Arsenal: Arsene Wenger must not get in his own way

Arsene Wenger has heavily hinted that he will continue to play a back-four. While in theory that is beneficial for Arsenal, he must not get in his own way in doing so.

Arsene Wenger is a stubborn and unwavering manager. He has a set of principles and he sticks to them. His philosophies influence every single aspect of the club, from what happens on the pitch, and in the dressing room to the atmosphere at the training facilities and the food that is cooked in the canteen. Arsenal football club has been dictated by Wenger for over two decades.

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One of his most traditional implementations has been the defensive base of a back-four. While many managers around him have continually shifted their tactics, adapting to the personnel that they have and the opposition that they face, Wenger has taken a straighter road.

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However, as last season drew to a close, Wenger shifted to a back-three system, adopting the 3-4-3 shape that Antonio Conte had installed at Chelsea to such great effect. Wenger stated that he made the change not just to alter the tactical approach of the team, but also to offer a distraction for his players from the troubles that were threatening to engulf the club. It was always expected that he would eventually revert back to a back-four. In recent weeks, he has done. And now he has revealed that it is likely to continue:

"“It’s possible, yes. Especially, I think we were mobile at the back, built the game up well and it gives us one more player to go forward. When you don’t score as much as you want, sometimes you look at every single thing and that is why I went for it.”"

I think that this Arsenal team is a better one with a back-four, not back-three. That is even truer once Shkodran Mustafi has returned from his injury, relieving Nacho Monreal of his traditional centre-half duties. But there is one issue: Wenger.

The benefit to playing a back-four instead of a back-three is that it allows a third central midfielder to start, providing a greater control and security through a more general command of the match. But Wenger does not use it that way. Instead, the two ‘full-backs’ are still as attacking as ‘wing-backs’, an extra attacker is introduced, rather than a midfielder, with still just the one anchorman in Granit Xhaka, and it leaves just two centre-halves defending against the counter-attack instead of three with the same amount of protection.

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In theory, a back four suits the personnel that Arsenal have. But in practice, it is a very different reality. And it’s because of Wenger. He gets in the way and it’s hurting his team.