Arsenal Vs Spurs: Who knows how Unai Emery will setup

Arsenal face Spurs on Saturday in one of the biggest matches of the season. Given the number of options at his disposal with several burgeoning performers and tactical varieties, trying to predict what Unai Emery will do is futile.

Arsenal dispatched Bournemouth on Wednesday night in an exhilarating attacking performance, while also using a different formation to that which dominated Southampton just three days prior. With a crucial game against Tottenham Hotspur coming up on Saturday, the tactical flexibility of Unai Emery makes it almost impossible to make a guess at how he will set up.

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Arsenal’s fixture against Spurs on Saturday is one of the most significant derbies in recent history. A win, and the Gunners are suddenly in the race for third place, something that seemed totally inconceivable just a week ago. Lose though, and they are once again on the back foot in the race for the top four. Therefore, it is vital Emery gets his selection right.

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All season, the 3-5-2 or 3-4-3 has left Arsenal lacking control in the middle of the park thanks to having only two central midfielders. But in an away game against a dangerous if slightly out-of-form Spurs team, perhaps the defensive solidity and ability to break with wing-backs could be effective. Having said that, the 4-4-2 diamond yielded excellent performances in both the win over Chelsea and the second-half demolition of Spurs last calendar year.

The return to fitness, form and favour of Mesut Ozil throws up further intrigue and, while Ozil has floundered in numerous big games in the past, the temptation to start him while he is in such glittering form might be too much to deny.

Truth be told, no one should try and predict what Emery will do. Based on his post-match comments, he too is unsure. After Wednesday’s game, he said:

"“I am going to watch this match for the analysis and I am going to watch Tottenham and after decide our game-plan against them with every player.”"

This tells me that, basically, anything is possible. Emery is the master of tactical flexibility and his willingness to change setup game to game is a far cry from the stubbornness of Arsene Wenger. If I had to make a call, I would probably stick with a 4-4-2 diamond that allows Ramsey to roam free and cause havoc in his last game against Spurs.

This would also mean that Matteo Guendouzi, Granit Xhaka and Lucas Torreira could be tasked with disrupting Christian Eriksen and monitoring Harry Kane as he looks to drift deep. But this formation would lack width and means leaving the recently excellent Henrikh Mkhitaryan on the bench.

It really is a puzzle that as fans we are unable to solve. We can only hope Emery and his team are fully prepared and ready to implement whatever system he decides on.