It wasn’t a bad idea to have a destroyer in between the centre-backs against a pressing team like Manchester City. But Francis Coquelin looked out of place and failed to disrupt opposition rhythm. He also surrendered possession in dangerous areas and couldn’t bring the ball out from the back.
Against Tottenham on Saturday, Arsene Wenger is likely to go back to the Koscielny-Mertesacker-Monreal combination, with one of them assigned to monitor Harry Kane’s movements. The two central midfielders, Aaron Ramsey and Granit Xhaka, will likely stay centrally and prevent Christian Eriksen and Dele Alli from feeding Kane.
Wenger will not hesitate to use, at some stage, the returning Welbeck, who is good in the air and can provide flick-ons to either Mesut Ozil or Alexis Sanchez; Spurs are vulnerable to aerial attacks, something Jose Mourinho exploited to the hilt a fortnight ago. Since Toby Alderweireld is sidelined with injury, the direct route could work in Wenger’s favour.
On the other hand, Mauricio Pochettino’s natural approach will be to exploit Arsenal’s weakness out wide by pushing his full-backs, Kieran Trippier and Danny Rose, forward to combine with Deli Alli and Eriksen, and overload the rival’s wing-backs, Sead Kolasinac and Hector Bellerin.
If Arsenal’s transitional play occurs from deep within its own half, the Argentine will ask the front three along with the two central midfielders to press aggressively. This has fetched lot of goals for Spurs this season.
Defensive midfielder Eric Dier will be asked to provide cover for the defence rather than join the attack. Moussa Dembele will keep an eye on Ozil, who could be the difference in a mouth-watering North London derby.
Arsenal (3-4-2-1): Cech; Koscielny, Mertesacker, Monreal; Bellerin, Ramsey, Xhaka, Kolasinac; Ozil, Sanchez; Lacazette
Tottenham (3-4-2-1): Lloris/Gazzaniga; Sanchez, Vertonghen, Davies; Trippier, Dembele, Dier, Rose; Eriksen, Alli; Kane
