Arsenal: 4 David Luiz alternatives for Villarreal

4. Return to an Actual Back Four

This option has nothing to do with Luiz’s injury, but is nonetheless the system needed when Villarreal come to town. Xhaka’s application and attitude is exemplary given the task bestowed upon him, none of which transforms his body into the full-back type, however.

Touched upon already, the need for added speed both personnel-wise and in terms of tactics against Villarreal can’t be ignored.

Get Xhaka back into midfield and put Cedric, who isn’t perfect in the role either, at left-back. Then Arteta can revert to his Mari and Holding central defensive partnership, with either Chambers or Bellerin at right-back.

Luiz’s injury shouldn’t prompt this and it should be the approach anyway as Emery has already seen how his side can work their way through this system. In order to give the ploy from the first leg protection Mohamed Elneny would come into a midfield, a completely illogical move that limits other areas of the pitch by add cover to an area that shouldn’t be in use in the first place.

Arteta re-wrote the rulebook on how his side should operate in Tierney’s absence, asking his players to perform a totally different set of tasks not akin to those carried out during the season. It worked, for a while, but now needs scrapping. Revert to normality and principles the players know.

It’s unlikely to happen, though.