3 Ways Arsenal can line up against Manchester City

#2 Field a conventional 4-3-3

Will Ozil again be confined to the bench?

Mid-week, Arsenal played a narrow version of the 4-3-3 with Aubameyang, Ozil and Lacazette forming the front three. The midfield comprised of a trio of conservative midfielders in Elneny, Guendouzi and Torreira.

However, come Sunday, one can expect Xhaka to replace Elneny and Ozil to surely drop out of the eleven (a cloud over his work-rate remains).

With the said formation, Arsenal would surely be better placed to control the midfield. Yet, they could just leave themselves exposed in the wider areas.

Aubameyang and Iwobi are smashing players on the ball but both possess the tendency to switch off at times without it. Hence, entrusting the pair with stopping Walker and Danilo might just be a tad risky.

Additionally, the Gabonese hasn’t looked very comfortable playing on the right wing with his tendency to cut inside making the Gunners hopelessly narrow on occasions.

The defence too, might not paint as solid a picture with Monreal and Mustafi being the only centre-backs.

The upside though would be that Arsenal get to re-kindle the wonderful partnership between Iwobi and Kolasinac. The Nigerian’s clever movement invariably paves the way for the Bosnian to venture forward and if the latter can improve his end product, it could be a potential goal-scoring avenue.

Hence, all is not doom and gloom with the said system. Yet, the cons might just outweigh the pros a touch.

But, if the Gunners’ notoriously long injury list rids them of the required players, sticking to the 4-3-3 could just prove to be the safer option.