Mikel Arteta has explained why he cannot put out a team in a formation of 4-3-3. There is a belief that because Arteta was Pep Guardiola’s assistant an Man City before he got the managerial job at Arsenal, their ideologies must be similar. Guardiola also prefers a 4-3-3.
Arsenal are struggling this season due to the lack of personnel especially in the creative department. Arteta has mainly lined Arsenal up in a 3-4-3. Arsenal’s main criticism this season has been the lack of creativity and a pragmatic system. With the exclusion of creative midfielder Mesut Ozil for ‘footballing reasons’, questions are being raised as to why the system that Arteta plays is so rigid.
Speaking to DAZN, Arteta said, “For me the way we occupy space and who is going to move in there is more important than the formation. And from there we have some very similar players that are not used to play in those positions so we have to keep changing the formation a little bit.”
Arteta also highlighted the lack of personnel available to play a 4-3-3, he said, “We want to move to a 4-3-3 but for that, you need a lot of specificity in every position but now in five or six positions, we don’t have it. The aggressiveness, the effectiveness, the amount of steals we make in opposition half I think we have been very steady against some big clubs. I think that what we miss is in the opponent’s area and the last part of the pitch. We have to find the key in the attack, that last decision, that last pass, that last cross to create a goal situation, a goal, a shot, a corner, etc.”
Arsenal play Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday on December 6 in a must win game. The pressure will be on Mikel Arteta if Arsenal have a bad game again considering the poor start Arsenal have had this season
