Arsenal: Unai Emery has his formula, now build around it

Unai Emery has been trying to find his best formula for Arsenal success all year, but it’s pretty clear he has it, now just build around it.

This year has been all about experimentation. Unai Emery has changed formations and personnel seemingly more times than Arsene Wenger did in his entire tenure at Arsenal, but it’s all in the spirit of discovery. Emery wants to figure out how this team operates at their best.

I didn’t think there was any doubt before, but I absolutely don’t think there is any doubt now. The 3-4-1-2, when populated with the right personnel, is a deadly machine. We’ve seen it primarily against European opposition, Valencia and Napoli, but that means that it can be replicated elsewhere if only the right players are brought in.

Against Valencia, we saw the power. And the amazing thing was that we had all this power without a strong midfield core and with Mesut Ozil ghosting nearly the entire match. What power we found came from the dual forwards. No surprises there.

But it should be obvious what we now have to do. Starting Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Alexandre Lacazette together should never again be a question. It’s all about filling in the rest of the formula behind them.

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Because even with this half-arsed formula full of guys that are often hit-and-miss, it’s been a fairly consistent bet in a season riddled with inconsistencies.

A lot depends on the No. 10 and the wingbacks in this set, neither of which have been a reliable commodity, yet we still have two of the best strikers on the year with some of the best individuals showings of any strikers out there. Together, I’d wager they’re the best striking pair in the world.

But as we’ve seen, that doesn’t guarantee goals. Even though, against Valencia, it was the Lacazette/Aubameyang show early on, with other players only getting involved later on in the match.

What happens if you stock this club with players that can feed these two consistently? That can defend consistently? And it’s not even like we’re that far away. When Aaron Ramsey was the No. 10, it was perfect. So get a Ramsey-esque No. 10. Not easy, no, but a clear objective. Shore up the defense. And bolster your wide options.

Other than that, all you have to do is build a team that can feed two elite strikers. Who wouldn’t want to do that?