Posted by Lineups
Arsenal lined up in a 3-4-3 for the third game in a row, with considerable squad rotation that saw Bukayo Saka rested and Reiss Nelson start for the first time since December. Aubameyang returned to his usual position on the left, and for the second game in a row Kolasinac played as part of a three man defense.
In midfield, Ceballos and Xhaka took up their usual places, this time with clear 6 (Xhaka) and 8 (Ceballos) responsibilities. What a difference nine months makes.
Lacazette led the line, although “lead” probably isn’t the right word. His average field position was lower than both Nelson and Aubameyang, and about even with Ceballos:
Tactical Analysis
Overloads in Wide Areas
Overloading the wings was the plan-A, and it worked to perfection early on. Tierney and Bellerin positioned themselves HIGH high, giving Aubameyang and Nelson freedom to play inside.
Arsenal looked more like a a 3-2-5 than a 3-4-3:
Their advanced positions caused trouble for the Norwich back four, forcing the left-mid (Cantwell) to retreat repeatedly. At times, he looked like part of a five-man defense, which nullified his creativity and all but eliminated his attacking contributions.
On the other side, the right-mid (Buendia) wasn’t as disciplined, preferring to cheat high in an effort to catch Arsenal on the counter. Instead, his failure to track back meant Norwich were constantly caught out by balls over the top down his side. Here’s an example from the 17th minute:
Tierney’s advanced positioning allows Aubameyang to move inside. He’s in full flight running across the face of the Norwich defense here, where the Norwich RB (Aarons) has no choice but to run with him. This leaves Tierney free to receive the ball in acres of space. Arsenal create half a chance out of it:
The Gunners create more than half a chance 20 minutes later, on nearly the same move. Luiz picks up the ball just outside his own box, then sends a 50+ yard pass over the top of the Norwich midfield. Look where Buendia is as the ball’s in the air:
With Buendia erased, Aarons is forced to break rank and press up on Tierney. Doing so leaves space for Aubameyang to exploit, and from there it’s a parade of late-arriving defenders. Arsenal need to complete only three passes from Luiz on the edge of his own box, to Xhaka inside the Norwich one. Too easy.
Lacazette as a False-9
Attacking the wide areas made sense given the numerical advantage Norwich had in midfield, but Arsenal still had to get to the offensive third. And because of the advanced positioning of Tierney and Bellerin, Arsenal were forced to get creative to work out how to do so. Cue Lacazette.
His struggles in front of goal are well-documented—he probably should have scored twice in this game and didn’t—but his willingness to check into deep-lying pockets allowed Arsenal to play possession-oriented football despite being outnumbered in midfield.
Here’s an example from the 15th minute:
That looks like three midfielders to me, and on replay you can see the LCB (Tettey) go through a moment of indecision, unsure whether to chase Lacazette into midfield or pass him off and cover the darting Nelson.
Less than five minutes later, Arsenal nearly turn that indecision (and an overload down the right) into a goal, with Nelson attacking the half space inside the box:
Lacazette was just as willing to check into midfield in the Arsenal end too:
Could Bellerin have dropped underneath to receive the ball directly from Mustafi? Probably. But doing so would have robbed Arsenal of the attacking threat created by positioning Tierney and Bellerin so high. Lacazette allows them to do so.
Second Half Adjustments
Norwich made three halftime changes, altering their shape to match Arsenal’s back three, and more importantly, the Gunners’ numbers on the wings.
The change in shape worked as intended: Instead of Tierney and Bellerin bombing up the wings (or more accurately, setting up camp there), Arsenal’s two wide players spent the first 15 minutes holding back.
It’s unclear whether this is a tactical decision by Arteta, given the Gunners’ two goal lead, or Arsenal taking their foot off the gas. Xhaka’s demonstrations seem to indicate the latter.
Arsenal Change Formation: 3-1-4-2
Arteta’s response: Bringing Joe Willock on for Nelson at 58 minutes. Willock’s introduction saw Arsenal move to two forwards in a 3-1-4-2, adding an extra body officially to a midfield that had struggled to gain a foothold since the start of the half.
Here’s what it looked like:
Tierney and Bellerin were back to operating high, and after Norwich outpossessed Arsenal 65 to 35 percent in the opening 13 minutes of the half, Arsenal won the possession battle 51 to 49 percent the rest of the way:
Looking Ahead – What Does it Mean for Wolves?
A back three, surely.
After a nightmare restart, Arsenal have won three games in a row using a 3-4-3. The trouble: Wolves have played with three at the back all year, and currently sit six points and two places above Arsenal in the table using it. They know what they’re doing.
The two sides played to a 1-1 draw last November, less than a month before Unai Emery was sacked. A lot has changed since then.
Bukayo Saka looks certain to come back into the side, and probably Nicolas Pépé too. I wouldn’t expect many more changes to the lineup.
Arsenal are six points back of Manchester United—and a Champions League place, if Manchester City’s ban is upheld. But with only six games to play, they’ll likely have to win them all to have a chance at qualifying.
The more likely scenario is a Europa League place. And after what’s happened this year, I’d gladly take it.
Prediction: Wolves 1 – 2 Arsenal
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