Blog: A tactical analysis of Arsenal

Arsenal haven't changed much since they surprisingly sneaked ahead of Tottenham Hotspur into second place last season, with only Swiss midfielder Granit Xhaka and young defender Rob Holding arriving so far this summer.

For that reason, we can expect Arsene Wenger's team to be relatively similar in formation, although injuries in defence may see them alter their tactics slightly, at least for the first few matches.

The Gunners have issues at centre-back, with Per Mertesacker out for four months and Gabriel likely to be missing for up to eight weeks. Laurent Koscielny is training, but isn't quite match fit, which means Calum Chambers will almost certainly start in the heart of defence.

Chambers had a very difficult first 45 minutes against Liverpool last season, but did show improvement in the second half. “I did not sub him as I wanted to save my offensive options,” admitted Wenger in the post-match press conference after the 0-0 draw last August.

“We want to play out from the back, so the players go into the game and do that. Once they lose the ball, they think they have to continue to play out from the back. But the more experienced players maybe should have said, 'You can see that he is having trouble. Let's push forward, so he can kick the ball into the opponent's half, and play off [Olivier] Giroud,'” added the Arsenal manager.

Jürgen Klopp’s desire to press the opposition backline could be key for Liverpool, with Nacho Monreal, Krystian Bielik and Holding amongst the contenders to partner 21-year-old Chambers. Wenger may opt to use both Mohamed Elneny and Francis Coquelin in the holding midfield positions, in order to provide added protection to the inexperienced centre-backs. 

Either Santi Cazorla or Aaron Ramsey may appear in a wide position, if Elneny and Coquelin do sit in front of the back four together. Jack Wilshere is expected to return in the next week, but the opening round fixture has come a little too quickly for the Englishman.

If Arsenal are forced to play a longer style than normal, then they will need runners to get into the box. Alexis Sanchez and Mesut Ozil will have to break quickly to support their lone forward in the 4-2-3-1 system.

Giroud had an impressive European Championship in his home country, with three goals and two assists in the tournament. The Frenchman has five goals in eight league games against the Reds and will be hopeful he can continue his confidence into the new campaign.

Paul Wilkes (@paulwilkesfooty)