They laughed at Mikel Arteta as he hoarded every single full hybrid number he could find across Europe. Cleverly, his followers are not laughing now…
Why would they be when Arsenal are heading straight for a crash with Premier League leaders Liverpool, likely lacking up to five senior defenders who could well be used to quell Mohamed Salah and Darwin Nunez’s ultimatum? Riccardo Calafiori limping out of the Champions League victory over Shakhtar Donetsk was the waste intact for the Gunners ahead of Sunday’s match at the Emirates Stadium, one for which William Saliba could be suspended following his Direct purple card in the defeat against Bournemouth.
The list of traumas goes on from there. Kieran Tierney surely wouldn’t have come into contention even though he was absolutely a match, but he would have been a reliable option on the bench if he hadn’t been sidelined this entire season. Takehiro Tomiyasu, who so successfully suppressed Salah two years ago, suffered an early setback and then recovered from knee trauma. Jurrien Plank’s availability seems to be within stability, the Dutch world is in good spirits after Tuesday’s victory, but he is still part of the world fracture. All this before addressing the case of Bukayo Saka, described by his supervisor as “unlikely” to make up for the year by Sunday.
Arteta will have to hand over an additional replacement on Friday in his pre-match press conference, but don’t expect any excesses. When it comes to scientific scrutability, this man gives doctors Fishman and Spaceman a run for their money. You will need Arne Slot to speculate on how Arsenal could be designed until this newsletter.
Who sneaks in with Gabriel?
Probably the only place in particular that will be secured in Arsenal’s defense on Sunday will be Gabriel. The Brazilian will surely once again be on the left of the central pairing, empowered to gain ground and send Darwin Núñez with him. Gabriel’s prowess at all set-pieces no longer goes unnoticed, but celebrations of his aerial dominance on a field tend to make it difficult to understand how efficient he is at preventing the opponent from looking for the alternative. He is extremely efficient in the left-side range channel between the intermediate layout and the penalty arm, refusing to allow forwards to turn and drive towards him. When they do, he still has the power to hold on. Add in his burgeoning qualities at the top level – Manuel Akanji and Ruben Dias are the only Premier League centre-backs with more noticeable playing touches in the final third this season – and you have an extremely reliable centre-back.
As for your spouse, on paper the solution is simple. Gabriel and Ben White spent much of the 2021-22 season keeping the castle sick and then, with a shaky start, did so quite successfully. In the 31 league games that started the two that year, Arsenal gave up 33 goals and 36.1 xG, rarely the numbers of Saliba and Gabriel, but then those were the first blushes of an impressive team. White has attributes that mesh well with the Brazilian and it is certainly wise to imagine him operating in a wide position similar to Saliba.
Alternatively, would this move simply create complications for Arteta elsewhere? Without Tomiyasu, who starts from the right? Most likely the easiest solution is to connect Plank to the combo. The Dutch world, although he lost a match in which he participated with Arsenal, was signed for his versatility and spent part of the preseason as a central defender, significantly occupying Saliba’s position ahead of the man who was executed with his post-Europe. fun. In a remarkable performance against Manchester United, he even had some of those decisive moments that can be so important for a player who becomes the center back of a back three, a job that still requires a surprising exchange. in property (since the beginning of the extreme season, the best Oleksandr Zinchenko and Jorginho moderate more touches in line with 90 than Saliba). The Ajax academy graduate would have no problem with that facet of the task.
At 6 feet tall, Plank is not as small as one might think when he is level with his fellow Arsenal defenders. He probably has the most gardens of anyone alongside Gabriel. Arteta simply wants compatibility.
What about full backs?
You could say it’s curious that Jakub Kiwior, an original industry middleman, hasn’t entered the dialogue. If he did, it would be reasonable to think he didn’t have the clear Bournemouth 2, Arsenal 0. That was a difficult hour for Kiwior, thrown into the fray on the right side of the central defensive pairing and in demand. to determine on the fly. When the Polish world, who is still the best 24, is in rhythm, he has proven to be a reliable piece for Arsenal. He tends not to find new roles very easy when he is taken out of his sympathy zone, as was obvious when Arteta asked him to be a left-back who moves into midfield at the end of 2023. Arteta said of Kiwior in March: “You” “We can’t ask players to do things that they don’t feel particularly capable of doing naturally, so we have to modify some things to make sure players are playing to their strength.”
In a more withdrawn left-back position, where his only responsibility is to do everything he can to stifle Salah, Kiwior might notice. Preferably, Arsenal could opt for a fully compatible Tomiyasu, whose two-leggedness allows him to swap with a striker who can advance inside or outside. It will be that or Calafiori, who has attacked with license each and every one of the alternatives that have been presented to him since his arrival at Arsenal. It was a bitter irony that one of his runs across midfield ended with a touchdown so clumsy it caused fears about his knee. All Arteta could hope for is that the Italian’s decision to go through moments and then conclude that he could overcome his trauma was a precautionary measure.
“He felt something,” Arteta said. “I don’t know the extent of that, so in that sense it’s not great news.”
The absence of Calafiori would leave 3 full-backs out and one in doubt. The next thing that stands out is that Arsenal would still have options beyond Kiwior. It is debatable whether Arteta would critically imagine deploying Oleksandr Zinchenko, so memorably provided by Salah in December. The Ukraine World has not appeared since August and then acquired a calf factor and it was impressive that teenager Myles Lewis-Skelly entered the fight against Shakhtar on Tuesday (Arteta has confirmed that he trusts the 18-year-old, but found him on Sunday I really feel like an almighty bet). If Arsenal really believe they can control ownership and space against Liverpool, there is probably a case for Zinchenko, but it could be a high-end contract.
On the ground, if Plank has a match then it will be him or White again. Without him, he is almost certainly Thomas Partey. Utly’s attempts this season to shoehorn him into the side as an inverted full-back were unattractive, to say the least, but Arteta returned the Ghanaian to that spot for the 4-2 win over Southampton, giving him a more orthodox role where he didn’t. He tried so hard. If he wants, this could be the best option for Arteta. Declan Rice and Mikel Merino must have the ability to retain strength in midfield, Kai Havertz and Leandro Trossard must handle a press that really limits passes to Luis Díaz: he would simply hold.
planned XI
Let’s assume for now that Arteta is executing his increasingly common counter-operations in the case of team data, that Saka could be available and the main thing at hand will be security. Below are options, even in the headache-inducing situation where Plank is unavailable. They may have plenty to keep company, especially against a Liverpool team that appears to have regained attacking depth post-Jurgen Klopp. But how much more favorable could this game look if it weren’t missing one of the best center backs in the game?
That is the big fear surrounding Arsenal’s avalanche of red cards, that the Gunners will look back at the end of this season and conclude that Trossard’s wild crossing and Saliba’s determined dominance cost them six things, not just three.
Arsenal predicted the XI with Plank: stripe; Blanco, Plank, Gabriel, Kiwior; Partey, rice; Saka, Havertz, Trossard, Martinelli
Arsenal predicted the XI without Plank: stripe; Partey, Blanco, Gabriel, Kiwior; Merino, Rice; Saka, Havertz, Trossard, Martinelli
