#2 Three at the back improves Arsenal’s solidity
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Ever since Antonio Conte brought three at the back to England, a number of high-profile teams have adopted the tactic. Arsene Wenger has added his team to the list and enjoyed a 100% win rate with it.
In the first half, Arsenal resembled a team still adjusting to a new system, there were reports that players were arguing about who was meant to be tracking who. Despite their unfamiliarity with the formation, their positioning nullified Manchester City’s free-flowing attack.
Manchester City were restricted to just 3 shots on target throughout the 120 minutes. For all of their 65% possession City could not find the holes to exploit in Arsenal’s compact shape. The new formation forced players like Mesut Ozil and Alexis Sanchez to sit in midfield whilst out of possession, this cut off passing lanes to the forwards.
With three competent defenders like Rob Holding, Laurent Koscielny and Gabriel Paulista, Arsenal have all the tools to successfully carry on using the 3-4-3 system for the rest of the season.
