Arsenal's place in the race for top four has taken a major knock in recent weeks. The Gunners found themselves six points clear of local rivals Tottenham Hotspur just last month but have faltered in recent times, losing three of their last four Premier League outings. Now, Spurs are the favourites to qualify for next season's UEFA Champions League, sitting three points ahead of Mikel Arteta's side, who also have tougher fixtures on paper, although Arsenal do have a game in hand on them.
Still, the Spaniard knows that anything can happen, especially when you consider the two north London teams will battle it out in N17 next month. But first, they must travel to St Mary's on Saturday to take on Ralph Hasenhuttl's Southampton.
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The Saints are in a difficult run of form, losing five of their last six matches across all competitions, the most recent of which was a 6-0 home loss against Chelsea last weekend. Considering Arsenal's injury woes, Arteta may perhaps decide that a system similar to the one deployed by Blues boss Thomas Tuchel is the best approach for Saturday's highly-anticipated clash.
During the convincing victory, Tuchel opted to utilise a three-at-the-back formation, an approach that helped Arteta win the FA Cup back in 2020 before the Spaniard eventually switched to a more traditional 4-2-3-1 set-up, and most recently 4-3-3. However, the injury to Thomas Partey has left the north Londoners short in midfield whilst Kieran Tierney's extended period on the sidelines also means that Nuno Tavares is the only recognised left-back in the first-team squad.
Tough-tackling midfielder Granit Xhaka was preferred to Tavares during last weekend's 2-1 defeat to Brighton but the Swiss captain struggled and he was also dearly missed in the centre of the park. Tuchel's three-at-the-back approach would offer Tavares additional protection whilst also allowing the Portuguese Under-21 international freedom to roam further forward and contribute in the final third.
The change in tactic would also benefit Norwegian playmaker Martin Odegaard, who would be supported by Xhaka in a pivot, with Hale End academy graduates Bukayo Saka and Emile Smith Rowe helping out Gabriel Martinelli in attack.
