Arsenal Vs Southampton: Time to unleash fab four?

Arsenal host Southampton on Saturday afternoon in desperate need of a victory and attacking performance. Is it time for Unai Emery to unleash the fab four, Mesut Ozil, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Alexandre Lacazette and Nicolas Pepe?

Unai Emery is an inherently defensive manager. He was before he arrived in north London. He has been since. It is a part of his natural managerial make-up.

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When he was managing Valencia and Sevilla, lesser La Liga sides who were tasked with challenging the might of Barcelona and Real Madrid, this defensive mindset was perfect. He is a very capable of setting his teams up to repel opponents in specific matches, and both Sevilla and Valencia enjoyed great success as a result of this — this is why Emery would three successive Europa Leagues.

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However, now at Arsenal, there is a greater expectation on Emery’s team to impose their offensive play on the opposition, instead of always looking to adapt. Not only is this is a club that expects to see its team attack, playing in an offensive, entertaining manner; the Gunners intend to be one of the superior teams in the Premier League and should be capable enough to dictate play, rather than playing second fiddle to the opposition.

Emery is yet to understand this, even if he speaks of ‘protagonists’ every week after yet another negative draw. His team selections are extremely conservative, his tactics largely pejorative and focused on the opponent’s threat, not his team causing their own problems, and he clearly does not trust his attacking players to unleash their offensive-minded games, even when playing significantly worse teams.

On Saturday, Arsenal host Southampton. The Saints have just one point from their last seven matches. They have conceded 23 goals in those matches, an average of more three per game. They sit 19th in the league, just one point above bottom-placed Norwich City. For all intents and purposes, they are, in a word, rubbish. This, then, is the perfect match for Emery to unleash his attacking players.

Perhaps this is the first time this season that we will see Arsenal’s four most attacking stars all take to the pitch: Nicolas Pepe on one wing, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang on the other, Alexandre Lacazette as a centre-forward, and Mesut Ozil pulling the strings in the middle of it all. If ever there was a game to lean into your attacking talent, even at the expense of defensive balance, a home match against Southampton is it.

Pepe did not train on Thursday due to returning late from international duty, so there is some justified doubt that he might not feature from the off, but if Emery was a genuinely offensive coach, intent on causing opponents issues with the attacking players at his disposal, he would look to give Pepe substantial minutes from off the bench, at the very least.

Next. Arsenal Vs Southampton: 5 key players to watch. dark

Arsenal have the chance to play on the front foot. Emery has the chance to lean into his attacking players and make the most of their skill sets. And yet, don’t you just get this harrowing feeling that it isn’t going to pan out that way?