Gunners struggle to score again, escape with win vs Palace

Mikel Arteta has a difficult decision to make ahead of Arsenal’s clash with Fulham, and it may have ramifications on the Manchester United match.

In the first two games of the season, Arteta has used a new system in which Thomas Partey lines up at right back, before inverting to form a second holding midfielder next to Declan Rice. This means that Arteta can set the team up in his favoured 3-2-5 in possession.

There’s one problem though – it’s not really working.

Although the Gunners have scored three goals across two games (winning both), the attacking flow has suffered from Partey’s selection at right back. The two goals against Nottingham Forest came in the second phases of a set piece, whilst the winner against Crystal Palace came from the penalty spot.

We’ve lost our free-flowing edge in open play.

Many pundits have said that this new system is built to break down teams that sit in a defensive block. Last season, the way Arsenal broke this down was by creating 2v1s and 3v2s in wide areas. For example, if Saka was on the ball, he would have Ben White overlapping and Martin Odegaard presenting as another passing option, overloading the left side of the opposition’s defence. The defence then had to worry about Saka shooting, Saka dribbling, White getting the ball on the by-line and cutting it back, Odegaard getting the ball and shooting on his left or Odegaard finding a killer pass.

These overloads destroyed Premier League defenses last season. So why have we now gone away from it?

Against Palace, Partey’s position as a holding midfielder meant Saka would often get double teamed with no help, losing the ball or being forced backwards. Palace’s defence stayed narrower, meaning players like Havertz and Odegaard struggled to find pockets of space to work in. Arsenal were held to just three shots on target, and against the bigger teams, that won’t be good enough.

The solution seems simple. Move Ben White back to RB, get Gabriel in at CB next to Saliba and when he is fit, Zinchenko will take up his spot at LB to replicate the same back four that featured so often throughout last season.

For the meantime, Partey may miss out on starting, but it is not in vain. We get one of our best defenders back in the Starting XI in Gabriel and create much better mismatches in all areas of the pitch. If need be, Partey can come in for Havertz for matches where we will need to be more defensively sound.

Besides, when it comes to the football we were playing last season – if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.