Arsenal: Finding an answer to midfield dilemma among key priorities for Mikel Arteta during break | OneFootball

Arteta facing a crunch few weeks as Gunners seek to get their season back on track

During the first part of this season, Mikel Arteta has felt more like a mechanic than a manager.

This November international break is, perhaps, ideally timed then given Arsenal’s struggles.

It gives the Gunners a chance to reset before they try to close the nine-point gap to League leaders Liverpool.

Arteta has said he plans to spend most of the break “praying” all his player return fit.

Here, Standard Sport assesses what else he has to ponder over the next few weeks...

Fix the left flank

Even with Arsenal’s struggles, Bukayo Saka has excelled.

The winger has seven assists to his name so far - and no one in the League can match that tally.

But it has been a different story on the other flank, where Gabriel Martinelli and Leandro Trossard have struggled for form.

Both players have performed well in patches, with Martinelli scoring three League goals and Trossard chipping in with two, but they have lacked Saka’s consistency.

Gabriel Martinelli has played well in patches this season but has managed only three Premier League goals

Arsenal FC via Getty Images

It is in stark contrast to the back end of last season, when Trossard finished the campaign as arguably Arsenal’s most in-form player by scoring six goals in his final 10 games.

Martinelli and Trossard have felt the effect of Arsenal’s injury issues.

The absence of Martin Odegaard saw the Gunners shift to a 4-4-2 formation, with neither player having the influence they usually do.

Arsenal have also lacked consistency at left-back. Jurrien Timber and Riccardo Calafiori have predominantly shared the role, but nothing is settled there yet and that has had a knock-on effect in how the left flank functions higher up the pitch.

Rediscover their defensive steel

In Arsenal’s search for a creative spark, it has almost gone under the radar just how much their defence has faltered.

The Gunners kept three clean sheets in their opening four League games, but since keeping Tottenham out on September 15 they have failed to manage another one.

The impact of that has been felt by Arsenal dropping eight points from winning positions.

That is as many as they managed in the whole of the 2022-23 campaign - and just one fewer than last season.

Riccardo Calaifori is nearing a return from a knee injury picked up last month.

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Injuries have, undoubtedly, taken their toll. Arteta has named seven different back-fours during the first 11 League games. Arsenal have great depth at the back, but even so the level of forced changes has proved too great.

The defence that started at Chelsea on Sunday was arguably Arsenal’s preferred back four, but Mikel Arteta may not be able to field that foursome again in 2024 with Ben White having gone under the knife.

Jurrien Timber is a capable understudy at right-back, while Riccardo Calaifori is nearing a return from a knee injury picked up last month and can step on the left.

A settled backline should help the Gunners recreate the formidable defence that was such a key part of their title charge last season.

Settle on a preferred midfield

Odegaard’s absence has forced Arteta to get creative, with the Spaniard’s solution making Arsenal play in a 4-4-2 formation.

It proved successful early on, especially in a 1-0 win at Spurs, but on other occasions it has struggled.

The midfield in that system has essentially worked in a four-man box shape, with Declan Rice and Thomas Partey usually at the base of it, and Kai Havertz and Trossard ahead of them.

Mikel Arteta will have to decide who operates at the base of midfield if Mikel Merino plays as a No8 alongside fit-again Martin Odegaard

AP

Odegaard’s comeback means Arsenal can return to a midfield trio and they need some consistency there.

New signing Mikel Merino has struggled but he should benefit from playing alongside Odegaard, who he did so for a whole season when the Norwegian was on loan at Real Sociedad in 2019-20.

Arteta will have to decide who operates at the base of midfield if Merino is to play as a No8 alongside Odegaard.

Partey has been in fine form this season, but it may well be that Rice assumes that role now.