Arsenal: 5 Aubameyang & Lacazette alternatives

There is a certain Forrest Gump quote that can be attributed to football as it can life. Arsenal seemed to have the simplest of starting lineups to select against Brentford, only for whatever plan was in place to be cast aside hours before kick-off.

With the two best buddies both feeling unwell in the build-up to the Premier League opener – Pierre Emerick Aubameyang had supposedly not trained the day before – the game was even close to being abandoned.

Alexandre Lacazette and Alex Runarsson also missed the defeat as it’s since come to light that last minute COVID-19 tests were carried out to ensure the match could go ahead as planned. It’s a shame it wasn’t called off, in hindsight.

Both listed as ‘unwell’ by Mikel Arteta, it has since been revealed that the reasons for their absences were COVID-19 related, and the hush-hush handling of the situation is due to the Premier League wanting to avoid a major headline centering around the virus just as the season kicks off.

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Arsenal: 5 Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang & Alexandre Lacazette alternatives for Mikel Arteta to opt for against Chelsea in the Premier League

No Aubameyang or Lacazette opened the door for Gabriel Martinelli and Folarin Balogun to come into the side, with their respective impacts not reflective of the excitement among the fanbase for their appearances.

Arsenal struggled in numerous aspects across the 90 minutes, with issues relating to defensive rotation, the speed of the build-up (how original) and the positions attackers picked up.

All positives stemmed from individual performances as opposed to collective notes, and with the simple matter of hosting the European Champions on Sunday to come it looks like more of the same in terms of absent personnel.

As per The Times, Arsenal are set to be without their expensive and experienced pair once more. Eddie Nketiah also remains absent with injury. And, speaking of strikers, Romelu Lukaku will make his debut. Oh, and N’Golo Kante, Reece James and Ben Chilwell are match fit.

Will it even matter who is in the forward line? Of course it will, and here’s what options Arteta has.

1. Martinelli – Balogun – Saka

It didn’t work against Brentford. Martinelli and Balogun would be the first to hold their hands up at that.

Can it work again? Well, in theory, those two will be making up one half of the Arsenal front four in the years to come. All goes well, Martinelli and Balogun will be starting every week.

That time is clearly not now as either one of them needs someone alongside them with a touch more know-how. Is that Bukayo Saka? Well, this trio would be surprising one to opt for firstly due to Nicolas Pepe boasting something resembling goal threat, and also due to the inexperience.

Martinelli and Balogun couldn’t work out their combinations or distances and there were moments where the former was far too wide or in too close proximity to Flo. It was always going to be a tough first game together.

However, practice makes perfect, right? Adding Saka down the right to help invite bodies and break through lines can present more space for Flo to attack and Martinelli to overload.

An option for Chelsea, but an unlikely one to be used. Asks too much.

Continued…

2. Saka – Balogun – Pepe

If you were going to hedge your bets on what the front three would look like in a 4-2-3-1, it is probably going to be something similar to this.

Nicolas Pepe grew into the game against Brentford after a mostly anonymous start featured but a few wayward pops at goal, making more out to in runs in the second period and opening the spaces in behind for overlapping runners.

While it may be fleeting, he does have the eye for goal and pace on the break Arsenal will need. As for Balogun, there has to be someone in the forward line who can hold the ball up and without Lacazette that responsibility falls to Flo.

Given Chelsea will try to pass Arsenal to death and squeeze them into their own half, a combination of pace to play in behind and centrality to keep possession and bring others into the game makes this trio one of the more likely to start out on Sunday.

Any start for Balogun feels like an unbelievable ask. There isn’t much else to be going off, mind you.

Continued…

3. Saka – Martinelli – Pepe

A common denominator in whatever personnel Arteta opts for is the inclusion of Saka. Getting the minutes he did against both Tottenham and Brentford, it’s clear there are no signs of fatigue or a lack of match sharpness with the 19-year-old.

Everything is very natural to him and now he’s had those minutes, he’s certain to start.

As for centre-forward, Martinelli playing through the middle would be with an eye on three factors: having a competent striker who can head the ball, raw pace on the break and pressing from the front.

Do Arsenal take the game to the Blues and press intensely from the front with the aim of getting the home crowd right behind them, or sit back and soak up looking to exploit any weaknesses in transition? With Kante such gaps are near impossible to find, let alone take advantage of.

Arteta wants Arsenal to be winning the ball back in the final third and someone who can harass the Chelsea back three leaves Martinelli as the prime option. Furthermore, if it’s going to be Cross The Ball FC once more with Kieran Tierney likely to be providing whipped deliveries on repeat, having someone who knows how to use his forehead in those situations wouldn’t go amiss.

Ah, all sounds so delightfully simple on paper.

Continued…

4. Martinelli – Pepe – Saka

A left-field option that is almost certainly not going to happen, we at least got to see some of Pepe at centre-forward in the second half against Brentford, even if he rarely stayed there.

This is a move many supporters have asked to see, yet has only ever been utilised once in Pepe’s career under Marcelo Bielsa at Lille. It didn’t work out.

With these three the focus would once again be on a fast-paced counter-attacking system in which transitions tend to the players’ individual qualities.

Pepe does not have physical command to be a battling centre-forward but as someone running at pace against defenders starting either centrally or out wide, it’s those situations where he ran amok at Les Dogues in the season before he joined Arsenal. He is a transitional player.

Another idea that likely works better in theory than in practice, there would also be some balancing issues with Martinelli on the left. While they could interchange, the risks of employing such an approach at the first attempt against a side of Chelsea’s calibre outweighs any potential positives.

The chemistry would need to be instant. It probably wouldn’t be. Nico would get bullied.

Continued…

5. Switching to a 3-4-3 Shape

Of all the outcomes, this feels the more likely to be used. Against a side bursting with quality, it’s vital to match their shape. Simplifying the game when forward options are limited will be crucial to trying to secure a positive result given the absences in the team.

With no Lacazette, Aubameyang or, crucially, Thomas Partey, it makes sense to throw in an additional central defender that allows the forwards to get closer to one another.

Who would play up top can vary depending on whether or not Saka is selected to play as a wing-back, and the same for Tierney. It’s an opportunity to move Tierney into left centre-back, take Pablo Mari out and bring back low-block specialist Rob Holding, while also adding pace into the front line to have an out-ball to aim for. How much would Arsenal miss his attacking output? Quite a lot, admittedly.

Emile Smith Rowe can take up a similar slot as he did in the reverse fixture last season and add creativity behind the striker to be supplemented by bombing wing-backs. It might even be the good game for Hector Bellerin to play, were he not effectively ostracised by Arteta when Nuno Tavares came on for Calum Chambers against Brentford.

And Tavares at left wing-back for this game would work to help Arsenal double up on Lukaku down that side, while allowing him to make those lung-bursting runs he favours. However Arteta feels this system will work, it seems inevitable that the 3-4-3 will be back in use. It needs to be.