Arsenal vs Chelsea: Bring back the dynamic midfield duo

Arsenal have another high-intensity match-up on the cards, and they’ll want every advantage they can get. That can be established with the dynamic duo.

It’s derby time once again, as the heavyweights of London are ready to lock horns here at the Emirates on Saturday. The emotions will soar quite high, particularly for Arsenal, as the game can answer many unanswered questions about potential Champions League qualifications

The game will be highly poised, with Unai Emery raring to get his team into business again and clear the negative air which has groped the club lately. This may prove to be a do or die game for Arsenal as the top four chances are becoming slimmer every week. Hence it is time for Emery to go back to basics and deploy the duo of Granit Xhaka and Lucas Torreira once again.

The Christmas period once again proved to be a killer for this club, as injuries to quite a lot first team players caused unrest in the starting lineups. It was again players playing out of position that proved to be quite unsuccessful for Unai Emery and the revolution hit a block.

The heart behind the 22-game unbeaten run was separated and Xhaka was forced to play out of position to fill in the voids. The building of the play from the back was missing as all of the burden of creation was left to Torreira and the teenager Matteo Guendouzi. Guendouzi has showed promising signs but his lack of experience has proved quite a bit itchy in the recent games.

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The duo proved to be perfect for each other as Torreira was the one who sat at the heart of the defense with Xhaka complementing him with his creation from the back.

And there’s no denying that Xhaka looked a completely different player alongside Torreira if we ignore the occasional mistake. Torreira on the other hand, was so beautifully shutting down the opposition that fans believed we had found the new heir to the legendary Patrice Vieira.

The duo was flourishing, and everything was going just right when the injury crisis led to a change in the formation from a 4-2-3-1 to a 3-4-3, and the after effects were heartbreaking.

Nonetheless, what’s gone is gone and there’s still everything to play for. The injured players are slowly and steadily getting their feet back and it’s time for the dynamic duo to return to the Arsenal midfield.

It’s time to go back to a 4-2-3-1 and keep things simple. The race for the top four isn’t finished yet and three points on Saturday can make a big statement to the top four challenge. COYG.