Defensively, Arsenal haven’t been right for years. Not since the days of prime Laurent Koscielny and Per Mertesacker, arguably even before that, have the Gunners had a competent central-defensive pairing.
In an attempt to immediately solve the issue, Unai Emery introduced a back three during his first season and the hope was this would at least temporarily make Arsenal more difficult to beat. All the while, Emery who was known to prefer a back four at his previous clubs made it clear he was happy for the team to be a “chameleon team” depending on the opponent.
At the start of this current campaign, the Spaniard has made it clear he was going to move forward with a traditional four-man defence but, despite bringing in David Luiz and Kieran Tierney this summer, the defence looks as fragile as ever. So is it time for Emery to switch to the back three again in an attempt to prevent the rot?
Arsenal lined up with a back three in Guimaraes on Wednesday afternoon but were still unable to keep a clean sheet. Given the lack of protection in the Gunners’ midfield, it seems like a sensible move and one that could see Emery get the best out of David Luiz. The Brazilian had his best spell at Chelsea under Antonio Conte, a manager who has traditionally used that system to good effect.
Kieran Tierney and Hector Bellerin both enjoy impacting games in the opposition half and so it’s difficult to envisage them being unhappy in the wing-back positions. The formation switch could allow Emery to accommodate a creator in the middle of the park and even play a traditional front-two of Aubameyang and Lacazette – something the Arsenal fans have been desperate to see.
What that would mean for record-signing Nicolas Pepe, Bukayo Saka and Reiss Nelson who are all wide-players remains to be seen but the reality is the Gunners must improve both defensively and creatively. At this point, it may be worth giving it a go and seeing how it unfolds.