Should we revert to a back three for the game against the Spurs?
The gunners are gearing up to participate in the first North London derby of the new campaign, this also representing the second huge test of our title credentials after the game against Aston Villa. We passed that one with flying colors and will be hoping for more or less of the same when we make the short trip to the Tottenham Hotspur stadium.
The club will be boosted by Arteta putting pen to paper on a new deal recently even if we’ll be making that short journey in less than ideal circumstances. Circumstances caused by the absence of key players especially in the middle of the park, indeed we’ll be without the ever reliable Declan Rice through suspension, and our very own Maestro & skipper Martin Odegaard through injury for the huge clash on Sunday. Add to that the injury to Mikel Merino and Riccardo Calafiori over the international break then a little tinkering might be needed from Mikel Arteta for us to get the win.
One way in which he could adjust the team to cope with Tottenham’s high press while simultaneously exploiting their highline would be to revert to a back three, a switch that has brought him success before during the Fa Cup win in 2020 where we shored things up at the back before using our pace and directness to cause havoc on the counter.
Taking into account that we’ll be losing our best presser in Odegaard and our midfield engine in Declan Rice, then it would be a good idea for Mikel Arteta to go with a back three with more conservative wing back so that we can cover for the aging legs of potential starters Jorginho and Thomas Partey.
Along with helping us defensively, going with a back three will also help us to cope without a central creative force in the squad by allowing us to play direct and on the transition when needed given the large space Spurs will leave in behind due to their highline. It could be a quick fix for just a game until Rice is back though.
However I know that Mikel Arteta can be sometimes adamant and stubborn about not changing his philosophy but he should adapt to the circumstances and try something which has served him well in the pass before.
Should Arteta go back to a back three for the game against Spurs?
KENNETH BENJAMIN.
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