Arsenal Vs West Ham United: 5 things we learned – Hint of the future?

4. Key tactical nuance to the full-backs

When Arsenal play with a four-at-the-back, they have traditionally struggled against the counter-attack. There are many reasons for this. But one predominant issue has been the positioning of the full-backs. They play more like wing-backs, recklessly bombing forwards without much care and attention to the team’s defensive shape and structure. No coincidence, then, that Arsenal were much more secure against fast breaks when Wenger switched to a 3-4-3.

That was my main trepidation of the return to a back-four: Would Wenger also allow his players to play with same attacking naivety as has been the case for many, many years? Well, on Tuesday night, I got a somewhat encouraging answer.

Most of the time, whenever Mathieu Debuchy or Sead Kolasinac would make an overlapping run into attacking areas, the other would play in a more conservative position, readying themselves if possession was lost. It was an important and distinctive change from years gone by. Obviously, this is only one game. Tactical changes need a few games to establish themselves. But this is something that I will be watching closely for in the coming weeks.