Arsenal: 2 players with positions they must keep this season

For any manager it’s key that you learn your best starting lineup as soon as possible. Sometimes it’s a case of making the best of what you’ve got, while on other occasions time and money is needed to mould it. Mikel Arteta has his.

With three transfer windows behind him, plenty of new arrivals and a host of exits, the manager now has what appears to be his settled Arsenal team.

The lineup picks itself: Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang has been given the striker duties, the back five is regimented and his preferred midfield duo of Thomas Partey and Granit Xhaka will play when fit.

Behind the striker there is the obvious trio of Martin Odegaard, Emile Smith Rowe and Bukayo Saka. Well-known, easy to predict and almost entirely unarguable.

2 players with positions that shouldn’t change this season are Bukayo Saka and Emile Smith Rowe who have their best roles at Arsenal figured out

Crucial in that, however, is getting his two Hale End stars in the right positions.

Smith Rowe broke into the team operating in the No. 10 slot, an easy enough place for him to hold down due to there being no other viable options to slot into the role. From Boxing Day on he excelled there, only then moving out to the left when Odegaard arrived on loan.

He’s found real comfort on that flank. It suits him down to a tee. As the brilliantly gifted footballer he is, his continued high level of performances out on that side mean he must remain there. While superb in the central hole, as the effective ball carrier he is there is more opportunity for him to express those talents out on the left.

This is demonstrated in his numbers this season. As per FBRef, he ranks in the 93rd percentile for carries into the final third in the Premier League this term. The distributive side of things is best left to a certain Norwegian. His ability to touch and move on the half-turn either left or right side is one of his biggest strengths, and with grass to run into from wide areas he can make this darting late runs into the box.

Slotting out into that position for the England Under-21 side during the international break it appears he is cementing that as his best position outside of north London – even grabbing a lovely breakaway goal against Andorra. It’s where he has to keep playing, which, of course, temporarily rules out a 4-3-3 switch as it doesn’t cater to his finer qualities.

While absolutely capable of playing there, he is finding his niche in those zones and playing there regularly may be one aspect that puts the breaks on Arteta adopting a single pivot – unless it’s against weaker opposition. It has its uses, just not all the time.

As for Saka, it’s no different.

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Play Bukayo Saka on the Right and Don’t Look Back

The debate over where Saka is best suited has been long running, with the various points of argument stemming from the plethora of positions he’s played for in his short career.

Is he best as a roaming No. 10 in a 3-4-3? A left-winger where he can drive to the touchline? One of a midfield trio?

It’s out on the right. Without doubt. It became noticeable how easily he slotted into the role way back in September 2020.

Not as an out-and-out winger since they’re a dying breed, but instead on the right of a 4-2-3-1 where his glorious out-to-in runs can wreak havoc on the opposition and his two-footedness makes for devastating unpredictability.

Seeing the goal he netted for England, while against weak opposition, was a prime example of where his talents are best suited. Phil Foden’s delightful central outswinging left-footed pass was superbly collected by Saka who needed only the one touch before firing into the roof of the net. It’s the kind of pass and link-up that you can envisage Odegaard feeding to Saka in red and white.

For too long he’s been shifted into different positions, either out on the left when Thomas Partey plays as the single pivot or in a similar position when one of Smith Rowe or Odegaard doesn’t feature, and it’s time to let him command one area of the pitch.

Still versatile enough to play almost every attacking (and some defending) roles, even in cases where Nicolas Pepe starts it should be the Ivorian on the left where can be closer to the box with Kieran Tierney’s width and Saka on the right where his wide-ranging set of skills can be best utilised.

Fortunately it does appear as if the team that was put out against Brighton looks set to be the Premier League team if everyone is fit.

Keep the 4-2-3-1 when you’re not taking on Norwich at home and play your best players in their best positions, right?