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Mikel Arteta has been criticised by fans and pundits for Arsenal’s weekend performance against Fulham and will need to avoid another bad performance when they face Manchester United this weekend.
Arsenal will welcome the Red Devils to the Emirates on Sunday as they look to bounce back from their unexpected draw against Fulham last weekend.
The Gunners dropped their first point of the season after playing a 2-2 draw against Marco Silva’s side despite the Cottagers going one man down.
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21:15 - 29.08.2023
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Arsenal have had a bit of a struggle since the start of the season, having failed to win convincingly.
They face a very strong opponent in Manchester United this weekend and we take a look at what Mikel Arteta must do to defeat the Red Devils.
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1. Revert back to last season’s tactic
Mikel Arteta has been testing a different type of tactics since the start of the new season which has left the fans worried.
The tactics are dependent on keeping possession of the ball and controlling the narrative of how the game is played thereby making the opponent play a low-block formation.
However, it is limiting the amount of penetrations and chances created by the team and has left them struggling to kill off games.
Arteta needs to revert back to his tactic last season that made them more dangerous going forward against low-block opponents.
2. Return Gabriel Magalhães to the starting lineup
Gabriel Magalhães has been left out of the starting lineup by Mikel Arteta for the first three games of the season and has been only used as a substitute.
Ben White has been used to partner William Saliba since the start of the season and there have been several errors at the back.
The three goals conceded this season have been due to defensive errors and it looks as if the new partnership isn’t working as it should be.
Arteta needs to put Gabriel back into the starting lineup because he already has a good partnership with Saliba which helped the team in their title race last season.
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3. Move Thomas Partey back to his position
Another tactic Arteta needs to change if he wants his team to have a chance against Man United is returning Thomas Partey to his position.
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10:02 - 30.08.2023
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15:30 - 27.08.2023
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Arteta has used Partey as a right-back since the start of the season with the privilege of slotting into the midfield when the team is in possession of the ball.
However, it leaves a big gap in that position due to the fact that the Ghanaian does not have the ability to recover when the opponent is on a counterattack.
It also isolates Saka in his position, leaving him to only take on two players because Partey does not run into space the way Ben White does to help the Englishman make more use of the ball.
Arteta needs to put Partey back to his holding midfield position and let Ben White return to his right-back position against Man United.
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4. Stick to inverting with Zinchenko
ZInchenko has also been a substitute for Arsenal in their last two Premier League games and has not started any game this season.
His presence when he came in against Crystal Palace and Fulham gave the Gunners more penetration from the middle.
His line-breaking passes are very important to Arsenal’s build-up and Arteta needs to bring him back to the team against Man United.
Mikel Arteta needs to stop experimenting with his team by using Kiwior or Tomiyasu in an unnatural position and play the right players against the Red Devils.
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5. Be more clinical in front of goal
One of the issues Arsenal had last season was not being clinical in front of goal and killing games off to avoid a comeback.
Mikel Arteta’s side has continued in that same trend this season, struggling to kill off games as it should be with the amount of chances that are created in each game.
They managed to see off Nottingham Forest in the first game of the season with a 2-1 win. The same thing happened at Crystal Palace, just a 1-0 victory with several chances wasted.
It came back to hunt them against Crystal Palace after going 2-1 up but still ended up drawing the game after the Cottages were already a man down.
Arteta needs to work on his team's conversion rate before the Man United game because the Red Devils will play on the counterattack and will bury their chances when it comes.
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