Why have Arsenal become obsessed with crossing the ball?

When Mikel Arteta recently referred to Arsenal putting in 33 crosses in one game as "pure maths" it piqued the interest of The Athletic's resident analytical gurus Michael Cox and Tom Worville - what could Mikel mean by such a phrase and is this really a good idea?

The pair join Ali Maxwell this week to look at why Arsenal have recently become obsessed with slinging the ball into the mixer and to take a broader look at the various problems besetting Arteta's side at the moment as they find themselves in 15th place in the Premier League after 11 games.

We also get an informed take from Worville on Dominik Szoboszlai who has been heavily linked with the Gunners and it sounds like he could be just the player Arteta needs to breathe some much-needed creativity back into midfield.

Subscribe to The Athletic

Subscribe to The Athletic for access to all of Michael and Tom's brilliant writing as well as this podcast advert free - and right now if you sign up you get a second subscription to gift for free

Head to theathletic.com/zonalmarking

Exclusive Virgin Wines Deal

For this weeks partnership go to www.virginwines.co.uk/theathletic

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices