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Mikel Arteta has discovered his latest Arsenal undroppables after Leeds United win
The Gunners returned to winning ways with a 4-2 win over Leeds United on Sunday afternoon, and some fans have picked out two impressive performers at the Emiratesfootballlondon
Following the 1-0 defeat against Aston Villa last weekend, the Gunners manager admitted his side’s lack of efficiency and consistent threat in the final third was becoming a big concern for him.
“I’m not really interested in the possession – it’s the positions that we take with that possession, the spaces we attack and how many open situations we create,” Arteta said. “It’s about the final pass, the final move, the one-on-one situations where of course you have to hit the target, the cut-backs, the deliveries into the box.
“All those things we have to improve because with the numbers we produce in the final third, we have to be hitting the target at least 10 or 12 times.
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“And then the fact that Villa had more shots on target as well is because we gave them – apart from the goal – another three or four big situations where they were open to shoot on target.”
In an attempt to correct the problem, Arteta named a very attacking line-up for the visit of Leeds.
Arsenal are targeted every week by teams – Arteta
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang was restored to his natural centre-forward role with Bukayo Saka, Martin Odegaard, and Emile Smith Rowe all providing support from midfield.
It’s safe to say the decision paid off as the Gunners scored four goals – three of which came from Aubameyang – and had chances to make the scoreline even more comfortable.
But was that a one-time experiment, or will Arteta stick to this formula in the coming weeks?
With everyone fit, it can be argued that Bernd Leno, Kieran Tierney, Thomas Partey, Saka, Smith Rowe, and Aubameyang are the automatic starters in Arteta’s strongest team.
And the reaction from many Gunners supporters on Reddit as well as Twitter is that Odegaard’s name should be added to the list.
Furthermore, there have also been a couple of shouts for Gabriel Magalhaes to be installed as the first-choice central defensive option.
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Qtn68 said: “Arteta’s plan to surround Auba with 3 creators was interesting and obviously worked perfectly with the amount of chances created and Auba’s perf.
“The more option we have the more dangerous we will be!
connaught44 said: “If you’re going to play Auba centrally you need a lot of creators around him, which we haven’t had until recently. That line-up yesterday felt very reminiscent of Wenger.”
