Arsenal: 3-4-3 requires great midfielders

In recent weeks, Unai Emery has largely employed a 3-4-3 shape at Arsenal. On Sunday, the system was dismantled. The reason? It requires great central midfielders, something that Emery did not have available thanks to injury and suspension.

Under Antonio Conte, Chelsea waltzed to a Premier League title thanks to the brilliance and awkwardness of a 3-4-3 system that few opponents had the understanding and adjustments to deal with.

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The shape is perfectly designed to play on the counter-attack, with the two wide attackers allowed to feign defensive responsibility before exploding the other way, playing off a lone centre-forward, exploiting the space the opposition vacated when in possession.

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The key vulnerability of the system is central midfield. To protect both flanks and still free up the wide attackers, the numbers in the middle are depleted, with just two central midfielders often facing against three or even four opponents. Chelsea could handle this because of their central midfielders: N’Golo Kante and a prime Nemanja Matic were two of the best central midfielders in the world at the time, with Kante especially boasting the range to cover vast spaces despite the numerical disadvantage.

So when other teams tried to emulate Conte’s system, naturally given the success his Chelsea team enjoyed with it, they weren’t able to execute at the same high standard. The reason was obvious. Their central midfielders weren’t great, capable of doing the jobs of three players despite being just a pair. And that is the difficulty that Arsenal have encountered under Unai Emery this season, especially in Sunday’s 1-0 loss to Everton.

None of the central midfielders that Arsenal currently possess are as capable as Kante or a prime Matic. Aaron Ramsey is the only one that has the type of energy and dogged industry to cover the same ground as Kante, but even then, the Frenchman’s unique speed and agility take him to another level.

This deficit in central midfield was only accentuated at the weekend with the injuries and suspensions that Emery had to wade through. Ramsey was only fit enough to play the second half thanks to a groin problem, Torreira was serving the final match of his suspension, while Granit Xhaka missed the second successive match through injury as well. That is top three central midfielders all unable to start.

When you are down to your fourth and fifth central midfielders, it is no surprise that the 3-4-3 begins to break down. Given that one of those midfielders is a vastly inexperienced 19-year-old and the other is the painfully limited Mohamed Elneny, really, this result and performance could be seen coming from a long way off.

Moving forward, then, Emery must be more flexible with the shape. Either the likes of Ramsey, Xhaka and Torreira must return to the team or the system must change. The 3-4-3 has its limitations, and Arsenal encountered them on Sunday.