Arsenal vs Manchester City: 5 Talking Points & Tactical Analysis, Premier League 2018/19

#2 Emery's setup restricts Arsenal in attack

Mesut Ozil started on the right flank for Arsenal

Although Arsenal were set up in a 4-2-3-1 formation, only Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang was in his best position as a striker. The three midfielders behind him were shuffled around and it restricted the Gunners a bit when they looked to get forward.

The formation saw Henrikh Mkhitaryan on the left while Mesut Ozil was out on the right. When neither of them plays as a no.10, they are usually on the opposite flanks.

With Aaron Ramsey playing in the no.10 role, presumably because he was better at pressing the City midfield off the ball, it affected their rhythm and they only looked lethal on the counter-attack.

There were even times when Ramsey was the furthest player forward while Aubameyang hung back. Mkhitaryan had quite a disappointing game by his standards.

It was only after Ozil drifted in that he started to affect play and had some good touches to release his teammates and one particular pass almost set up Ramsey who found himself marginally offside.

Mesut Özil for Arsenal vs. Man City:• Most possession lost (19)• Most possession gained (7)A bizarre mix. 🙃 pic.twitter.com/oFBjYLidZO

— Squawka Football (@Squawka) August 12, 2018

They were unable to get the ball to Aubameyang quickly enough and even the long balls to the Gabon striker were too deep with Ederson cleaning up at the back. Aubameyang's first and only shot in the first half was a frustrated effort from range which was well off target.

The second half saw some improvement but this is a team in transition and the communication between teammates has still not been established. The Gunners were playing on different wavelengths.

The timing of their runs is what let them down the most in attack with the offside flag preventing Arsenal from bouncing back time and again - all thanks to City's high line.