Arsenal Vs Aston Villa: 3 key mistakes Mikel Arteta made

2. The front three was all wrong

With Reiss Nelson missing the match through injury, Arsenal have only one fit winger in the squad, Nicolas Pepe. Of course, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang plays off the left flank and is an adopted wide attacker and Bukayo Saka has been used there before and may one day settle there, but beyond that, there are no other natural wide players in the squad.

More from Pain in the Arsenal

• 3 standout players from 1-0 victory over Everton
• 3 positives & negatives from Goodison Park victory
• Arsenal vs PSV preview: Prediction, team news & lineups
• 3 talking points from Arsenal’s victory at Goodison Park
• Mikel Arteta provides Gabriel Martinelli injury update after Everton win

On Tuesday, Arteta rested Pepe, fielded Saka at left wing-back to hand Kieran Tierney a much-needed game on the bench, and then started a front three that only used centre-forwards: Aubameyang off the left, Alexandre Lacazette through the middle, and Eddie Nketiah on the right, although Aubameyang and Nketiah did move centrally with Lacazette dropping deep at times.

From the moment the teamsheet was announced, questions were asked about the wisdom of this decision. Having three centre-forwards form a narrow front three without any natural wingers in the team, and then fielding only two central midfielders with little creativity to feed them. It was a plan that was never going to work.

Nketiah was poor throughout, never looking comfortable when he received the ball outside the penalty box. Aubameyang was anonymous. Meanwhile, Lacazette was the only one of the three to show some kind of impact and intensity. He held up the ball well but created few problems in the final third. It was disjointed front three, just like everyone knew it would be.