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With Chambers and Mari expected to miss the start of next season, Arteta will have to rely on David Luiz. Here's how he can get the best out of him at Arsenal while Ozil could be the surprise beneficiary from it. (1/n)
It is first important to understand what are the qualities and shortcomings of Luiz. (2/n)
David Luiz has an exceptional passing range and can even find the lone striker up top with a single pass. (3/n)
At 33, Luiz has naturally lost his pace but still has some understanding and reading of the game. (4/n)
If you focus on all of David Luiz's mistakes this season, you will find a clear pattern. (5/n)
His individual moments of madness occur when he finds himself isolated with an opposition attacker who is in space. (6/n)
The penalty against Liverpool, the red card against Chelsea and City, and almost all his bookings have the same pattern. (7/n)
If David Luiz features in the red and white for Arsenal then it might be worth it to set the team to his strengths in order to avoid future bookings and penalties conceded. (8/n)
David Luiz needs support from the full back on his side to ensure that he isn't left exposed. (9/n)
Arteta will have to adopt a more traditional defensive approach of playing full backs. They can't make overlapping runs and can't play as inverted full backs. (10/n)
Naturally, this will lead to a more solid overall defensive structure for Arsenal. The back four will become more rigid and harder to break for opposition teams. (11/n)
One fear which arises from the idea of implementing this setup is that it could lead to death of attacking, possession based football and make Arsenal a counter attacking side. But this isn't true. (12/n)
Instead of full backs making forward runs, it will be David Luiz who will push inside the halfway line when in possession and turn the two man midfield into a virtual three man midfield. (13/n)
For easier understanding, visualize a half back who will push the midfield higher up the pitch when in possession. (14/n)
Granit Xhaka who is also susceptible to making mistakes in isolated 1v1 situations will benefit immensely from the new setup. (15/n)
The strong and traditional back four allows Arsenal to pair either Xhaka or Torreira with Willock/Guendouzi or a new number 8. (16/n)
One of the biggest advantages of such a strong defensive setup could be the reintroduction of Mesut Ozil in the starting eleven. (17/n)
Ozil can now freely operate in the number 10 role without being worried about tracking back when out of possession. Ozil excels in a setup where he is free from defensive duties and can focus on finding the perfect through pass. (18/n)
Playing David Luiz and Granit Xhaka in this setup allows both of them to keep sending through balls to the wingers on each flank. (19/n)
As a result, wingers on either flank do not need to be involved in build up play. The entire front three can press the opposition back line simultaneously. (20/n)
When the entire Arsenal front three presses the opposition defense behind, it will now leave more space for Ozil in the middle of the pitch. He will be more involved in the game. (21/n)
Aubameyang, if he stays, can lead the line while Saka and Pepe become starters on each flank. (22/n)
Before the break, Luiz's performance was on an upward trajectory which suddenly slipped after the restart. (23/n)
Knowingly or unknowingly, before the break, Arteta was already using the ethos of employing a strong defensive structure to help Luiz. (24/n)
The system which saw Xhaka slot in at left back to cover for Saka was also helping Luiz massively as the shape of the back four was always maintained and he was never left isolated. (25/n)
If Arsenal are going to pay a combined half a million pounds every week to Luiz and Ozil for another year then they may as well try to set up a system according to their individual attributes and reap rewards. (n/n)
