Arsenal: 4 reasons Arteta should go 4-3-3 vs Tottenham

What to do? Arsenal host Tottenham in the North London Derby on Sunday with Mikel Arteta boasting an unwanted record against these bitter rivals during his managerial career.

Facing Spurs three times competitively, the manager has seen his side lose twice in the Premier League with 2-0 and 2-1 scorelines respectively, finally banishing some demons in the 2-1 home win last season.

Meeting in pre-season in the wrong side of north London brought with it another defeat, this time by 1-0, and heading into the weekend’s clash Arteta will be hoping to keep his home record against Spurs in tact.

Trying to predict how this one will go is near enough impossible. Tottenham have held the upper hand for far too long as far as results go, but at home Arsenal have been relatively strong against their fierce rivals.

4 reasons Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta should go with a 4-3-3 formation against Tottenham in the North London Derby

How much does form come into it and what can be made of the records Arteta’s side has when trailing at half-time or leading at half-time? There is a lot to unpack and fret over.

One of the key talking points from the red half of this discussion is surrounding Granit Xhaka’s potential involvement and the shape Arsenal will use. If you were being pressed to put a percentage on how likely the Swiss was to return to the team immediately following his suspension, would it be around 90%?

Arteta adores the midfielder and sees him as a crucial cog in the machine, but after securing three clean sheets and three wins with various iterations of a 4-3-3 shape, why change? Xhaka coming back immediately infers the return of the double pivot, so what if Arsenal just go for it?

There are plenty of valid reasons to stick with the 4-2-3-1 and add Xhaka’s experience into the fold, granted. Yet after the continuity of playing with a single pivot in recent weeks there are also a host of reasons not to diverge. Four in particular spring to mind.

1. Keep the Momentum Going

Starting with the obvious, the old phrase ‘don’t change a winning team’ goes hand-in-hand with ‘if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it’. Probably because they’re the same thing.

The previous three results haven’t catapulted Arsenal into a relentless machine of unwavering destruction and solidity. Nobody is getting carried away. What they have done, however, is work some way towards building a structure the side understands and has found moderate success in.

We’ve seen of late that there is life without Xhaka. It isn’t all too bad, either.

With Albert Sambi Lokonga bringing endearing progressive and carrying qualities on the ball coupled with Thomas Partey looking immense in the single pivot and adding centrality and line-breaking ability, there is no gaping Swiss-sized hole that is noticeable.

Tottenham are a completely different proposition to Norwich, Burnley or AFC Wimbledon, but they too are likely to play with just one holding midfielder in Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg, so matching them up and continuing the approach with two No. 10’s in Martin Odegaard and Emile Smith Rowe has the scope to be successful.

Additionally, Xhaka hasn’t played since the Manchester City defeat, where he was sent off, and also contracted COVID-19 since. What we’ve seen recently is what Arsenal can be. Going back to what it has been may also have a negative impact on the crowd.

Far, far from perfect, it still isn’t broke. Don’t ‘fix’ it.

Continued…