Unai Emery is open to the possibility of playing a three-man defence to thwart Leicester City at the King Power Stadium.
Arsenal reverted to the system away at Vitoria in the Europa League but could only manage a draw. That was the first time the Spaniard decided to use a back three this season having only used a back four beforehand.
The Gunners head to Leicester six points behind both the Foxes and fourth-placed Chelsea so shutting them out will be vital in maintaining a top four challenge.
“There is a possibility that we can start with three but if not we can also use it during the match,” Emery said.
“Above all the most important thing is our mentality and to go there thinking ‘We are Arsenal’ and to go there with confidence.
“Tactically, the players are able to use different systems. This does not change our idea on how we can impose our style on the pitch.”
Imposing their style on the pitch is something Arsenal have struggled with all season. Although Emery solely used a back four before the trip to Vitoria, how he set the team up further upfield has varied.
He has used systems that favour wingers and No.10.s while also using formations that do the opposite. In Arsenal’s last Premier League match against Wolves, he used a midfield diamond which gave Arsenal no width.
Instead, he tried to channel the Gunners’ attacks through the centre of the pitch. This didn’t work too well and against Vitoria, he opted to use a three-man defence with wing backs supplying width.
Despite this, Emery’s side have played well in a back three before. In the 2018/19 Premier League season, he used this setup 13 times and in those games Arsenal’s win ratio grew from 51% to 62% when using a four-man defence. Facing a Leicester side that can punish teams as effectively from wide areas as they can in the central areas of the pitch, having an extra defender on the pitch might not hurt.
“Last year we played with three centre-backs and had really good performances at times,” Emery added.
“We had good performances with two centre-backs also. This year, we only used three centre-backs in pre-season because I was thinking about using these two options this season.
“On Wednesday we used it and offensively had a good performance and against Leicester I am going to manage that.”
Returning to Premier League action, David Luiz’s selection is more likely. Having the Brazilian at his disposal, Emery has a ready-made distributor in the middle of the defence.
Using three centre-backs will bring more stability, but it will also open doors for Arsenal when building attacks. When Luiz arrived at the club, Arsenal playing in a back three seemed like a given. Growing up in Brazil, the 32-year-old was coached to play as the central figure in a back three. This was off the back of the success the 2002 World Cup-winning Brazil side had with that formation.
Since then, Luiz has flourished most when in that system. Driving Chelsea to the Premier League title in the 2016/17 season by hitting passes into his wing-backs’ paths in a 3-4-3 under Antonio Conte, he stormed into the PFA Team of the Year.
Unable to retain a lead in his last four games and in desperate need to improve performances, Emery may decide to change things against Leicester.
“They (the squad) are aware we are not having good performances,” he said.
“When we played at home, we didn’t lose but we didn’t impose our ideas as I wanted and how I want for the next matches.
“But it’s one process we need to do because some circumstances didn’t help us. I know and they know we can do better and we are going to work to achieve that and Leicester is a very good opportunity.
“Above all, we need the emotional balance to achieve this and for every player to play with all the confidence they can and then use their quality.”
