Arsenal: Attacking straight-jacket could cause problems

Arsene Wenger has seemingly settled on his best Arsenal side, with Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Mesut Ozil fielded on either flank. However, the attacking straight-jacket that it provides could cause problems.

In the 5-1 aggregate win over AC Milan in the last-16 of the Europa League, it seems as though Arsene Wenger settled on something close his best Arsenal team. While the cup-tied Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and injured Alexandre Lacazette may have an argument for a starting role, it appeared as though Wenger’s mind was fairly set. This was his strongest team.

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It is a well-balanced team, composed of an experienced and athletic back-line, an equally-yoked midfield in which the legs of Jack Wilshere and Aaron Ramsey out-flank and protect the more lumbering Granit Xhaka, and a fluid, free-flowing front three, led by a channel-stretching, speedy centre-forward.

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From an offensive standpoint, there is only one concern that I have: the make-up of the two wingers. In this formation, it is Mesut Ozil and Henrikh Mkhitaryan who pervade the two flanks, with Ozil erred towards the right and Mkhitaryan the left. Now, they do not play the position like traditional wingers. Afforded the freedom to roam throughout the pitch, they used their centralised creativity to float into pockets of space in inside areas, looking to pick passes in behind the opposition the defence.

It is a role that both have the intelligence, the positional awareness, and the attacking flair to flourish in. They both possess outstanding vision, seeing the pitch extremely clearly, they often make the right decision when it comes to the timing and the direction of their delivery, and their technical proficiency is astounding. There is, though, one problem: They both play in the same inside-drifting manner.

By extension, their collective propensity to move into more central areas narrows the collective attacking play. Wenger usually asks his full backs to provide the width in the final third, which Nacho Monreal and Hector Bellerin are both perfectly capable of doing, but it can still lead to moments where all of Arsenal’s play is threaded through the eye of a crowded penalty area, rarely testing the wide channels.

The positional freedom that Ozil and Mkhitaryan are afforded is vital to the attacking threat that Arsenal pose. They need that unshackling to reach their creative potential. But they also require space, and with the pitch contracted in regards to its width, that space is very difficult to find. In fact, often times, it just doesn’t exist whatsoever.

The play becomes tight, congested, packed, and overly cute, very much like it has been placed in a straight-jacket. Arsenal try to wriggle free, but there simply isn’t the chance to do so without the space-creating presence of width.

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In the two games against Milan, the attack looked relatively sharp, creating chances and scoring goals. This is not an issue that has yet surfaced. It is merely a problem that could arise if Wenger and his players are not careful, and that they should be.