Posted by Premier League Matchday 31
Mired in their worst run of form since the Unai Emery era, Arsenal travelled to Southampton desperately needing a win. Injuries, suspensions, and internal discipline saw Arsenal make four changes to the one that lost to Brighton, altering their tactics to take advantage of wide areas and play more direct football. Among the changes: Eddie Nketiah preferred to Alexandre Lacazette, and Granit Xhaka returning from an ankle issue to take up his usual place in midfield.
What wasn’t usual was Arsenal’s setup. Mikel Arteta opted against his preferred 4-3-3 / 4-2-3-1 in favor of a hybrid 3-4-3 / 5-3-2.
Kieran Tierney tucked infield as the third CB, and Hector Bellerin / Bukayo Saka played more wingback than fullback. Given Arteta’s history, I think most expected Saka to play on the left of a midfield three when the teams were announced.
But buoyed by the protection of Tierney behind him, Saka looked to push high every chance he got:
Without the ball, Saka and Bellerin dropped into the defensive line to form a block of five, with Pépé, and less often Aubameyang, retreating to support Xhaka and Ceballos in midfield:
Substitutions:
Joe Willock ➡️ (64′) ⬅️ Nicolas Pépé
Sead Kolasinac ➡️ (70′) ⬅️ 🚑 Kieran Tierney
Alexandre Lacazette ➡️ (79′) ⬅️ Eddie Nketiah
Ainsley Maitland-Niles ➡️ (80′) ⬅️ Dani Ceballos
Tactical Analysis
First Half — Arsenal on Top
Arsenal beat West Ham 1-0 on March 7, 110 days ago and a week before all hell broke loose. Since returning to action the Gunners have lost twice, a no-shame 3-0 defeat to Manchester City and a plenty-of-shame 2-1 loss to Brighton on Saturday. It’s not outrageous to say that Arsenal needed a change.
But moving to a 3-4-3 was a drastic one, something Arteta had only ever used as a Plan B.
Early on, it looked a masterstroke as Plan A. Less than eight minutes into the game Arsenal created their first chance, a well worked combination down the left that saw Saka and Aubameyang interchanging to pull the Southampton RB (Yan Valery) out of position.
Saka makes his run a beat early, and Xhaka delays the pass a beat too long, wasting the chance. But warning signs abound.
Two minutes later, the warning signs turned into a full blown alarm. Saka’s advanced positioning baited Valery to press high, leaving Aubameyang 1v1 with the RCB. Nketiah occupied the LCB, and Pépé stayed high enough on the right to prevent the LB from moving inside and allowing everyone else to shift over.
One pass from Tierney and Aubameyang is through on goal. He should score.
Second Half —Southampton Change Tactics
The Gunners spent much of the second half on the back foot, certainly the first portion of it, as Southampton pushed their 4-2-2-2 higher up the pitch and stopped giving Tierney, Holding, and Mustafi time on the ball. Fifteen minutes into the half, possession stats looked like this:
Make no mistake, Southampton pressed like mad for more than 40 minutes. But Arsenal did themselves no favors by failing to get out of their own way—sometimes literally. Here’s a good example, from the beginning of the second half:
Tierney has just recovered the ball for Arsenal and already Southampton are swarming. Four players surround the him. Two of them attack. Meanwhile, Ceballos is standing unmarked in the center of the field, dying to receive, turn, and open up Arsenal down the right.
Instead, Tierney panics, turning back towards his own goal before belatedly trying to squeeze the ball into Aubameyang off-screen. It’s predictably cut out.
The introduction of Shane Long saw a more disciplined Southampton press as well, with the Saints taking away easy options and forcing Arsenal to play within tight spaces. Bellerin hasn’t been good at that for 18 months. He certainly wasn’t in this game.
There’s virtually no difference in Southampton’s behind-the-ball defending in this snippet compared to the first half sequence where Aubameyang hits the crossbar, but there’s a marked change in their on-ball strategy.
Even under ideal conditions Arsenal defenders struggle to complete passes. Southampton made them sweat a little, and the results were predictable.
Tactical Analysis — Issues in Midfield
Arsenal weren’t getting much help from midfield either. You can see their spacing issues here:
Arsenal have had a left-sided bias all season—this game was no different—but for large stretches of the second half they did so inside their own end rather than pushed up the field. Southampton can defend them with just two. They probably only needed one.
After overlapping consistently in the first half, Saka played closer to Tierney in the second. Was he instructed to do so? Tired? Subconsciously trying to defend Arsenal’s one goal lead? Whatever the reason, the Gunners couldn’t get out.
Arsenal still haven’t put together a 90-minute performance under Arteta, showing just how far they fell in the two years since Arsene Wenger left. Are they better than they were under Unai Emery? I don’t think there’s any doubt. Are they where they should be, given the current resources and history of the club? Almost certainly not.
What does it mean for Norwich City?
Arsenal travel to Sheffield for an FA Cup quarterfinal between now and then, and it wouldn’t be Arsenal if they didn’t start playing well after being all but eliminated from Champions League contention.
The 3-4-3 formation looks to suit the team better than anything with a back four, and in a game where Arsenal should dominate the ball with or without three in midfield I wouldn’t be surprised to see it again.
Norwich have an FA Cup quarterfinal of their own, but need to start picking up points now if they’re to make up the six points between their current position in the table and safety. The game will likely mean more to them than Arsenal, but the gulf in talent should be enough to get Arsenal over the line.
Arsenal 2 – 1 Norwich City
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