Injuries are a curse at this club and just when Arsenal get over one crisis it seems another one crops up behind us. It is incredibly frustrating but one of the key strategies to tackle these that the Gunners have lacked in recent seasons is strength in depth.
Not only depth but quality. Whilst Arsenal might have had players who could deputise in certain roles, their questionable quality often led to poor performances for the team and subsequent defeats.
Martin Odegaard’s potential absence for the trip to Manchester United throws up yet another unwanted problem Mikel Arteta now needs to solve. The Arsenal manager was not reassuring of the Norwegian’s prospects only going as far as to say he was yet to train with less then two days until the side travel.
Emile Smith-Rowe
Smith-Rowe’s best position is still debated amongst supporters. Despite developing as a number ten he has flourished at senior level playing on the left-hand side of a front three.
That said, he is the most experienced option to replace Odegaard in the side but the England international is far from in form at the moment. He lacks the creativity that Odegaard brings to the team, instead being much more direct in his place.
That said, potentially playing on the counterattack, Smith-Rowe’s pace and directness could be a useful tactic. He has scored away at big sides such as Chelsea before so why not again?
Fabio Vieira
Vieira is certainly the obvious acquisition to compete with Odegaard in the Arsenal team. His double-digit assists for Porto last season and 20-plus goal contributions drew the attention of the club as they snapped up the Portuguese international quickly and quietly.
However, he is yet to make his senior debut for the club and throwing him into the lion’s den at Old Trafford having not played since April is a huge risk. That said, sometimes you need to run before you can walk and a test of this size could show everyone why exactly Vieira was the man we bought.
Change of system
Lastly, with no other natural fit, a change of system might be the solution. Arsenal have been playing with a back four which was fluid and shifted into a back three of Ben White, William Saliba and Gabriel Magalhaes.
Kieran Tierney and Oleksandr Zinchenko were given a licence to roam forward and get involved with the attack. Therefore, switching to a 3-4-3 system could be an option for Mikel Arteta, removing the creative ten and instead giving the wide positions the emphasis on chance creation.
White, Saliba and Gabriel could be flanked by Tierney and Bukayo Saka with the front three made up of Gabriel Jesus, Gabriel Martinelli and Eddie Nketiah. Smith-Rowe and Vieira are further options but this is definitely a viable structure to opt for.
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