The more I watch teams like Racing Santander, the more I see this pattern. Almost every positive attack included a wide midfielder positioned between the winger and the fullback. They combined with the winger and drew the opposition away from midfield.

A team that prefers to overload one side of the pitch lives on the diagonal.

Most teams are not prepared to commit the majority of their players to defending one side of the pitch the moment they lose the ball. This is an extreme approach. The spaces are smaller, and the opponent is closer to you and ready to put in a defensive challenge.

When all you have are a winger and a fullback on the ball side, they both become too isolated to move play away from the wing.

It is harder to use them because the distance between the winger and the fullback is too great. A pass along the ground from the fullback to the winger takes too long.

When the wide midfielder is not wide, between the winger and the fullback, it is easier for the opposition to cut off passing lanes into the center of the pitch. It is easier for them to win back the ball when you try to counter.

When the wide midfielder is wide, between the winger and the fullback, defenders are drawn away from the center.

It is the perfect outlet. You can toss the ball to the wing because, even if it is not brought down cleanly or it bobbles, there are always three players there. The safe option then becomes a central pass because everyone has been drawn wide.

That short pass from the winger to the wide midfielder gives the winger more impetus to run down the line the moment they lay the ball off or pass centrally to a midfielder. The winger can make that run immediately because the wide midfielder is there to cover if they lose the ball.

I saw Arsenal do this with Kai Havertz, who rotated wide between Bukayo Saka and Ben White. This freed Saka and White to attack the wing and drew the opposition wide.

It allowed White to commit to the overlap more often because Havertz was there to cover. Arsenal could then play quick passes into Ødegaard centrally. Saka followed the pass, and they combined diagonally from right to left.

The space is going to be on the wing. Draw the players toward the wing, combine with short layoffs to draw them in, and then attack the diagonal. The safe pass comes diagonally toward the center-forward and then goes out to the fullback on the overlap.

The far-side winger is always there, waiting to help alleviate pressure and reset play.