Arsenal's rotten luck when it comes to injuries ahead of key fixtures continues and heading into the last seven games of the Premier League season, we find ourselves dealing with a defensive injury crisis.
I hope someone is keeping a list of all the absentees for Erik ten Hag who wildly claimed our squad is 'totally available' all of the time as recently as last month. Perhaps he ought to worry about the fact his side, you know, that lot who 'know how to win' were thrashed by a side sitting 13th in La Liga and therefore dumped out of the Europa League. Anyway, I digress.
Mikel Arteta revealed yesterday that William Saliba remains unavailable and his comments regarding Oleksandr Zinchenko suggest there's a strong chance the Ukrainian misses out versus Southampton this evening.
With two of our first choice back four missing and Takehiro Tomiyasu (who'd be the first we turn to under normal circumstances) sidelined for the remainder of the season, it's got me thinking - do we need to tweak the structure in order to accommodate the fact we have a left-back and centre-back playing who possess totally different skillsets to those who'd normally start?
The cautious side of me says 'why change the structure that has propelled us into this position in the first place?' But the more I think about it, it's ridiculous to think Kieran Tierney is going to master the inverted full-back role overnight. It's even more far-fetched to think Rob Holding is going to morph into William Saliba. So how can we protect these players and get the maximum out of them without negatively impacting our build up play too much. Here's a suggestion:
Adjust Granit Xhaka's role:
It's no coincidence that the 30-year-old's upturn in form has coincided with the fact he's playing a far more advanced role so let me be clear, this would be a temporary thing. Arsenal have been able to overwhelm teams by attacking with a front five which relies on the two number eights (Xhaka & Odegaard) attacking the half spaces.
In order for that to happen however, at least one of the full-backs, normally Zinchenko, has to tuck inside in order to support Thomas Partey and protect us centrally against the transition. So what if Tierney was afforded the licence to attack up the line, Martinelli moves into the half space and Xhaka is the one to sit alongside Partey?
That way, we still have a five man attack when in possession, an extra body sitting deep to protect us against counter-attacks and Tierney is allowed to play in a way in which he'll undoubtedly feel more comfortable.
As for Rob Holding, he is no Fabio Cannavaro despite what the chant says but perhaps if we can get a tune out of Tierney (who we all know is capable) - the defensive unit will function at a higher level reducing the impact of Saliba's absence.
There has been lots of discussion in the Arsenal-sphere around the idea of returning to a double-pivot in midfield as a temporary fix but in my view, that's only viable if we're still able to build up with the five pronged attack that's seen us increase our goal threat dramatically this season. Clive of the Arsenal Vision Podcast, one of the best in the business, spoke brilliantly on the idea of tweaking the structure and the need to get Tierney back to doing what he does best.
He seemed to be (I'm pretty sure, anyway) open to the idea of Jorginho playing as a part of the double-pivot in midfield but on that, I respectfully disagree.
I think Granit Xhaka is the only player with the ability to play this specific, albeit temporary role effectively. Being left-footed certainly helps given he'll be required to cover the spaces Tierney would leave. At times, he'll have to tuck into the left-back position. Not ideal as past experiences have taught us but if you think he's bad there, the even less mobile, even less physical and right-footed Jorginho is an accident waiting to happen.
Food for thought. Get in touch via the site and let me know your thoughts.