Chelsea can exploit Arsenal’s lack of midfield control in the 3-4-3

Arsene Wenger has continued his dalliance with the 3-4-3 this season, with a 1-0 loss to Stoke and 4-0 beatdown by Liverpool to show for it. Chelsea’s positional discipline and control can dole out another harsh lesson to the Gunners.

Arsene Wenger was not even among the first of Chelsea’s 3-4-3 imitators last season. But, in true Arsenal and Arsene style, he has stubbornly persisted with it despite dodgy performances.

The 3-4-3 builds its exciting offensive on a dynamically controlled midfield and sturdy defence. Chelsea had so much midfield control in N’Golo Kante and Nemanja Matic last season that it compensated for the sometimes shaky defending of David Luiz and Gary Cahill. Kante’s omnipresence in midfield allowed Chelsea’s middle-line to press up as much as necessary. That allowed Marcos Alonso to free Eden Hazard on the left. At the same time, Cesar Azpilicueta could pinch up on the right to support Victor Moses’ runs forward.

Arsenal does not have anyone close to N’Golo Kante. In fairness, no one does (it’s good to be Blue). As a result, they need to play “3-4-3” much more literally than Chelsea. Their back- and middle-lines must be sturdy and coherent. They must be well-spaced across the field and the players must understand how to shift their positions subtly in response to the ball. Additionally, the spacing between their lines must be narrow and well-controlled.

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Arsenal have Granit Xhaka and Aaron Ramsey as the central midfielders. Xhaka has all the mobility and deftness of Nemanja Matic, while Ramsey has the positional discipline of David Luiz. When Ramsey drives forward to attack, Xhaka is the only thing between a typical Arsenal defence and a counter-attack. Xhaka covers the midfield as quickly as a statute made of, well, granite.

With Ramsey on an adventure, the defenders must decide whether to play a high line and try to keep play in the opposition half or maintain their position. This latter option creates a wide open space between the defence and midfield. Two passes through this space can launch a counter-attack with enough room for supporting attackers to build up a head of steam.

Liverpool showed what a top-six team can do to Arsenal’s 3-4-3. The Reds easily swarmed behind Ramsey and Xhaka, and then overtook Laurent Koscielny and the defence. Arsenal’s wing-backs, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Hector Bellerin, were even less balanced than Victor Moses, opening another gap for Mohamed Saleh and Sadio Mane.

Arsenal played a stronger game against Bournemouth, but still showed their tactical vulnerability. Against the then-winless Cherries, Xhaka joined Ramsey playing high up the pitch. Arsenal had better protection on their left courtesy of Chelsea’s one-time transfer target Sead Kolasinac. But the defence did not play up nor did Xhaka check his runs forward. Arsenal did not leave anyone back to mind the store in midfield.

A better counter-attacking team than Bournemouth could have reversed play with a single pass to a lurking striker or attacking midfielder roaming the vast space between Xhaka and the defence. This would have created an immediate overload as the ball crossed midfield, with nothing impeding the counter.

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There is little comparison between Chelsea’s midfield and Arsenal’s. Chelsea potentially have a stronger and more dynamic midfield than last season with Tiemoue Bakayoko in for Nemanja Matic. Chelsea also have a better two-way wing-back in Marcos Alonso.

Whether Antonio Conte opts for a 3-4-3 or a 3-5-2 variant, Chelsea have the clear advantage in midfield. Kante and Bakayoko can do more defensively than Xhaka can do on offensive. If they shut down Aaron Ramsey they will keep Arsenal away from the one area of the game where they may have the better of Chelsea: the 20 yards closest to Thibaut Courtois. If Chelsea’s midfielders deny Arsenal entry to their final third, they will neutralize Alexandre Lacazette, Alexis Sanchez and – in the last 30 minutes – Oliver Giroud.

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Going the other way, Chelsea will know how to occupy any gaps Arsenal creates in their own lines. Alvaro Morata has not yet had an opportunity to show his counter-attacking skills for Chelsea. Forty yards between Granit Xhaka and Laurent Koscielny could make it too easy for him to score his first Chelsea goal with his feet.