Now before you laugh this off, hear me out.. The current system we employ is a 4-1-4-1 formation where Arteta is our anchor in midfield. The first match where this was employed was against City in the community shield and i have to say, it worked perfectly. But what made it work was Arteta having a deeper than usual position which allowed him to be in the midst of any City attack rather than being outpaced like he was in the big games last season..
His deeper position allowed him to prepare for any oncoming attacks and act as a legit playmaker whereby he would receive the ball off our CB's and just play it around till City's forward line tried to press him which gave him enough space to pass it forward to the likes of Rambo and Jack and start off the attack.
I think hes much more suited to this system than Flamini who cant conduct the play as well as him.. And to be honest, he's been pretty non existent this season..
Is Arteta crucial in our current system?
posted on 12/9/14
I think thats why Wenger prefers to start both Rambo and Jack.. Knowing that they have the legs to run up to join in the attack but also drop back effectively becoming box to box players. The system is susceptible to counter attacks though.
posted on 12/9/14
We won't fulfil our true potential until a proper DM is brought in.
Arteta has even more responsibility with 2 attacking full-backs now and just can't get across quick enough...
posted on 12/9/14
As long as Flamini is nowhere near the team
posted on 12/9/14
Good article
However, I do agree with jenius in that we should be a little wary of reading too much into pre-season/CS games.
I think it's also worth noting that we played with a high defensive line against City, pressed high up the pitch, and ultimately compressed the space, giving Arteta less ground to cover.
With Mertesacker likely to be a regular at the heart of our defence this season, I can't see us adopting that system too often, in which case Arteta's mobility (or lack thereof) may still be exposed.
posted on 12/9/14
Castor
I'd seriously consider Coquelin ahead of Flamini if he still has an ounce of the potential he had before his loan.
He's actually more or less like Flamini when he was younger, especially when you factor in the versatility
posted on 12/9/14
Coqueshit shouldn't play 1 game for us this season, rubbish player with no hope/future
posted on 12/9/14
Tbf I'm unsure of how good he is now at the highest level but 11/12 I sensed a big future for him, wonder if a year in Germany ruined him that bad?
Anyway neither him nor Flamini should be anywhere near the team
posted on 12/9/14
There is no system.
There is just mix and match.
Waiting and waiting.
For the player that Wenger decided to smash his wages record for.
For the player whose injury means that Sanchez and Ozil are played out of position.
No sleep till Walcott!
posted on 12/9/14
Yes. However, it isn't really his position which shows just how bad Flamini is.
posted on 12/9/14
Good point DaStuDogg, but i definately feel this system suits him more.. Maybe it reimbursed Wengers faith in Arteta being the sole anchor again this season. Only time will tell but if Mikael is fit tomorrow, id rather him than Flamini.