It’s official – Arnold will lead the Socceroos post-2018 World Cup on a four year contract. It’s stabilisation time for the Australian national team, and there’s few more stable selections than a man with ten years’ experience working with the Socceroos.

In addition to his controversial year as caretaker coach – some say he was faced with a thankless task, others that he horribly underperformed - Arnold was assistant to Frank Farina, Guus Hiddink and Pim Verbeek.

He was also Olyroos coach at the 2008 Olympics. We exited at the group stage, but the performances were damn close…

Now, ten years and two A-League Championships later, Arnie finally gets a proper crack at the big time. But what can we expect from Graham Arnold’s Socceroos?

ANGE’S LEGACY?

Boring, boring Arnie. Defensive grinch.

Arnold has often rebuked his defensive reputation, with some virtue. Sydney tucked away the most goals in the league last season – six more than attacking-minded Melbourne Victory, while conceding 19 less.

Likewise, his Central Coast Mariners side led the goal tally in 2012/13, again conceding the least. Arnold says rather than play defensively, he “respects defence”, which is what a lot of Socceroos fans were calling for under Ange Postecoglou.

Arnold won’t recreate Postecoglou’s style, nor should he. Arnie’s Mariners and Ange’s Brisbane Roar, later Melbourne Victory were always very close throughout their respective coaches’ reigns.

Ange's vision, and perhaps more worryingly the national curriculum, may just have to wait. But at least there's some aspects to an Australian coach that always read well on paper.

"I want to continue Ange’s legacy of being proud Australians, taking pride every time we put on the shirt," Arnold said.

"It’s clear that Ange had a fantastic staff, with what they accomplished...so it’s going to take me a little bit of time to learn and watch."

MAN MANAGEMENT

In his post-appointment press conference, Arnie said his strengths were “man-management and attention to detail”.

There’s an underpinning philosophy beneath Arnold’s work. He’s had a long association with life-coach Bradley Stubbs, focusing on positive communication and mindfulness.

While it might sound zany, especially for a 54-year-old who sounds like a coal miner, it’s obviously working. Sydney FC are phenomenally consistent and resilient, able to dampen pressure when it arises and build momentum as easily as Lego blocks.  

Expect an overly-confident, almost egotistic Socceroos side.

Arnold will instruct his players to never use the word ‘hope’, always ‘will’. It’s why many fans find him unreservedly smug. But it’s also why he’s accumulating a trophy cabinet to back those words up.

GOALMOUTH PROBLEMS

Wherever Arnie’s travelled, he’s required a strong, confident goalscorer. In 2013 he was fortunate enough to have a resurgent Daniel McBreen at the Mariners, who single-handedly bore the brunt of Central Coast’s attacking haul.

Matt Simon was at his peak in 2011, while at Sydney FC he’s had Bobo. It’s concerning that in 2015 - before Bobo - Arnold finished seventh with Sydney FC despite the presence of Serbian sensations’ Milos Ninkovic and Milos Dimitrijevic.

The Socceroos don’t have a world-class striker, let alone one with an experienced, physical presence.

If Arnold can transform Tomi Juric – who’s now entering his physical peak – from a technically gifted forward into a ruthless goalscorer, it will be one of his finest coaching achievements yet.

Otherwise, there are physical forwards lurking in the wings, awaiting their chance. Arnold’s era could be the making of strikers like Kwame Yeboah and Golgol Mebrahtu. The only certainty is that the goals are going to have to come from somewhere if Arnie’s going to keep his job.

TACTICAL NOUS

Arnold's Mariners’ defence was one of the finest the A-League's ever seen. Sydney’s midfield screen is one of the finest the A-League's ever seen. Forwards working without the ball isn’t just a tactic, it’s a way of life under the Socceroos coach-in-waiting. 

This defensive solidity has allowed the 54-year-old to modernise his tactics by adopting an aggressive full-back approach. Whether it’s Rhyan Grant, Michael Zullo or Luke Wilkshere, Arnold utilises full-backs young-and-old better than any other A-League coach. 

Many of Arnold’s tactics contain the most-effective, exciting aspects of Postecoglou’s style, while minimising its most-obvious deficiencies – susceptibility to counter-attacks, interceptions and quick passing combinations.

One of the Socceroos’ finest performances under Ange was the 1-1 draw with Chile at the Confederations Cup, where aggressive pressing breathed life into the likes of Robbie Kruse, Tim Cahill and James Troisi. It wasn’t just effective, it was downright exciting.

Every Socceroos fan will be hoping Arnold can provide the best-of-both-worlds: Intelligent pressing, bombing fullbacks, insightful through-passes, quick turnovers and overwhelming counter-attacking movements.

THE KIDS AREN’T ALRIGHT

While Arnold’s coaching has improved dramatically since 2007 - to the point where his claim of being “a completely different person” holds huge weight - his focus on youth has declined markedly throughout his career.

While not quite Brisbane Roar, Sydney’s Dad’s Army epitomise Arnold’s successful approach. It’s the antithesis of Australia’s progressive philosophy, especially considering many of the Socceroos’ brightest talents are our youngest.

But the motto that you can’t win anything with kids has worked wonders for Arnold at the Sky Blues. So if Australia won’t breed the new generation under our next coach’s stewardship, hopefully they can at least win something.