Arsenal: Shkodran Mustafi Absence Shed Too Many Lights

Arsenal were without Shkodran Mustafi against Middlesbrough, and this brief absence shown some unpleasant lights on the defense.

What a day to run with three at the back. Arsene Wenger finally made a big change for Arsenal and went with a formation that requires defensive concentration and aptitude and it just so happened to be the day that Shkodran Mustafi missed out with a thigh injury.

Three at the back is an adjustment. Communication has to be pristine and the roles need to be understood and clearly defined. Most importantly, those three have to be on top of their game.

Against Middlesbrough, the results were a bit mixed and a lot of that can be pinned on Mustafi’s absence.

It was clear what each defender’s role was. Gabriel was given freedom to get forward, as was Rob Holding, but the former used it far more than the latter. Meanwhile, Laurent Koscielny was the center anchor who rarely moved forward.

This was already a skeptical set up. Gabriel has had his problems when he is used as the aggressive defender. He came into some superb form lately being the deep-lying central defender to Mustafi’s rover, but with the three back, he wasn’t used like that. It resulted in a sub-par day.

Koscielny, meanwhile, is another go-getter who does his best work when he is given some room to maneuver. He was not given that against Boro, as he was the anchor of that defense. It resulted in a pretty poor day.

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Then there was Rob Holding. The young Englishman was solid, but it’s clear he is not a mover. When he was called out of position, it was shaky. So long as he stayed deep, he was in control, calm and composed on the ball.

So while I love the three back set and I hope Wenger explores it more, I would hope that he would revisit who plays where. Because each center back wasn’t exactly in a place of strength. In fact, they seemed to be in the exact opposite.

Gabriel and Holding both excel when sitting deep and letting pressure come to them. Mustafi and Koscielny both excel when they are allowed to roam a bit. That back three has to take that into account, especially if the center anchor is the one who sits back and the outer two are the two that roam.

If that is to be the case, then having Gabriel or Holding as the central defender with Koscielny and Mustafi on either side would make far more sense. Either that or we are hoping to retool three defenders, all of whom have already locked down one specific way of playing.

Next: Arsenal's Potential Starting XI Under Max Allegri

The Gunners may have come out of this with three points, and that’s what matters, but they need Mustafi back to balance out that tripod.

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