A few seasons back Arsenal moved away from the 4-4-2 formation, after experiencing limited success with the lightweight Fabregas and Flamini occupying the two central defensive midfield roles. To accommodate the growing number of less physical but highly technical central attacking midfielders in the squad at the time, Arsenal appeared to change their formation to a 4-1-3-2 setup. In that particular season, Flamini took on the lone central defensive midfield role with Rosicky (left), Fabregas (central) and Hleb (right) operating in central

With all the recent transfer dealings going on this summer and the departure of key players in the form of Fabregas and Nasri , my recent thoughts have largely focused on what formation best suits Arsenal’s current squad.

With this in mind I thought it would be interesting to dissect the current Arsenal squad (first team and young professionals) and see what Arsenal might look like under a 4-4-2 formation, a 4-1-3-2 formation as well as a 4-2-1-3 formation.

4-4-2 Formation

Over the last 15 years the 4-4-2 formation has proved to be quite a successful template for the Gunners. This formation was based on:

· two powerful centre halves (Campbell, Toure, Adams and Keown);

· two tough as nails but attacking full backs who regularly overlapped the two wide midfielders and got to the by-line to cut balls back into the box (Lauren, Cole, Dixon and Winterburn);

· two tall and powerful central defensive midfielders whose primary focus was on breaking down oppositions attacks through physically imposing themselves on the opposition (Vieira, Petit, Gilberto and Parlour) and quickly moving the ball to the creative striker or wide midfielders;

· two crafty wide midfielders who by in large kept things simple when on the ball but relentlessly made off the ball attacking runs into the box (Overmars, Pires, Ljungberg);

· one creative striker who would not only look to pick out the dangerous runs of the wide men and his clinical strike partner but also contribute with his fair share of goals (Bergkamp, Kanu); and

· a clinical and pacey marksman who relentlessly made off the ball attacking runs into the box (Henry, Wright and Anelka).

Taking the physical and technical characteristics of the current Arsenal squad into consideration, here is how I believe the current playing group would slot into a 4-4-2 formation:

GK:
Szczesny, Fabianski, Mannone, Almunia, Shea, Martinez, McDermott

RB:
Sanga, Jenkinson, Coquelin, Hoyte, Eastmond, Yennaris

RCB:
Mertesaker, Koscielny, Squillaci, Bartley, Boateng, Angha, Hajrovic, Monteiro

LCB:
Vermaelen, Miquel

LB:
Gibbs, Santos, Botelho, Brislen-Hall

RM:
Arteta, Benayoun, Rosicky, Diaby, Ramsey, Denilson, Lansbury, Ozyakup; Ebecilio

RCDM:
Song, Frimpong

LCDM:
–

LM:
Wilshere, Henderson, Galindo, Meade

Creative Striker:
Van Persie (L) Bendtner (R), Park (R), Aneke (R)

Clinical Striker:
Gervinho (R), Walcott (R), Chamakh (R), Vela (L), Miyaichi (L), Afobe (R), Chamberlain(R), Watt (L), Wellington (L), Freeman (R), Murphy (R), Ansah (R), Neita (L)

Whilst under this formation Arsenal appear to be sufficiently stocked in the clinical and creative striker department (particularly in the clinical striker role) Arsenal’s current squad appears to lack significant depth in terms of:

· powerful centre halves ( particularly on the left side of central defence);

· hard as nuts but attacking full backs who regularly overlapped the two wingers and get to the by-line to cut balls back into the box (whilst Sanga takes care of the hard nut part and Gibbs takes care of the attacking runs, both, in my view, fall short in the other department);

· tall and powerful central defensive midfielders (particularly left footed central defensive midfielders) whose primary focus is on breaking down oppositions attacks through physically imposing themselves on the opposition and quickly moving the ball to the creative striker or wide midfielders; and

· crafty wide midfielders whose natural tendency is to make relentless off the ball attacking runs into the box (particular on the left side).

In short, whilst this formation has over the last 15 years brought Arsenal much success, a drastic overhaul of the current squad would appear to be required, particular in central midfield and central defence, in order for this formation to be considered workable.

4-1-3-2 Formation

A few seasons back Arsenal moved away from the 4-4-2 formation, after experiencing limited success with the lightweight Fabregas and Flamini occupying the two central defensive midfield roles. To accommodate the growing number of less physical but highly technical central attacking midfielders in the squad at the time, Arsenal appeared to change their formation to a 4-1-3-2 setup. In that particular season, Flamini took on the lone central defensive midfield role with Rosicky (left), Fabregas (central) and Hleb (right) operating in central attacking midfield roles behind two strikers in Eduardo (left) and Adebayor (right). Whilst towards the end of that season Arsenal faded as Hleb and Rosicky took up quite wide positions on the right and left respectively and Eduardo and Flamini were struck down with injuries, Arsenal enjoyed considerable success earlier in the season when Hleb and Rosicky tucked in and played more centrally. Doing so appeared to enable them and Fabregas to create a plethora of opportunities for both Eduardo and Adebayor.

As partly alluded to above, the success of this formation, in my view, is based on:

· two powerful centre halves;

· two hard as nuts but attacking full backs who regularly get to the by-line to cut balls back into the box;

· a tall and powerful central defensive midfielder whose primary focus is on breaking down oppositions attacks through physically imposing themselves on the opposition and quickly moving the ball to the central attacking midfielders;

· three crafty and highly technical central attacking midfielders with the ability to: find open space between the opposition’s midfield and defensive lines; execute through balls to either of the two strikers or the advancing full backs; and push into the box when appropriate to provide an additional striking option; and

· two clinical and preferably pacey marksman who relentlessly make off the ball attacking runs into the box.

Once again taking the physical and technical characteristics of the current Arsenal squad into consideration, here is how I believe the players would slot into a 4-1-3-2 formation:

GK:
Szczesny, Fabianski, Mannone, Almunia, Shea, Martinez, McDermott

RB:
Sanga, Jenkinson, Coquelin, Hoyte, Eastmond, Yennaris

RCB:
Mertesaker, Koscielny, Squillaci, Bartley, Boateng, Angha, Hajrovic, Monteiro

LCB:
Vermaelen, Miquel

LB:
Gibbs, Santos, Botelho

CDM:
Song, Frimpong

RCAM:
Arteta, Diaby, Ramsey, Denilson, Lansbury, Ozyakup

CAM:
Arshavin, Rosicky, Benayoun, Aneke

LCAM:
Wilshere, Henderson, Galindo

RS:
Gervinho, Walcott, Bendtner, Chamakh, Park, Chamberlain, Afobe, Freeman, Murphy, Ansah

LS:
Van Persie, Vela, Miyaichi, Watt, Wellington

Under this formation, Arsenal appear to be sufficiently stocked in terms of quality strikers and right sided and central attacking midfielders. That said, Arsenal appears to still have some shortcomings in terms of the height and depth in our central defensive midfield options as well as a lacking significant depth in terms of:

· powerful centre halves ( particularly on the left side of central defence); and

· hard as nuts but attacking full backs who regularly overlapped the two wingers and get to the by-line to cut balls back into the box.

That said, in contrast to the way in which Arsenal’s squad stacks up under a 4-4-2, this formation appears more suitable given the current Arsenal squad’s depth in central attacking midfielders and strikers.

4-2-1-3 Formation

In more recent seasons and particular last season, Arsenal appeared to again change their formation, this time to a 4-2-1-3 setup. Whilst at first glance it may appear that this formation from the defensive midfielders back, mirrors the central midfield and defensive setup under Arsenal’s previous 4-4-2 formation, there are some significant differences.

1. Firstly, under this formation Arsenal only really play with one genuine central defensive midfielder (Song). The other central ‘defensive’ midfielder is actually a central attacking midfielder, pushed deep in an effort to transition the ball more effectively from defence to attack. In addition to performing this role, the fake central defensive midfield position appears to be also required to push forward to assist the genuine central attacking midfielder in creating opportunities for the wingers and lone central striker.

2. Secondly, under this formation the front three attackers (i.e. the central striker, the left winger and right winger), when not on the ball, are spread out across the width of the pitch in what appears to be an effort to stretch the opponent’s defensive line prior to the wingers cutting into the box when on the attack.

3. Thirdly, under this formation the central strikers role is more focused on holding the ball up to allow the central attacking midfielder and the fake central defensive midfielder to move into better positions in order to receive a pass from the central striker and quickly find the attacking off the ball runs of the wingers.

Whilst the aforementioned modifications appear to be the way in which Arsenal have developed their adapted 4-2-1-3 formation, in my view, the success of this formation is actually based on:

· two powerful centre halves;

· two tough as nails but attacking full backs who regularly get to the by-line and cut balls back into the box;

· two tall and powerful central defensive midfielders whose primary focus is on breaking down oppositions attacks through physically imposing themselves on the opposition and quickly moving the ball to the central attacking midfielder;

· one crafty and highly technical central attacking midfielder with the ability to: find open space between the opposition’s midfield and defensive lines; execute through balls to either of the three strikers or the advancing full backs; and push into the box when appropriate to provide an additional striking option; and

· three clinical and pacey marksman who are all relatively central in the 18 yard box but who relentlessly make off the ball attacking runs in the box in order to provide the central attacking midfielder with passing options.

Once again taking the physical and technical characteristics of the current Arsenal squad into consideration here is how I believe the players would slot into my take on a 4-2-1-3 formation:

GK:
Szczesny, Fabianski, Mannone, Almunia, Shea, Martinez, McDermott

RB:
Sanga, Jenkinson, Coquelin, Hoyte, Eastmond, Yennaris

RCB:
Mertesaker, Koscielny, Squillaci, Bartley, Boateng, Angha, Hajrovic, Monteiro

LCB:
Vermaelen, Miquel

LB:
Gibbs, Santos, Botelho

RCDM:
Song, Frimpong

LCDM:
–

CAM:
Arteta(R), Rosicky (R), Diaby(R), Wilshere(L), Benayoun(R), Ramsey(R), Denilson(R), Lansbury(R), Aneke(R), Ozyakup(R), Henderson(L), Galindo(L)

RS:
Arshavin, Gervinho, Walcott, Chamberlain, Freeman,

CS:
Bendtner (R), Chamakh(R), Park (R), Afobe (R), Vela (L), Murphy,(R) Ansah (R)

LS:
Van Persie, Miyaichi, Watt, Wellington

Whilst under this formation Arsenal appear to be overstocked in terms of central attacking midfielders, Arsenal’s current squad is again lacking significant depth in terms of:

· powerful centre halves ( particularly on the left side of central defence);

· tough as nails but attacking full backs who regularly get to the by-line to cut balls back into the box;

· tall and powerful central defensive midfielders (particular left footed central defensive midfielders) whose primary focus is on breaking down oppositions attacks through physically imposing themselves on the opposition and quickly moving the ball to the central attacking midfielder; and

· clinical and pacey central and left sided strikers (particular left footed strikers).

Similar to my analysis of Arsenal’s current squad under the 4-4-2 formation, I think a lack of appropriate central defensive midfielders in the squad means a 4-2-1-3 formation doesn’t appear to play to Arsenal’s current strength (i.e. central attacking midfielders).

Overall, Arsenal is at an interesting juncture at the moment. The departure of key players in Cesc and Nasri presented Arsenal with an opportunity to revert to their previously successful 4-4-2 formation. However the lack of tall and powerful central defensive midfielder signings in the transfer window just past and the decision to sign the likes of Arteta and Benayoun, indicates that Arsenal are keen to retain the central attacking midfield role in their formation.

With that in mind and considering the above analysis, it’s my view that the current Arsenal squad is best suited to a 4-1-3-2 formation, primarily due to the squad’s stock of talented central attacking midfielder and lack of powerful central defensive midfielders.

Looking forward to Arsenal’s season starting again.

Mean Lean’s Response

Thank you for the detailed article, a very enjoyable read. Also apologies for the delayed publishing.

The 4-4-2 formation is one that would be interesting with this group of players. As we all know, our current formation was almost designed to get the very best out of Cesc Fabregas, having said that I do not think that our current formation is now redundant now that Cesc has gone. The 4-2-3-1 can be a wonderful system if used correctly.

I do wonder how the 4-4-2 would look these days with this group of players. It would give Van Persie less isolation and perhaps free him more from his current position but I am not sure that the system would suit many of our current starters.

Arshavin, Gervinho and Walcott would lose much of their quality having to stick more to the wide areas as wingers instead of wide strikers.

I wonder about Theo as a center forward when teams would inevitably drop off deep inside their box. His wide striker role gives him much more freedom to appear in positions unmarked than he would do as an Arsenal number 9.

Jack Wilshere, Aaron Ramsey and Mikel Arteta would also lose some of the attacking licence that they have in our current system.

I don’t expect to see much of a formation change anytime soon as Wenger is and has always been a continuity manager. His system in pre season is often the one worked on and used throughout a whole season until he reviews this system come the end of the season. Changes will happen in games if needed but I do not imagine that we are going to start many games with a new system.

The way I see our current formation is that when all the players are playing well and full of confidence then the starting system shouldn’t really make much of a difference.

van Persie shouldn’t be isolated, he should be continuously supported from Theo and Gervinho from wide areas making central runs, Song/Wilshere or whoever could cover the overlapping runs from Gibbs/Santos. van Persie should be dropping deep to collect the ball and slid through passes into the path of Wilshere/Arteta or wide forwards.

The system should change fluidly throughout a game but we are only likely to see that when the team regain belief and stop having important players on the treatment table for large periods.

I just hope that the team click into gear sooner rather than later.