Arsenal: 3 ways to play Saka, Martinelli, Odegaard & Smith Rowe

The kids are alright. The kids are more than alright, they’re darn fantastic. And now Mikel Arteta has the most welcome of conundrums on his plate when selecting his Arsenal forward line.

It’s now the great question of our time: how do you get Emile Smith Rowe, Bukayo Saka, Martin Odegaard and Gabriel Martinelli into the same team?

Martinelli has four goals and two assists his his last six Premier League outings; Smith Rowe has seven goals and two assists; Odegaard has four goals and an assist; and Saka has three goals and four assists.

For four matches running in the Premier League the manager has gone for a front four with Alexandre Lacazette starting in front of Saka, Odegaard and Martinelli. The first usage of that quartet fell short at Everton, but in the three matches since it’s produced three rip-roaring performances.

Can Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta play Bukayo Saka, Gabriel Martinelli, Martin Odegaard & Emile Smith Rowe all at the same time?

Not to be left behind, Smith Rowe has entered the fray on the previous two outings as a substitute and scored. On current form, Arteta has an array of riches to select from as all four of the young stars are worthy of involvement in the starting lineup.

There is still some way to go and ideally there are five players vying for those three positions – Nicolas Pepe should be in that conversation but most definitely isn’t – yet it nonetheless has prompted some vigorous head scratching among supporters.

Like choosing a favourite child, no one can be left out or chosen above the others. They’re all magnificent talents and immensely likeable characters, so what can Arteta do?

How do you fit all four in the team, especially when Lacazette performs a role unique to his skillset? There are a few options to go consider.

1. Gabriel Martinelli at Centre-Forward in 4-2-3-1

One of the clearer ways to incorporate all four is to remove Lacazette from the equation. Currently performing to an excellent standard in the No. 9 role, finding an upgrade on him is the next piece of the puzzle.

Martinelli has long-been tipped to move into a centre-forward role and the talk is that Arteta still sees this as a viable option in the future, but it depends greatly on what it is that the manager wants from a striker.

All signs point towards him essentially wanting a younger and faster version of Lacazette.

The system now operates more as a collection of attacking midfielders in central areas boosted by wide forwards hungry to make diagonal runs towards the box with constant interchangeability. Lacazette’s penchant for dropping deep, being physical in his hold-up play and bringing others into the game is a far cry from Martinelli’s skillset: one prefers coming short and the other favours playing on the shoulder in central areas.

Systematically the team has found joy of late with the Frenchman dropping off the first line of opposition defence and opening the spaces in behind for Martinelli to run into. Doing a straight swap would detract from the finer qualities of Martinelli, which all sing closer to the opponents’ box.

Him playing there can work, but would see a change in approach more familiar to that which is in use when Aubameyang plays up front.

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2. Emile Smith Rowe as a False Nine

PTSD is kicking in.

Everyone is familiar with this approach, just as they are familiar with how appallingly it failed in the first leg of the Gunners’ Europa League semi-final defeat to Villarreal. Arteta went full galaxy brain meme with this ploy, and it back-fired horrendously: Smith Rowe was lost at sea against the Yellow Submarine and didn’t have the physicality to dominate that central zone.

But Arteta loves Pep Guardiola. He loves his approach to football and there have been enough indications that he will attempt to mould his Arsenal side into a mini-Man City when he gets the chance.

On paper, there is method to this madness, and initial examinations hint that it wouldn’t require a major tactical reshuffle. Recently we’ve seen Xhaka operate more as a left-sided No. 8 with Partey as the sitting midfielder, and in playing Smith Rowe up front in place of Lacazette it might not be all that different to what we’re seeing now. A midfield diamond would emerge, not too dissimilar from what Liverpool do.

Smith Rowe will still press and counter-press, with the occasional freedom to venture into the box a la the 30-year-old, and it opens up avenues for the front four to interchange more than they do now.

It’s all about combination play, something that is improving immeasurably lately, and Smith Rowe being played central offers the option to switch out into wide areas which Lacazette can’t do as efficiently. This wouldn’t click into place overnight, though. Some of Smith Rowe’s best play comes when he’s got grass to run into and playing with his back to goal more could limit his skillset.

But maybe Arteta foresees a future without an atypical No. 9; more forwards who can drop off, press, score and create. It has been and still is an intriguing development to consider in this team.

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3. Keep Playing Lacazette With Someone on Rotation

Far from perfect, Lacazette is still nearly the ideal profile for this group of players to bounce off. He provides the rough and tumble, the sh*thousery, the aggression and the hold-up play in this side. His mastery of the dark arts is a suitable foil and even from an optics point of view there will be some benefit of having the captain of the team operating around the youngsters.

It is a natural human instinct to seek progression. In this team and with this manager that is what Arsenal fans want.

But there is benefit to be had from allowing the players to continue absorbing the current methods and fine-tuning them. With four outstanding talents all vying for positions, this competition is healthy for them and currently producing the performances and results that we’re seeing. For now it’s working. Rather well, too.

Looking across the bench, there is also little else in the way of impact to be had. Against West Ham and Leeds, Smith Rowe was the only one you could reliably call upon off the bench to turn the game if it needed it: Pepe is a forgotten man, Nketiah isn’t a natural wide player and, aside them from, you’ve only really got Sambi Lokonga to come on and add something progressive from midfield.

Having one of Saka, Smith Rowe or Maritinelli to come off the bench is a devastating weapon in reserve in the Premier League. Odegaard could make way from the starting lineup, but of the four is the least likely to make a difference off the bench. He profits from being involved from the off.

So, with so much healthy competition, Arteta may be woe to remove that from the equation – especially with Lacazette in this form and now seeing matches out.

There will, however, come a point where even the manager will want to find solutions to include all four on the pitch at once. They’re a sensational group and are all laying claim to being on the pitch.

What a headache to have, mind you.