Arsenal: 3 vital changes to make to save the season

Arsenal have done well thus far to be in the mix for top four. From the darkest depths they’ve clawed their way into contention, only for them to be staring back from whence they came.

The squad overhaul has continued to take place as Mikel Arteta shapes the team to his liking. However, injuries have reduced that number down even further and hopes of a top four finish are at serious risk following the losses of Kieran Tierney and Thomas Partey.

Football fans are particularly prone to extreme reactionary views, especially after such disastrous showings in the past week. Some have been waiting for Arteta to falter while others continue to back him. Regardless of how the fans view him, the club hierarchy will not sack him with eight games to go.

Supporters have also criticized the wasted opportunities to strengthen the squad in January. Like the decision on Arteta’s future, nothing can be changed in terms of external reinforcements until the summer. While many accept this, albeit unwillingly, Arteta still has to make changes if he is to finish this season strong.

Arsenal: 3 vital tactical changes to make to save this Premier League season as Mikel Arteta’s side risk missing out on European football

Any manager of any club would struggle with injury setbacks of this importance. Losing Partey isn’t like losing Cedric. Yet even still, the manager hasn’t help himself.

Looking less likely by the day, top four still hangs in the balance. Perhaps more realistically, so does Europa League.

Arsenal can’t afford to finish outside the European spots again. Something has to be done. Here are three changes Arteta must make to drag the team out of their rut.

1. Play a Midfield

While the entire squad is paper thin, there is no section more devoid of first-team quality than Arsenal’s midfield. Arteta made changes against Brighton, dragging Xhaka to left-back while leaving a midfield three of Smith Rowe, Odegaard and Lokonga, with the latter slotted in as a single pivot.

This decision was particularly cruel given his age, inexperience and lack of recent minutes. Lokonga looked lost out there against the Seagulls.

The gaps between players were too large, leaving the Belgian isolated on the ball and abandoned off of it. Moving Xhaka back into the middle of the park in the second half resulted in a noticeable improvement. The Swiss midfielder brought a calmness in his passing and allowed Arsenal to build up as more than two or three passes were strung together.

The added security provided by an experienced international allowed Lokonga some positional freedom, too, with the Belgina able to drive forward on a handful of occasions, getting shots away from outside the box –  albeit not with great success.

The games will only get more difficult from here. Placing the responsibility of anchoring a Premier League midfield on the young shoulders of Lokonga away at Southampton or against Chelsea and Manchester United is a calamity waiting to happen. Arteta’s needed changes start (but do not end) with playing a balanced midfield.

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2. Replace Lacazette (In Other Words, Play a Striker)

Manchester City have proven that you don’t necessarily need a striker to score goals left and right in the Premier League, even if Arteta will be keenly aware that he has nowhere near the squad that Pep has. Thus far, Lacazette has started far more games than he should have. He has rarely impressed in any, with his last three particularly rage-inducing.

Against Brighton, he had one of those performances. One where it seems as if Arsenal were playing with ten men; one where fans were scratching their heads wondering if Lacazette had accidentally been left in the dressing room. Even late substitutes Nketiah and Pepe had more passes during their short time on the pitch than Lacazette completed in the entire game.

A lack of alternatives will cause some fans to find positives wherever they can find. With Aubameyang, it was his track record. With Lacazette, it has been his build up play. But these positives are borne partly out of evidence, but mostly out of desperation and are thus blown out of proportion.

The French striker can drop deep but he lacks the threat to make defenders wary. His ability is simply not at the level required. Opposition players don’t have to follow him as he drops into midfield because he rarely does anything spectacular when he receives the ball. They can even afford not to follow him into the box since his goalscoring ability is practically nonexistent as well.

As painful as it is to make this point, Harry Kane serves as an example of a striker whose build up play is actually worthy of praise. His passing ability is exceptional, forcing defenders to track his runs because if they don’t, he will punish them. He also can’t be left alone in the box because of how lethal he is. Lacazette doesn’t give anything for defenders to fear.

The game against Brighton was only the most recent of a series of stinker after stinker. The only other natural option would be Eddie Nketiah and, such has been Lacazette’s form as of late, that it is time to start a young, inconsistent player who’s contract runs out at the end of the season. This isn’t because Nketiah is even that good. It’s because he can’t surely be as bad as Lacazette.

Maybe Arsenal should have signed someone in January. Who would’ve thought?

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3. Trust Nuno Tavares

At the start of the season, the strategy of the concluded transfer window was clear for everyone (except Gary Neville) to see. The club had invested in young players from less prominent leagues who have the potential to develop into stars based on their potential. Because of their age and experience, these new recruits would spend more time learning in training as opposed to Premier League games, unless absolutely needed.

Early injuries to Xhaka and Partey saw Lokonga start in midfield during the early part of the campaign. Likewise, Tavares filled in for Tierney, performing to such a high degree that some fans thought Tierney shouldn’t come in straight away. He would be left to wait on the sidelines due to Tavares’ form at the time.

A few months later, the excitement around the Portuguese left-back has cooled and his confidence has plummeted. Quickly substituted at or even before half-time in his last two starts, Tavares has struggled, but changes must be made. Tierney has been ruled out for the season and the former Benfica man is the only left-back at the club, in a role he was specifically signed to fulfill.

Arteta seemingly viewed Tavares as a long-term replacement for the Scottish international. However, the reason Tavares was registered with the squad and not sent out on loan was for emergencies like this. Yet Arteta has not put his trust in him.

This lack of trust that Tavares can do his job at the level required or Arteta’s inability to adjust the system to cover his weaknesses has resulted with Xhaka and even Martinelli at left wing-back. These changes have resulted in a catastrophe at best and chaos at worst, with one change causing reverberations across the pitch. Arteta bought Tavares to sit, learn and play if needed. Now is the time for the manager to trust his bench.

As Arsenal creep towards the end of the season, Arteta must make changes to rescue what has largely been an impressive campaign. Whether or not he backs himself and his team to adapt is another question entirely.