Arsenal Vs Qarabag: Unai Emery has problems to solve

Unai Emery changed his system to a 3-4-3 in Arsenal’s win over FK Qarabag. He did so to solve the defensive problems that have surfaced this season. It didn’t work. He has some issues to settle, that is for sure.

It was the first time that Unai Emery had used a back three since he was hired to succeed Arsene Wenger in the summer. Emery is almost exclusively committed to a 4-3-3 formation that he has used throughout his career, extending all the way back to his time at Valencia. But he does also have tactical flexibility. And it was displayed here.

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The shift in formation was surprising. It hadn’t been reported or rumoured. He hadn’t used it at any part in the season prior to Thursday night’s 3-0 win over FK Qarabag. But, obviously, he had a plan in mind for the change.

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Emery never explicitly commented on his decision. But given Arsenal’s defensive struggles so far this season, even if they may have kept clean sheets in their past two Premier League matches, and given that this was an away match in Europe that requires more travel than any other team in the competition, I do believe that the extra defensive cover that comes from that third centre-half, as well as the potential to play a back-five at certain points in the match, was a key motivation for Emery.

And Emery did get precisely what he wanted: not just a victory, but also a clean sheet. This was very much a result-orientated match. Emery wanted to strengthen his stranglehold on the group with an away victory. He did. And with his record in this competition, I wholly trust his plan to navigate the early stages. But that does not mean that there were no problems from this performance.

Qarabag created far too many opportunities for this to be considered a stifling, solid defensive performance. 12 shots, four of which were on target, a string of decent saves from Bernd Leno, missed openings that were squandered with a poor final pass, a marginally offside goal just after half-time, and a persistent threat from wide areas. Arsenal had problems.

Such was the extent of these vulnerabilities, Emery switched back to a 4-3-3 formation at half-time. And when he made the change, he did not introduce an attacking midfielder. No, Lucas Torreira was introduced to pair Matteo Guendouzi and Mohamed Elneny to make a rather defensive central midfield triumvirate. Emery clearly understood that his team was struggling to contain Qarabag.

The good thing is that Emery has recognised the need for change and tried to offer inventive solutions to the defensive shortcomings of his team. I do not expect him to stop trying to solve these problems until they are indeed solved. He is meticulous and relentless. But a part of the problem on Thursday was the very system that he used, not just the players that were playing. Sometimes, the solution detracts.

Arsenal now travel to a dangerous Fulham team at the weekend. Then comes the international break. And then comes matches against Leicester City, Sporting Lisbon, Crystal Palace and Liverpool. If Emery has not solved the defensive problems by then, it could ugly quickly. He has some work to do.