This time last season, Arsenal had nine out of nine points, three games in, a perfect start. This solid foundation gave them a solid launching pad for a magnificent title charge: top of the table for 248 days, and falling short only at the last few hurdles, and reeled in by the Manchester City treble-wining juggernaut.
Last season’s centre-back powerhouse
Much of Arsenal’s solidity was built on a back four that saw new signing Zinchenko in an inverted left back role, alongside the powerful Brazilian, Gabriel Magalhaes. Gabriel’s centre-back partner was William Saliba, the young Frenchman who had signed a couple of years earlier for Arsenal, and was finally a part of Arteta’s plans after two loan spells – one injury-ridden half-season at Saint Etienne after six months playing for the Arsenal U23s, the other a successful stint at Olympique Marseille. In right back, was centre-back Ben White, playing out of position.
This structure served Arteta’s playing style very well, as it allowed Zinchenko to relieve the centre backs – particularly Magalhaes – of the ball-carrying role when playing out from the back. Zinchenko would drift infield, making space for Martinelli and Xhaka ahead of him, to attack those left-side channels with great effectiveness.
On the right hand side, Ben White offered a solid defence behind Bukayo Saka, allowing him to take a more attacking role; with Odegaard and Saka combining to create space, White regularly came up in support to overlap and overload the right hand side, giving Arsenal great balance on attack.
The signing of Jurrien Timber was proving a shrewd one – the Dutch defender was slotting perfectly into Arteta’s plans, allowing the manager to start the pre-season and first game of the season with a very similar line-up and game plan. Havertz stepped in to play the Xhaka role, and Timber mimicked Zinchenko’s role with great success, with the Ukrainian being injured.
However, the Gunners lost their new signing to an ACL injury in the first game, and Arteta’s meticulous plans were scuppered.
Thomas Partey inverting on the right (Photo by Marc Atkins/Getty Images)
As a solution, Arteta gave Partey the ‘Zinchenko’ role on the right hand side, and shifted the back line across to the left, putting White back into his centre-back role, and moving Saliba across to Gabriel’s spot. Tomiyasu was brought in to replace Timber, and play a more conventional role and Gabriel was benched, having started every game for which he was available last season. Tomiyasu then received a double yellow, and was forced to miss Saturday’s game against Fulham. Polish left back Kiwior came in for the Japanese.
Arsenal went one-nil down in the first minute – conceding another early Emirates goal. However – they clawed their way back to go 2-1 up, before conceding a sloppy corner goal late into the match, and ruining their prefect record. Despite dropping two costly points against Fulham, the Gunners are still second-favourites for the title as per online gambling site 32Red. The draw has caused much anxiety among an expectant Arsenal fanbase, and there has been much soul-searching as to why the Gunners seem to be struggling in this early stage.
It is fair to say that this change in personnel, and the mirroring of the inverted back strategy, has affected Arsenal’s balance considerably. Not just at the back, but both attacking sides lost their strong foundations. Saka no longer has White as a back up – and Thomas Partey spends long periods of the game in his conventional 6 spot.
White doesn’t get to overlap Saka, and so the right hand side of attack has suffered from a lack of options when trying to break down a low block. On the left, Kiwior, Havertz and Martinelli have not had the time to form any decent understandings. Havertz in particular seems to have struggled to replicate the successs that Xhaka brought to the left channel, although in his defence, he brings different strengths to the Arsenal attack.
Zinchenko’s return to fitness must make it very appealing for Arteta to switch to the structure that brought him so much success last season. When the Ukrainian came on as a substitute over the weekend, he immediately had a positive impact – forming a great partnership with surprise Havertz replacement Fabio Vieira and Gabriel Martinelli on the left.
Zinchenko returns from injury
Ben White can return to his right back role, as he did in the closing moments of the Fulham game, and once more combine with Saka, attacking the right. Gabriel can slot back in alongside Saliba, with Zinchenko relieving the pressure on him to play out from the back.
Partey holding in the 6 position, Rice in the 8 as a box-to-box, and Odegaard creating in the 10, with Martinelli, Saka and Jesus or Nketiah ahead of them would create a balanced threat and allow the combinations that thrived last season to blossom once more.
What to do about Havertz? Use him in games where Partey and Rice are not both needed.
It’s a system that worked so well, and could yet help Arsenal establish themselves this season.
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