Deep dive into Arsenal's three triangles FM26 tactic, a Football Manager
2026 recreation of Mikel Arteta's quadruple-winning system.
Arsenal have been teetering on the verge of success under Mikel Arteta, since the Spaniard joined the club in 2020. And, after multiple years of being the bridesmaid, Arsenal looked primed and ready for their very own coronation come May, with the side currently leading the way in the Premier League.
In this article, I’ll be breaking down the system behind Arsenal’s early-season success thus far, before demonstrating my recreation of their tactics on Football Manager 26, before finally showcasing the scintillating results said tactics achieved in testing in-game. Firstly, let’s look at the core principles of this system.
The Three Triangles
The 25/26 season is still, relatively, young. However, fans, analysts, and pundits alike have already discovered a tactical trend emerging in European football: The Three Triangles.
The Three Triangles is a tactical trend that many of Europe’s elite have already implemented this season, most successfully by Thomas Tuchel with England on the International stage, where the team is divided into three separate triangles, each containing three players in close proximity, to provide coverage across the pitch and ensure a solid rest defence shape.
At Arsenal, the Three Triangles can be seen below in the example diagram:
The players that make up these Three Triangles can drift and roam, however, the Three Triangles will always remain – an example of this can be seen below:
Additionally, the players that make up the Three Triangles in Arsenal’s system can regularly differ – however, the Three Triangles always remain:
In-game, on FM26, I was able to replicate this key facet of Arsenal’s game:
The Key to Arsenal’s ROCK SOLID Defence
It is no secret that Arsenal are one of the best defensive sides in Europe, and there has been no difference this season as they currently boast the meanest defence in both literal stats (Goals Conceded, for example) and underlying stats, such as xG against.
When Arsenal don’t have the ball, they can still dominate teams in every phase of play, strategically forcing teams into ideal corridors and areas of the pitch wherefrom Arsenal are well-equipped to defend.
Initially, Arsenal will press high, closing off central passes and forcing teams wide, before gradually dropping deeper and deeper into a vertically compact 4-4-2 high-press. From here, Arsenal’s team move as one to cover, drop, step up, or engage in an intense high press.
Arteta's DEFENSIVE MASTERCLASS 🧱
— 🅰️ (@AshtonGgmu) December 1, 2025
📊 The most in-depth #FM26 defensive system yet...
Tactic out SOON! @fmbIog 🔜 #AFC #ArsenalFC #FootballManager https://t.co/Fjj4yVnYFF pic.twitter.com/Yhxfplko4o
Additionally, the wingers and two ‘strikers’ in Arsenal’s 4-4-2 tend to drop quite deep to restrict space between the lines, forcing teams to play around or over them – the latter is rendered pointless due to Raya’s high starting position and the defenders’ pace.
Let’s Break Down the Tactic
[DISCLAIMER: There are multiple versions of the tactic – you can access all of them by downloading the tactic on this article.]
In Possession:
Arsenal are a very meticulous side in-possession, who remain very patient in their attacking exploits as they want to overwhelm and suffocate the opposition into submission – to accentuate this, when Arsenal regains possession, they rarely ever hit teams on the counter-attack, rather opting to retain and recycle possession.
From build-up, Arsenal wants to draw in the opposition’s high-press – therefore, Raya will often wait before distributing short. As Arsenal progress higher, they use a lot of short passes into feet as their constant rotations in build-up will often lead to gaps occurring.
Additionally, they have two main automatisms to reaching the byline for cut-backs: Overlaps on the right side and underlaps on the left side. Finally, when in the final third, Arsenal remain patient, carefully working the ball into the box.
Out of Possession:
When playing at home vs inferior sides, Arsenal look to pin teams into their own half, pressing high from a ‘high-block’ and holding a high line, of which supplements the side’s high press. From here, Arsenal try and force teams into wide areas by closing off all central passing avenues.
When the opposition are wide, Arsenal do everything to prevent crosses into the penalty area, with full-backs and/or wingers rushing to intercept any crossing attempts. Finally, when Arsenal lose possession, they will intensely counter-press to try and regain possession immediately.
Opposition Instructions
Opposition Instructions
Player Roles
Ball-Playing Goalkeeper | Sweeper Keeper:
Raya is essential to this system, as his elite ball-playing capabilities can single-handedly carve through opposition sides, whilst his alertness and speed allows him to be a proficient sweeper out of possession.
Full-Back | Full-Back:
Timber’s role in this system is very flexible, as he can situationally drop deeper to form a back-three with the two centre-backs, move higher and wider to overlap Saka, or even move higher and inverted to supplement the Arsenal midfield. When Arsenal don’t have the ball, Timber marks his man very tightly.
(DCR) Ball-Playing Centre-Back | Centre-Back:
In this system, both centre-backs are very similar; Both centre-backs have very good ball-playing abilities, and thus can regularly break the lines from deep to find advanced team-mates. However, there is a slight difference in the pair’s respective movements in-possession…
(DCL) Ball-Playing Centre-Back | Centre-Back:
…and that is that Gabriel, on the left, will often drift wider, particularly from build-up, to allow Raya to move higher into the nominal ‘left centre-back’ position.
Wing-Back | Full-Back:
Calafiori’s role, much like Timber’s, is very flexible – however, in the Italian’s case, he gets much higher much more frequently, often in-line with the side’s left-winger.
When he’s not in this position, Calafiori can invert at times to supplement the midfield areas, or even move wider and hold the team’s width on the left-side. This added flexibility, along with the fluidity of the left-winger and Declan Rice in midfield, creates different iterations of the ‘wide triangle’ that I alluded to earlier, making it even more difficult for opposition teams to defend.
Deep-Lying Playmaker | Defensive Midfielder:
Martin Zubimendi has been a revolutionary signing for the Gunners, bringing the deeper, metronomic midfielder that Arsenal have been craving for years. In this position, Zubimendi dictates the tempo of the side’s possession, whilst being at the heart of everything from deep.
When he has the ball, Zubimendi will use a lot of, what I call, ‘mini-carries’ where he will slightly dwell on the ball to further assess the game and identify his next pass recipient, whilst keeping the ball live – this is a move the very best in Europe also possess, such as PSG’s Vitinha.
Box-to-Box Midfielder | Pressing Central Midfielder:
Declan Rice’s game has elevated another level this season, as he is quickly cementing himself as one of, if not, the best central midfielders in the world: Passing; Carrying; Goal-Scoring; Tackling… He’s got it all!
In this system, Rice is the epitome of the ‘Box-to-Box Midfielder’, as he’ll initially drop deep to aid the side’s build-up before readily surging forward to be on the end of back-stick crosses and latch onto loose balls inside the penalty area. Additionally, he can take the ball from a deeper position and maraud past opponents with the ball at his feet as he loves carrying the ball forward as a means of progression.
When Arsenal don’t have the ball, Rice is positioned slightly higher than his Spanish counterpart, as he regularly engages in duels, tackles, and interceptions against the opposition’s deeper midfielder/s.
Free Role | Tracking Centre Forward:
In this system, when Ødegaard has played, he has clearly been given licence to roam wherever and whenever he please, as he can be spotted practically anywhere. When he receives the ball, he always wants to create chances and will dribble and take-on opponents often, opening up new angles to potentially slide a penetrative pass in-behind for Gyökeres or Saka to chase.
When Arsenal don’t have the ball, both ‘strikers’ in their 4-4-2 defensive shape will drop deeper as the team drops deeper to compact the space in midfield and, subsequently, force the play wide or back.
(AMR) Wide Forward | Tracking Wide Midfielder:
In this position, Saka can receive the ball high and wide whilst already positioned in a potential 1v1 against the opposition’s left-back. From here, he can choose between a multitude of varying actions, such as cutting inside and shooting, crossing towards the back post, or even running on the outside and reaching the byline.
Additionally, Saka can, at times, move inside to attack the right half-space, allowing Timber to overlap and/or hold the side’s width on the right. When Arsenal don’t have the ball, both wingers will drop deeper and support their full-backs against opposition wingers and prevent wide overloads.
(AML) Wide Forward | Tracking Wide Midfielder:
On the left, Martinelli largely does the same, as he’ll largely hold the width and can do multiple things with the ball at his feet. However, he is less likely to move inside than Saka is.
Channel Forward | Tracking Centre Forward:
In this system, Gyökeres is allowed to drift from his position slightly to peel off and attack off the shoulder of the last defender, typically running the channels for the side with brute force. From here, he can carry the ball forward and go himself in search for gold, as he’s a high-volume shooter.
Personalised Player Roles
Of course, no two players are the same – therefore, I did use a range of different ‘Personalised’ player roles, each tailored to the specific personalised roles of the respective players in real life:
(Nørgaard - DMCR) Defensive Midfielder | Defensive Midfielder:
[No In Possession Instructions]
(Madueke – AMR) Winger | Tracking Wide Midfielder:
[No Out of Possession Instructions]
(Trossard – AML) Winger | Tracking Wide Midfielder:
[No Out of Possession Instructions]
(Eze – AMC) Attacking Midfielder | Tracking Centre Forward:
[No Out of Possession Instructions]
(Havertz – STC) Centre Forward | Tracking Centre Forward:
[No Out of Possession Instructions]
(Merino – STC) Deep-Lying Forward | Tracking Centre Forward:
[No Out of Possession Instructions]
Results
Premier League:
We absolutely destroyed the Premier League in testing, as we won the title a staggering 24 (TWENTY-FOUR) points clear of arch-nemesis, Spurs, at the summit, as we accumulated 101 points! Of our 38 league games, we won 33 games, drew just 2 games, and lost just 3 games in total.
In total, we scored 95 league goals (2.5 goals per game) and conceded just 18 league goals (0.47 goals per game).
Domestic Cups:
We won our first piece of silverware for the season in early 2026, as we defeated London rivals, Chelsea, 0-1 at Wembley to secure the Carabao Cup! On our way to Wembley, we overcame the likes of Man City (2-2p), Newcastle (0-2), and Sunderland (1-2) despite playing our second-string side throughout the competition.
We made it a domestic Treble in mid-May, however, by defeating Chelsea, again, to win the FA Cup, following a comfortable 2-0 victory under the Wembley arch! On our way to the Final, we beat the likes of Newcastle (1-2) and Ipswich (1-3) to extend the club’s record of winning the most FA Cups in history!
UEFA Champions League:
‘Bridesmaids’ no more, on the European stage! An early, quickfire double helped us to beat PSG in the Final to break Arsenal’s European duck.
On our way to the Gunners’ night in paradise, we overcame the likes of Chelsea (AGAIN – 2-7 AGG this time), Eintracht Frankfurt (5-2 AGG) and Inter Milan (3-2 AGG), after finishing joint-top of the League Phase!
Read Also
- FM26 Tactics Hub
- FM26 Best Youth Academies
- FM26 Wonderkids by PA, Price & Position
- FM26 Transfer Budgets
Conclusion
Arsenal have been, by far, the standout performers of 25/26 thus far, beating some of Europe’s elite on their way to, currently, topping both the Premier League and UEFA Champions League ‘League Phase’ tables!
Everything points towards a historically impressive season for the Gunners, and they are surely well-set for sustained success in the future. If you want a taste of this wonderful tactic, make sure to download the tactic using the link attached to this article and make sure to follow FM Blog (@fmbIog) and myself (@AshtonGgmu) on our respective socials.
I hope you have enjoyed this article, and I wish you much success with this tactic on your saves! Thanks for reading!
