ARSENAL travel to Manchester United on Sunday looking to get their stuttering title challenge back on track.
The Gunners went from blanking in back to back league games against West Ham and Nottingham Forest to smashing seven past PSV in the Champions League.
Mikel Merino’s performances are revitalising Arsenal’s attack[/caption]
Martin Odegaard triggering the press will be key for Arsenal against Man Utd[/caption]
The sudden reverse in attacking fortunes begs the question, has Mikel Arteta finally unearthed a strong attacking recipe with his makeshift Arsenal attack.
Leandro Trossard, Mikel Merino and Ethan Nwaneri have lined up in the attack for the Gunners in the last three games following an injury to Kai Havertz.
It has left them without Bukayo Saka, Gabriel Martinelli and Gabriel Jesus as forward options.
But the performances of Merino up front have been leaving a surprising impact, which we will look into on our latest episode of Tactics Exposed Team Talk, brought to you by Betfair.
How do Arsenal replace Kai Havertz?
For all the criticism Havertz takes as Arsenal‘s frontman, his absence is clear to see when he missing.
He has done a fabulous job for Arsenal during his time there, although it may be clear to say he is not the force they need to win them the title.
But Arteta likes himself a utility forward who can play in lots of positions, and while Havertz may not be a top-class forward he is a top class player.
Against Man Utd, Merino will be the star asked to adapt his game to get Arsenal ticking in the final third.
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With Arteta opting to invert his full-backs and create overloads to give them a 3-2-5 shape, Arsenal will be coming against a back five with United expected to play defensive wing-backs.
This means individual duels will be the key to winning the game.
In the case of Merino, who has admitted he has been watching Havertz videos, he has a bit of a striker’s instinct, as seen when he scored his brace against Leicester.
But Merino has taken lesson’s from Havertz to drop into a deeper area of the pitch, which leaves the United defender with the problem of whether to follow him or potentially leave him open.
Against PSV Arsenal always had at least three runners beyond the ball, including Declan Rice and Martin Odegaard.
These runs forced defenders back and caused an issue for the goalkeeper, with Merino’s presence facilitating runners to move beyond him.
If Riccardo Calafiori is selected at left-back, he will certainly run forwards into a striker type position, adding another option.
Regardless, Merino is filling the Havertz role and he will be pivotal in the result at Old Trafford.
Can Nwaneri replace Saka?
It is a big compliment to be compared to Saka, no matter how old of a player you are.
But to me compared with one of the world’s best wingers at the age of 17 earmarks Nwaneri’s quality.
Against United, Nwaneri will almost certainly start from the right wing, the side Arsenal predominantly play down because their best players tend to favour that side.
But what Arsenal have done in the absence of their top stars is balance the attack a lot more.
And against PSV, the share of attacks was even favoured more to the left flank.
This gives the opposition defence a far bigger problem than if all the attack all came down one side.
This balancing act will give Nwaneri more of a chance to go one on one against rivals[/caption]
Saka typically hugs the right touchline to open space for team-mates to run in underlapping moves.
But what Nwaneri has been given the licence to do is move inside earlier.
This means he is another central option to play in and around Merino, who as we already mentioned is likely to drop deeper to vacate space where the striker would normally be.
Nwaneri’s movement should then attract the right wing-back more centrally, which will then give the likes of Jurrien Timber the chance to have more space to overlap with down the right flank.
Another difference between the teen and Saka is his willingness to shoot with both feet and wanting to isolate his defender in one v one situation.
Against United’s defence this new balancing act will give Nwaneri more of a chance to get one v one more.
How will Man Utd play out against Arsenal’s high press?
We spoke a bit last week about Bruno Fernandes’ new position as one of the two pivot midfielders.
But unlike some rivals, Arsenal are a top side who are very comfortable without the ball.
Arsenal defend mainly in 4-4-2 shape – the 1990s are back – while United play out in their 3-4-3 shape.
He previously touched on how Arsenal’s press really hurt Liverpool, and this time they will set traps against United.
Arsenal captain Odegaard will be the star to orchestrate and trigger the press.
What he will do is have his hand up before telling his team where to play.
Bruno Fernandes’ new position will make him a huge player for Man Utd against Arsenal[/caption]
The Red Devils success at playing out will largely be determined by how the central centre-back performs[/caption]
When the ball moves wide and United look to switch the play with a long cross-field pass, like they did a lot against Ispwich, they will be left in a 3v1 situation in Arsenal’s favour.
The odds favouring the visiting side for winning the ball here would then allow Arsenal the chance to bomb forward down the flank with superior numbers.
So what United will have to do is figure out how to play through this, with Fernandes, Ugarte and Joshua Zirkzee being the key men to solve this problem.
It may be as simple as Fernandes pushing higher to keep Merino and Odegaard on their toes and potentially pushing them back to give the defenders more time on the ball to pick a pass.
The Arteta defensive blueprint is successful for a reason, but ultimately United’s play will be determined by the success of the central centre-back – likely to be Harry Maguire.
The central defender could drop back alongside Andre Onana against the front two of Odegaard and Merino which, once combined with the other two defenders showing for options, will open up the passing lanes going forwards.
We are likely to see a W passing shape from United to bypass Arsenal, with someone like Eriksen showing further forwards to create extra triangles between the defence and attack.
If United can make these triangles against Arsenal’s box midfield then they will at least have a chance of playing out.
Arsenal ratings vs PSV as Nwaneri comes of age in Champions League drubbing but rash Lewis-Skelly is hooked early
ARSENAL steamrolled a hapless PSV side to all-but book their place in the Champions League quarter-finals.
The Gunners started without a recognised striker once again but unlike at Nottingham Forest last week, goals were not a problem in Eindhoven.
A quick-fire double from Jurrien Timber and Ethan Nwaneri around the 20th minute put the Gunners in control in what was an assured display.
Every Arsenal player impressed and they were clinical with their finishing.
Only Myles Lewis-Skelly will feel a little disappointed as he was hooked after half an hour to avoid him picking up a second yellow.
It was a shame as the youngster was performing well on the ball – he played a key role in the build-up to the opening goal.
But he could not be trusted by Mikel Arteta after he dived and caught his man with a challenge that could easily have resulted in a second booking.
It was another careless moment that allowed PSV back into the match as Thomas Partey conceded a penalty that was converted on the stroke of half-time.
But the Gunners did not rest on their laurels and came out racing after the break, scoring twice in two minutes to put the match, and the tie, to bed.
Here is how SunSport’s Kealan Hughes rated the Gunners’ display…
