The international break inadvertently relieved some pressure on Arsene Wenger and his players – but the criticism will return if Arsenal fail to step up against Manchester City.
Pep Guardiola’s side have had success in recent months with a flowing 4-1-4-1 formation, allowing playmakers David Silva and Kevin De Bruyne to roam, picking passes to the pacy trio of Leroy Sane, Raheem Sterling and of course, Sergio Aguero. This has the tendency of overwhelming the double pivot of the 4-2-3-1, as shown in the 5-3 victory over Monaco in the Champions League.
So how do Arsenal respond to this? Although at home, the notion of playing two destroyers to combat the City playmakers may yield success – on the other hand, a player like Aaron Ramsey, when he keeps his discipline, can be a useful asset tracking runners into the area. It’s likely that Wenger will pair either Ramsey or Francis Coquelin with Grant Xhaka, depending on fitness and training performances.
Offensively, Arsenal may look to take advantage of the immobile Yaya Toure by giving Mesut Ozil his usual free number ten role – off the ball, Ozil’s movement could give the Ivorian a hard time, opening space up for Arsenal’s attack. We could also see a ‘three striker’ formation for the Gunners, with ‘wide strikers’ Danny Welbeck and Theo Walcott flanking Alexis Sanchez. With a weak Manchester City defence, outscoring City may be Arsenal’s best chance of success.
My recommended lineup:
Ospina; Bellerin, Mustafi, Koscielny, Gibbs; Xhaka, Ramsey; Welbeck, Ozil, Walcott; Alexis
