Arsenal did win the away match at Middlesbrough with Arsene Wenger’s new 3-4-3 formation, but one could hardly have called it an impressive display, and the Boro did come very close to scoring with some set-pieces into the box anyway, which seems to be Arsenal’s biggest problem at the moment.
Wenger was pleased with the result though, if nothing else,, but he admitted that he is unlikely to be using this set up on a regular basis. He was asked about this after the win at the Riverside. “I don’t know, I just felt that sometimes the team needs to believe in something new, something different, just to find a bit of confidence back,”
“Overall I felt that it worked quite well today because we won the game.
“We had practiced on it before at some stage, (but) we like offensive football so this was a bit more defensive-minded for us.
“I feel overall it is not a long-term plan, but punctually it can work.”
What do you lot think of the three-at-the-back line-up? In my opinion it didn’t seem to work any better than Wenger’s usual set up. The defence still looked clueless and would have been torn apart by any better team than Middlesbrough. I know that it obviously works brilliantly for Chelsea but either they have the right players to fit, or the manager knows how to get his team to stick to a plan.
I don’t think it’s the formation that is the problem, it is a matter of confidence and belief, both of which Arsenal are lacking at the moment. I am not looking forward to facing Man City this weekend….
Darren N