Book excerpt: The 4-2-3-1 is a system that Arsenal, Real Madrid, Everton, Bayern Munich and many more professional teams use. The formation can be employed in many different ways depending on the personnel available. It can be used to play a conservative, defensively sound counter-attacking game or opened up for an ultra-offensive approach. The interchanging of positions, room for tactical adjustments, defensive soundness, room for creativity and overall fluidity of the system is what makes the 4-2-3-1 effective. This book will take you through the fundamental roles and responsibilities of each player within the system. It also provides multiple training exercises, explains and demonstrates individual and team movement patterns, covers the strategy of team defending and team attacking in the 4-2-3-1 and a number of ways to modify the system.