Unai Emery chose to play with a three-man backline vs Southampton on Saturday but clearly this formation has not been working for the Arsenal players during the current season.
Callum Chambers, David Luiz and Sokratis played in the backline meaning both Tierney and Bellerin started the match as proper wingbacks.
With the kind of talent they had on the pitch, Arsenal were expected to pick up an easy win vs the Saints but at half-time, the match was finely poised at 1-1.
And to everyone’s surprise, Unai Emery chose to scrap his initial formation after the restart as he chose to revert back to a 4-4-2 formation.
This formation change meant Nicolas Pepe came in to replace Chambers but still, the North London failed to make any major inroads and clearly the fans and pundits weren’t too pleased with Unai Emery tinkering with his first XI so much.
But speaking after the match, the manager chose to defend his decision as he tried to explain why he fell back to the tried and tested 4-4-2 formation in the second half.
“That’s a decision I’ve made because I need to find a solution,” he said about the change[as reported].
“We play with three centre backs to feel stronger defensively, but also because in the first half, we were better defensively.
“But it wasn’t enough. We needed to attack more in the second half so I changed it. Then when we were attacking more, we had 20 or 25 minutes where we were better offensively but then defensively we lost a little bit of that balance and conceded more chances than we wanted.
“That is the issue. I need to work, I need to analyse, I need to find a solution. Today I tried that, starting with the centre backs, changing in the first half when we were drawing because we wanted to win.
“We wanted to achieve more risks to attack and to get more players in the attacking third. But then we struggled defensively then with their transition.
“Now we are going to analyse it and find solutions as to whether we are better with three or two centre backs, the balance, and then work out how we can be stronger defensively and offensively. We lost that balance.
“We had a strong start to the second half in the first 20 or 25 minutes, but then we lost that balance and defensively we struggled more than we needed. At the end, we drew and it’s not enough.
“We’re frustrated and disappointed, so are the supporters. Now we are speaking in the dressing room, the coaches, the club, and we need to work and analyse to find a solution.
“We can be disappointed at the moment but we need to keep on moving for the next match, to prepare and improve on the issues.”
