There’s a saying – in life as in football – that if something isn’t broke then don’t fix it.
It beggars belief, then, that Arsene Wenger chose to abandon the four-man defence, that had limited both Everton and Spurs to a goal each in their last two Premier League encounters, in favour of the 3-4-2-1 formation Wenger has played for the majority of the season.
With a three-man back line flanked by Hector Bellerin and Sead Kolasinac acting as wingbacks being Wenger’s modus operandus in 2017/18, Arsenal have conceded more goals in the league than any other team in the top seven.
Against Spurs and Everton, however, the defence stood taller with Bellerin and Nacho Monreal sitting back – giving Arsenal’s highly-valued attacking players the assurance that they could get forward without leaving themselves exposed at the back.
When coming up against Man City, however, Arsenal’s back three were exposed as Shkodran Mustafi found himself unable to deal with a long ball over the top for City’s first goal, and Callum Chambers was too easily outflanked by David Silva for the Citizens’ third goal.
With a chance for Arsenal to get revenge for their cup final defeat on Thursday night when they host City at the Emirates, should Arsene Wenger revert to the four man defence from recent Premier League fixtures or stick with the three-at-the back formation from Sunday?
We’ll let Arsenal fans decide…