pedro Gonçalves, who was playing central midfield but has wingstriker capabilities, could sprint into lanes to his heart’s delight and they could play long-balls to him like a true attacker. It was smarter than simply hoofing it long, and something that’ll have to be watched in upcoming Jorginho appearances.
• Saka, Saka, Saka, Saka. In conclusion: Saka.

Finally, let’s hear it for that Rob Holding striker audition. You can never have too much depth.
Next up, I’m working on a piece with some ideas of players who Arsenal can target in the summer market in the back-four, particularly long-term options at RCB and FB. Given the performances of Holding and Tierney on Sunday, it feels spectacularly ill-timed. I never said I knew what I was doing.
Be good out there.
Get well, Tomi.
And happy grilling. 🔥
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