How does Arteta solve the midfield conundrum for the derby?

Morning all.

The main talking point ahead of today’s North London derby is what Mikel Arteta is going to do in midfield without both Declan Rice and Martin Odegaard. There are options, but quite which he goes for is anybody’s guess. For our preview podcast on Patreon, I drew up a few permutations which we discussed.

Partey – Jorginho – Havertz: A kind of double pivot with two very experienced players plus Havertz ahead feels like something the manager might do, but I’d be concerned by the legs of the two veterans against a Spurs side that like to drive through the middle.

Partey – Havertz – Saka: Could you move Saka from the right to a more central position? I think he’s good enough to play there, although I don’t think he would play the way Odegaard does. It’s a risk moving one of the best players in the world out of his best position, but perhaps the presence of Raheem Sterling on the right allows you to try it.

Partey – Havertz – Nwaneri: As I said earlier in the week, the 17 year old is the closest natural replacement for the captain, and if he started it would definitely be exciting. Arteta is reluctant to play young players before he feels they’re ready, so it would be a real demonstration of his faith if he gave him his first ever start in a North London derby away from home. I’d love to see it, but I think it’s probably unlikely.

Partey – Havertz – Zinchenko: Again one I think is unlikely but one they will surely have thought about as they considered all their options. I just worry that he’s not a 90 player for what is, essentially, a 90 minute position.

Partey – Trossard – Havertz: Trossard has played left 8 before, and Havertz has played in Odegaard’s position a couple of times, but I don’t think either of them flourished there, so this is another long-shot.

The truth is, there are arguments against all of those options, and I don’t know what he’s going to do. It might be something completely different from the ones above. That wouldn’t surprise me at all. And let’s be clear, being without two players of that quality going into this game is far from ideal. There’s no getting away from that. However, that is what we have to deal with. There are no points for sympathy in the Premier League, and I’m sure Arteta will have presented this as a challenge for his players. Who is going to take responsibility today? Who will work even harder to offset those absences? All 11 hopefully, but sometimes a situation like this provides an opportunity for someone to become the hero.

I have to say, as difficult as the Rice/Odegaard thing is, I’d be more worried if we had similar problems at the back. The solidity and continuity of the back four/five will be tested today, but we know what they’re capable of. And further forward we have plenty of firepower to test a Tottenham back-line that isn’t always the most organised. We know they play with a high line, I think part of our plan today will be to expose when those moments present themselves. And they will.

The worry, of course, is that lack of control in midfield without Odegaard, and lack of that defensive running power that Rice gives you, will see the opposition enjoy more possession than we might usually like. So, it wouldn’t surprise me to see an Arsenal side sit in, and look to soak up pressure before trying to counter. Which isn’t to say I think that is our gameplan, per se, just a strong possibility based on the circumstances we face.

Underlying all of it is the low-level chaos that runs through fixtures like this. Derbies are unusual games at the best of times. Maybe Spurs will fancy their chances against an Arsenal team without two key players, and certainly that is a boost for them, but they will pay the price if they take anything for granted today. There’s still enough quality in this Arsenal team to cause them lots of problems.

Let’s keep everything crossed.

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