Arsenal: So… you really don’t want wingbacks?

Arsenal’s best possible formation is still up for interpretation, but after Huddersfield Town, are we sure we don’t want to bank on wingbacks?

Arsenal‘s win over Huddersfield had some things we might not have expected – namely, that the central midfield looked dull compared to the strength out wide. And this was with Alex Iwobi and Henrikh Mkhitaryan as the wingers.

But, while the wingers were strong, it was the wingbacks that won the match. Literally. With their powers combined, they notched five chances total, two for Sead Kolasinac and three for Ainsley Maitland-Niles. The rest of the team created two total. The entire team created four total against Manchester City.

Put in the wingbacks, they create five chances in a hectic match that actually proved to be quite difficult.

This season, many fans have been less than enthused about the option of a back three. Most likely, that originates from not trusting the defense enough. Why put three defenders out there when it doesn’t help them defend better than having two?

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And that makes sense. But in a season where the primary concern has been creating chances, doesn’t it make sense that our best chance creation set-up should be given more respect for what they do?

Consider this: One of the seemingly “obvious” principles of succeeding is playing your best players at their best positions. Seems a simple enough concept, right? But with Arsenal, it rarely ever is because of injuries and the overabundance of certain positions, like central attacking midfielders.

Well, there is no doubting that Sead Kolasinac and Ainsley Maitland-Niles, while certainly not two of our best players on paper, are fantastic wingbacks that changet he game when utilized in such a role. So wouldn’t it be the next best thing, since our attacking midfield can’t get their act together, to start these two at their best possible positions and let come what may?

Huddersfield is the best example of what they can do in the absence of another attacking force, but they have shown it before. And yes, you have to make certain concessions to even have wingbacks, for instance you have to dial your midfield back and rely on your centerbacks more, but again, if the problem is creating chances, and this is proving a solution, then is it such a bad thing to bank on?

At the very least, it deserves to be in the conversation of options moving forward.