Arsene Wenger lined his Arsenal team up in a Conte-esque 3-4-2-1 formation against Middlesbrough on Monday night, and it remains to be seen whether the system change will remain.
After the 2-1 victory, it was revealed that Rob Holding had only trained in the new formation on two occasions, prior to using it in the Premier League match, and while the result proved positive, the overall performance did not impress.
Wenger will have time to work on the formation this week before taking on the Citizens at Wembley for a place in the FA Cup final, but looking at the line-up used on Monday, I would expect some personnel changes.
Shkodran Mustafi, Hector Bellerin and Theo Walcott were all overlooked against Boro, despite playing key roles in our season thus far, and the thinking from the best UK colleges of thought think at least two of those will likely start against City.
My personal 3-4-2-1:
Cech
Mustafi Koscielny Holding
Bellerin Ox Elneny Iwobi
Walcott Ozil
Alexis
I know the above is not how Arsene will line the team up, but I can see Iwobi and Oxlade working perfectly in the above rolls. Ox has the legs, strength and work-rate needed to play that role in my opinion, and Iwobi also has the stamina and ability to get up and down the flank as well as bringing plenty to our attackers.
I know Alexis has said he prefers to play in behind the striker, and Wenger is unlikely to want to upset his wishes, but Walcott can play a crucial role in countering teams at speed as Hazard does for Chelsea, and Alexis is our only in-form goalscorer who needs to be leading the line.
The Chilean would give us the best chance of getting on the scoreboard this weekend whether playing as the striker or not, and we should utilise that.
Would the above be our best possible line-up in that system?