Arsenal Vs Burnley: Time to experiment with front four

Arsenal host Burnley on Sunday afternoon with very little to play for other than say goodbye to Arsene Wenger. The time is now, then, to experiment with the front four.

While it would be nice to give Arsene Wenger the hearty goodbye that his remarkable 22-year tenure deserves, from a more logical and objective standpoint, there is only really next season for which Sunday’s home match against Burnley has any influence for Arsenal.

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Essentially, it comes down to the individual players trying to sell themselves to the new manager, whoever that may, and Wenger allowing them to further acclimatise to one another, something that is especially poignant given the profile of the two January additions earlier this season.

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When Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang arrived in North London in January, it wasn’t quite clear how Arsenal would line up. Even with Alexis Sanchez departing in the Mkhitaryan trade, there was still not really the room for the two players, at least at first glance. The primary reason for that was the presence of Mesut Ozil and Alexandre Lacazette, two players that not only play similar positions to Mkhitaryan and Aubameyang, but do so in a very comparable manner and style.

That first glance has seemingly been proven correct. There is yet to be one minute of action in which all four players have featured in the XI. Now, there are some reasons for this. Aubameyang could not play in any Europa League as he was cup-tied; Mkhitaryan could not play in the EFL Cup because of the same rule. Similarly, Lacazette missed two months with a knee injury and Mkhitaryan and Ozil have also missed time with a knee problem and various illnesses respectively.

Nevertheless, the point still stands: Arsenal have not for one minute played Mkhitaryan, Lacazette, Ozil and Aubameyang in the same team. So what better time to do so than when Burnley come to the Emirates this weekend?

This is a game that does not really matter, only to serve as a home goodbye to Wenger. There are no ramifications in regards to the position in the table — yes, Burnley could leapfrog into sixth, though there is little difference between seventh and sixth. The result simply does not matter. The only thing that matters is providing information for next season’s manager.

So why not provide the information on whether it is possible to squeeze these four attacking players into the same XI? It is one of the most pressing issues that the new manager will need to decide quickly over the summer and early next season. Surely, it makes sense for Wenger to give him as much evidence as possible.

Next: Arsenal Vs Burnley: Predicted starting XI

It is a shame that we have never seen these four players play alongside one another. It would certainly be a fascinating team to watch. Perhaps we will get that opportunity on Sunday. There is no better time than now.