ISSUE 004 | NOVEMBER 2026 | AREZZO, TUSCANY

SOMETHING WORTH BUILDING

Fourteen league matches, a tactical rethink and an unexpected show of loyalty. Matteo Roberti’s Arezzo are discovering that establishing themselves in Serie B requires more than a famous victory.

Fourteenth. Eighteen points. Six clear of the relegation zone.

For a club predicted to finish nineteenth, Arezzo’s position at the end of November ought to represent something approaching satisfaction.

Four victories, six draws and four defeats. Twenty goals scored, fourteen conceded. A positive goal difference and a little breathing room between themselves and the bottom of Serie B.

Nothing spectacular. Nothing particularly alarming, either.

But football rarely offers the luxury of judging progress by the league table alone.

Three months earlier, Matteo Roberti had arrived in Tuscany promising organisation, discipline and a side capable of competing against more established opposition. An extraordinary Coppa Italia victory over Fiorentina offered an early glimpse of what might be possible.

The weeks that followed would provide a sterner examination.

There have been stirring comebacks, unexpected victories and afternoons when Arezzo have looked entirely comfortable at this level. There have also been difficult defeats, uncomfortable statistical truths and a growing recognition that the manager’s original tactical blueprint might not provide all the answers.

Yet amid the uncertainty, something else has been developing.

A sense that Roberti’s players are beginning to believe in what he is trying to build.

The numbers behind the results

Arezzo’s opening four league matches produced results that exceeded expectations.

An unlikely comeback at Avellino was followed by victory over Palermo, a narrow defeat at Verona and a hard-earned goalless draw against Empoli.

Five points from four matches represented an encouraging start.

The underlying numbers, however, suggested cause for concern.

Despite sitting twelfth in the league, Arezzo found themselves bottom of the expected goals table. They were allowing opponents too many opportunities, with the quality of chances conceded suggesting that results might not be sustainable.

The xG table shows things weren’t going as well as they’d seemed.

Roberti had assembled a team capable of producing results. The question was whether he had assembled one capable of sustaining them.

A manager willing to change

The 4-3-3 had been central to Roberti’s early thinking.

A holding midfielder provided protection in front of the defence, while the movement of right-back Alessandro Renzi into central areas offered another passing option during possession.

It was a system designed around defensive organisation, controlled possession and carefully chosen opportunities to attack.

But the early evidence demanded a rethink.

The first warning had arrived at Avellino.

Two goals behind at half-time, Roberti abandoned the 4-3-3 and introduced a 4-2-3-1. Sala entered the contest and transformed it, scoring twice as Arezzo recovered to claim a 2–2 draw.

The tactical change had worked. More importantly, it had offered the manager an alternative.

Roberti subsequently began utilising the 4-2-3-1 more seriously. The intention was straightforward: provide greater protection centrally while retaining enough attacking players to trouble the opposition.

The results were less straightforward.

A change of formation could not immediately resolve every problem. The team remained vulnerable to conceding good chances, while the additional midfielder did not automatically translate into greater control.

There were questions about how the side struggled to progress the ball from defence.

It was a reminder that tactical ideas are only as effective as the players’ ability to execute them.

The underlying stats improved after a switch to a 4-2-3-1

As we entered November, the 4-2-3-1 had become the preferred approach, although its precise balance remained unresolved.

Should both defensive midfielders remain relatively deep, with one disrupting opposition attacks and the other controlling possession? Or could one be encouraged to advance, supporting the attacking players and offering another option between the lines?

For a manager whose instincts lean towards defensive security, it is not an insignificant decision.

There had, however, been glimpses of the attacking potential within Roberti’s squad. None more emphatic than the extraordinary 5–0 demolition of Benevento in October, when Arezzo scored three times in just four minutes before adding two more late on. Tavernelli opened the scoring, Cianci and Mancuso both struck twice, and the movement and ruthlessness of the attacking players offered a tantalising glimpse of what might be possible when everything clicked.

Yet one emphatic victory could not disguise the inconsistencies elsewhere. The challenge for Roberti was no longer simply finding a formation capable of producing goals, but establishing a system that could deliver attacking threat without sacrificing the defensive security on which his philosophy was built.

Finding that balance would define the next stage of his project.

The importance of a strong spine

While Roberti has continued searching for the right tactical combination, several individuals have provided much-needed consistency.

In goal, Alessandro Nunziante – on loan from Udinese – has emerged as one of Arezzo’s most important performers.

The young goalkeeper has started all fourteen league matches, recording five clean sheets and two Player of the Match awards, with an average rating of 7.06.

Ahead of him, Julian Illanes has provided a dependable presence in central defence, while captain Artur Ioniță has remained an influential figure in midfield.

Their contributions have been particularly important during a period of tactical transition.

Further forward, Pietro Cianci leads the scoring charts with four goals in twelve appearances, while Alessandro Arena has established himself as the side’s principal creator, contributing five assists in fifteen matches.

Alessandro Arena, leads the team with five assists.

There is no single outstanding individual carrying Arezzo through the season.

Instead, Roberti is relying on contributions from across the squad.

For a newly promoted club without the financial resources of many of its opponents, that collective approach may prove essential.

The player who chose to stay

The most revealing development of the autumn, however, may have taken place away from the pitch.

When Empoli triggered Alessandro Renzi’s £205,000 release clause, Arezzo appeared powerless to prevent the departure of their right-back.

There was an additional layer of irony to the approach.

Three years earlier, Renzi had arrived at Arezzo on a free transfer from Empoli. Now his former employers were prepared to pay to bring him back.

Ultimately, Arezzo never had to discover how they might cope without him.

Renzi rejected Empoli’s approach.

Despite reportedly being offered improved financial terms, the defender chose to remain in Tuscany.

For Roberti, the decision represented something considerably more significant than retaining a first-team player.

It suggested that his message was resonating.

Renzi’s decision offered an encouraging indication that the dressing room was beginning to respond.

Alessandro Renzi, turned down a move to Empoli

According to sources close to the club, team cohesion and the general atmosphere remain average, but managerial support is rated very good. There are no unhappy players within the squad.

This is not yet a perfectly settled group.

It is, however, a group that appears increasingly comfortable with the man leading it.

November brings a reality check

If October had provided reason for optimism, November offered a reminder of Serie B’s unforgiving nature.

Arezzo began the month with a disappointing 1–0 home defeat against Ascoli before responding impressively with a 3–0 victory away to Juve Stabia.

A 1–1 draw against Padova followed, but a 3–1 defeat at Mantova ensured that momentum remained elusive.

The month concluded with a home meeting against Tuscan rivals Pisa.

There was unfinished business between the clubs.

Pisa had already eliminated Arezzo from the Coppa Italia earlier in the campaign, winning 2–1. This time, however, the visitors arrived in the relegation zone and under new management.

Roberto D’Aversa had been appointed following the dismissal of his predecessor, adding another layer of intrigue to an already significant fixture.

The opening half was evenly contested.

At the interval, with the score still goalless, Roberti challenged Mancuso and Arena over their performances. Both responded positively to the criticism, returning for the second half with renewed determination.

But the breakthrough never arrived.

Arezzo enjoyed 56% possession, yet struggled to translate that control into meaningful opportunities.

Pisa registered eighteen shots to Arezzo’s nine, producing 1.23 expected goals against the home side’s 0.85.

Arezzo 0–0 Pisa.

A draw against the Tuscan rivals was hardly the revenge supporters might have wanted.

It did, however, bring another point and another clean sheet.

November ended with five points from five matches.

Not a collapse. Not a particularly satisfying return, either.

Just another reminder that progress rarely follows a straight line.

Something worth building

Fourteen league matches have now provided enough evidence to begin forming a more meaningful assessment of Roberti’s Arezzo.

The league table places them fourteenth.

So does the expected goals table.

Their eighteen points are almost identical to their expected return of 18.14, suggesting that, over the opening months, their league position broadly reflects their performances.

There is, however, an important warning within the numbers.

Arezzo have conceded fourteen league goals against an expected goals-against figure of 19.64.

The defensive record looks considerably healthier than the opportunities allowed would suggest.

For a manager who has made defensive organisation a central principle, that discrepancy cannot be ignored.

The tactical evolution remains a work in progress. The attacking play can be effective, but inconsistent. The team has shown resilience, although there are occasions when resilience has been required rather more frequently than Roberti would prefer.

And there are challenges developing beyond the pitch.

Arena, the club’s leading creator, is approaching the end of his contract. With little financial flexibility available, negotiations have been entrusted to the Director of Football in the hope money can be found to keep the highly rated winger at the club.

And perhaps most importantly, the league table offers a perspective that can easily become lost amid the tactical analysis.

Arezzo were predicted to finish nineteenth.

At the end of November, they sit fourteenth, six points clear of the relegation zone.

The extraordinary victory over Fiorentina demonstrated what Roberti’s side could achieve on their best day.

The opening months of Serie B have posed a different question entirely.

Can they produce enough on the ordinary days?