After Arsenal played so much better in the second half of the first Europa League group game this week, there will be Arsenal fans hoping that Arsene Wenger sticks with the system of playing a flat back four that he turned to after the sloppy first half showing against FC Cologne, but I think it would be a mistake.
Perhaps the fact that Arsenal achieved such a comfortable and comprehensive win over Antonio Conte’s Blues at the Emirates almost exactly a year ago might make the boss consider going with a back four as well, but things were different then.
For one thing that beating by Arsenal saw Conte switch his own tactics with Chelsea to a back three and with that set-up they returned the favour with a 3-1 win at Stamford Bridge in February. I also think that Wenger’s decision to change things against the Germans at halftime was in answer to having to chase the game and also to get Kolasinac on and keep Bellerin on at the same time.
Away to Chelsea we want Arsenal to be hard to beat, first and foremost and a back three should be more defensively solid. I would like to see Mertesacker in the middle with Koscielny and Mustafi either side and those three defenders have the ability between them to handle anything Chelsea can throw at us.