Premier League: Arsenal vs Sheffield United - a few positives

Matchweek 31: Sheffield United vs Arsenal. The Gunners looked to rest players in the midst of our upcoming Europa League tie against Slavia Praha on Friday (or Thursday, depends where you live), as the results of this Premier League season deem it unnecessary to still try and push towards one of those patented Top 6 places. Here are some positives to take out of our 3-0 victory.

The win

Yes, I know this one is obvious, but a win here was more important than some people may have thought. Although our chances of making European football through the Premier League are extremely slim at this stage, this win was vital to regain confidence.

Coming off the back of a poor home leg against Slavia Praha, Arsenal left a lot of questions unanswered. This was an opportunity to regain confidence for a lot of players – one of those being Lacazette. He missed by far the best opportunity of the game last week but was able to steady himself with a brace today.

This game also let us experiment. Sheffield United and Slavia Praha are in some ways quite similar. Both teams don’t really pose much of an attacking threat to the Arsenal backline. This allowed Arteta to test different methods against Sheffield in order to find a way to break Slavia down, such as the 3-5-2 formation used.

3-5-2 formation

Arteta experimented with a new formation and in a way, a new play style at Bramall Lane: the 3-5-2. This formation consisted of Arsenal’s 3 CBs being Chambers, Holding and Mari (having rested Gabriel), with Pepe and Saka as wide midfielders and Martinelli with Lacazette up top (Aubameyang out to sickness).

This worked brilliantly.

The idea of Bukayo Saka coming back to a more defensive role could be a pivotal point in the performance of this Arsenal squad. Saka, who came off just before the 70th minute after colliding with Brewster, was the third highest assist provider in the Premier League in a very lack lustre 2019/2020 season. Losing out to only Kevin De Bruyne (1st) and Trent Alexander-Aarnold (2nd), the Hale End graduate played out of left back and managed to create effective chances in an Arsenal attack that were crying out for a spark. Saka returning to a more defensive position in RM, where he would have to work back into a somewhat 5 back formation, but also transition forward in offense could see him return to his previous deadly form. The LM position would also suit Kieran Tierney in the same way, as it caters to both his defensive and offensive prowess, given the stamina that he possesses.

The play style that Arsenal were able to adapt was also much more efficient. It allowed us to move the ball around the pitch well and release our attackers in behind with through balls. What was most encouraging was the lack of aerial crosses being sent in to a 5’9 target man alone in the box.

Finally, the two strikers instead of one produced a considerable increase in the amount of harm the attack was able to cause. This formation worked brilliantly with Martinelli and Lacazette up front being complimented by Saka and Pepe out wide, however it leaves the opportunity to finally play Aubameyang and Lacazette together in the middle. Not to discount him, Martinelli did a stunning job and helped the striker pair finish all 3 goals.

Gabriel Martinelli

I touched on this slightly before, but to see Gabriel Martinelli starting a game in an Arsenal shirt, or even getting sufficient minutes again, was a breath of fresh air. The introduction of the Brazilian around Christmas time sparked a change in the Arsenal side and shocked them out of their horrid form.

Martinelli did not have such a sizeable impact this time around, but boy was it enjoyable to watch him play. He gives 100% every time he walks onto the pitch – not to say others don’t – but if there is a loose ball to chase, 50-50 to be won, defender to be pressured, attacking run to be made (you get the idea), he is there straight away: his work rates are amazing.

Now although his goal was a rebound tap-in from short range, the runs he made that resulted in shots on goal were top class. I want to see him in the line-up against Slavia. If Saka is still hurt, I want him at LM and Pepe at RM. If Aubameyang is still sick, I want him at ST next to Lacazette again.

Clean sheet

This was Arsenal’s first clean sheet in 14 games. Surprisingly, it was achieved through a defence consisting of Chambers, Holding and Mari. Notably, Sheffield United is not the most offensively-inclined team, however, it was a terrific result to again build confidence in the Arsenal backline.

A set-up and performance like this against Slavia Praha would be well encouraged by myself and would surely see us through to the Europa League semi-finals.