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With a much-needed victory against West Ham United at the London Stadium, Arsenal is back on course in the top four race, as they sit 7 points behind 4th-placed Chelsea. Unluckily, just as they have found their rhythm back, the Gunners have reached their first big test of December; hosting champions Manchester City at the Emirates.
The likes of Nicolas Pepe and Gabriel Martinelli could not have found their feet in the English league at a better time, as both scored a goal each to seal a 3-1 win over the Hammers on Monday.Hwever, they will have to be at their absolute best to even stand a chance of beating Pep Guardiola's side, who are looking to get their season on track after four defeats already this term.
With Freddie Ljungberg likely to be in charge of the game against City, he and his coaching staff will be at their level best to beat the holders. Here are three ways in which Ljungberg can probablyupstage Guardiola.
#3 Exploit the spaces behind Manchester City's high defensive line
Breaking past Manchester City's midfield has been pretty difficult for the English teams. As many as 7 players from City's side are in and around the opposition box when they have the ball, and yet, plenty of teams have found it difficult to break through them.
However, last week, Manchester United showcased how it has to be done. Man City had 72% possession, 23 attempts at goal and completed thrice the number of passes Man United did. But it was Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's men who bagged the three points, as they defended well, took their chances and were always a threat on the break.
Arsenal will have to do something similar and follow the counter-attacking model if they would want a result at Emirates. Pep Guardiola would obviously go with his standard 4-3-3, Freddie Ljungberg should switch to a 4-3-3; a system which he quite often used with the Arsenal under-23s. Nicolas Pepe and Gabriel Martinelli will have to be at their best to attack the spaces left behind by Kyle Walker and Angelino, and this would eventually lead them to 1v1s with the centre-backs. This would be the second-fastest pair of wingers Angelino and Walker would come up against this season; a mouth-watering prospect this Sunday.
#2 Deploy a 4-3-3 formation
Under Unai Emery, the Gunners deployed a 4-2-3-1 formation quite often. It was the Spaniard's most preferred formation, and in his first season, the double-pivot of Lucas Torreira and Granit Xhaka was a huge hit. However, Freddie Ljungberg will have to change things up tomorrow.
Now that Granit Xhaka has been ruled out for the Manchester City game and Dani Ceballos still recovering from a hamstring injury, Arsenal only has three quality midfielders left in their ranks, i.e Matteo Guendouzi, Joe Willock and Lucas Torreira.
Without the ball, Arsenal must defend in a 4-4-2 but on paper, a 4-3-3 would be best suited for this game as Joe Willock can play the No. 8 role whilst Torreira is the deep-lying midfielder and Guendouzi sits ahead of Torreira with the responsibility of making forward passes.
Pep Guardiola sets up his team to control the game. Especially in midfield, City outnumber and outmuscle the opposition team so they can control the tempo of the game, while fullbacks provide the width and stretch the opposition defence. To win against the Citizens, you have to win against their midfield.
Nullifying Rodrigo from Pep Guardiola's system would not have a massive impact, although it would create some difficulties for Rodri's counterparts as now David Silva and De Bruyne will have to drop back to collect the ball from the defence. Mesut Ozil will have to be sacrificed in order to play in a 4-3-3 system.
#1 Stop playing out from the back
Throughout the season, Arsenal has been lucky plenty of times when they've tried to play out from the back. David Luiz, Sokratis, Shkodran Mustafi, for all their experience, have failed to adapt to the style of play the coach has preferred to impose. And clearly, playing out from the back is not Arsenal's cup of tea.
City would obviously not sit back but press high up the field, whenever they lose the ball. Pep Guardiola's team is weak when they do not have possession, and they have shown it over the months that they are not the most comfortable team when they have to defend without the ball throughout the 90. What the Gunners should stick to is clearing the lines and trying to find one of Aubameyang, Martinelli or Pepe, instead of playing sideways passing against a team like Manchester City.
In short, Arsenal should do the basics right to get a result. Freddie Ljungberg should set up his team in a way which would help Martinelli and Pepe to use their pace. While the distribution from midfield will be key, the defence cannot afford to let Sterling and Bernardo Silva get in behind their line. Ainsley Maitland-Niles and Sead Kolasinac will be the ful-lback pairing Arsenal would play, as Hector Bellerin and Kieran Tierney are sidelined due to injuries. Getting behind City's defence, beating the offside traps and outperforming them in midfield will be the key to beating the champions.
