Arsenal face a tough opening fixture to their Premier League campaign as they welcome Manchester City to the Emirates Stadium.
Unai Emery takes charge of his first competitive game as Gunners boss and has a battle of wits against Pep Guardiola first up.
Here’s a look at the key tactics he could employ.
TORRIERA AS THE ANCHORMAN
Lucas Torreira will be key in this fixture having excelled as the holding midfielder in 4-2-3-1 systems for Sampdoria and also for Uruguay at the World Cup. The 22-year-old’s ability to cover large areas of space and win the ball back will be crucial as he’ll have to keep an eye on both David and Bernardo Silva.
He also offers an out-ball for Arsenal’s centre-backs to help cope with City’s high-press. Another byproduct of Torreira’s withdrawn role is he could bring the best out of Granit Xhaka who looked far more comfortable leaving the anchorman duties to Valon Behrami in Switzerland’s set up.
Finally, the Uruguayan’s distribution will help launch counter-attacks while utilising the pace of Alexandre Lacazette and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang on the break.
FORWARD THINKING
Some have called for a change of formation to fit both Lacazette and Aubameyang into the starting line-up to face City but Emery is unlikely to meddle with his side’s balance against the might of the Premier League champions. Given the need to operate on the counter-attack though, the duo’s pace is a real asset.
The Frenchman has looked out of his element in wide areas, though, and Aubameyang may therefore feature on the left flank instead. However, the potential to frequently swap positions and leave defenders scrambling is appealing.
You can see it now – Lacazette peeling wide to make space, Aubameyang’s darting diagonal run in behind and a clever reverse through ball from Mesut Ozil would all make for a pretty picture.
