2) Which formation will Wenger use: 3-4-2-1 or 4-2-3-1?
With two first-choice centre-backs possibly missing out, Wenger may not risk playing a back-three with Per Mertesacker. The German defender missed 99% of the season and played only 37 minutes on the final day only because Arsenal lost two centre-backs in the game.
The 32-year-old has not played in the new system and, even if he did start, he would struggle in a back-three that has been so successful at the end of the season. A back-three will force Wenger to use Nacho Monreal as the other centre-back instead of the full-back or wing-back.
Monreal and Holding are capable of playing in a back-three but Mertesacker’s lack of pace would leave them vulnerable to a Chelsea counter-attack. Moreover, Mertesacker will not be able to handle Diego Costa on his own in a back-three and would be far more comfortable in a back-four.
Switching to a back four will see Monreal and Hector Bellerin move back to the role of full-back but it would blunt Arsenal’s attack that has managed to score in all but one game since Wenger changed things around, winning eight of the nine games in which the back-three formation was deployed.
For Wenger, it is a question of either sacrificing stability at the back or the presence of an extra man in the final third. Going head-to-head with Conte’s ruthlessly effective 3-4-3 with a similar formation would make for a very interesting battle.
