Premier League 2021/22 Preview: How can Arsenal minimize their defensive issues to stop City’s explosive attack – tactical analysis

Mikel Arteta’s job as Arsenal manager isn’t very secure at the moment with the team having tons of squad problems and struggling to find balance  plus the small matter of how to achieve their first victory in Premier League. The Gunners’ two defeats against Brentford FC and Chelsea in the first two rounds set the record straight: despite spending the most out of all clubs during the summer transfer window, the team struggles are nowhere near disappearing.

Even neutral football fans have criticised the way Arsenal have played at the start of the season and have confirmed that their playing style is unpleasant to watch and is inefficient. While they got their first win of the season against West Bromwich in the Carabao Cup, with Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Alexandre Lacazette back in action, it wasn’t enough to convince the critics that the Londoners are going to transfer this performance to the EPL.

The team are struggling with the lack of squad depth in certain positions with players being injured and having tested positive for COVID. A few defenders are out of action, while another one Kieran Tierney is doubtful as he picked up an injury against Chelsea. This makes Arsenal’s problems run even deeper.

Their next opponent Manchester City havent started the season exactly as they wanted, losing one-nil to Tottenham in the first round. The Citizens raced back on track in their next game and achieved a 5-0 victory over Norwich City with their new record signing Jack Grealish scoring his first goal for the team and proving why he was worth the 100M.

In this preview, we will use tactical analysis to find out what the teams’ tactics could be in aim to expose each other and get the three points.

Have Arsenal’s defence any chance against City’s deadly attack?

Despite the absence of their key men in attack, the Londonders’ biggest struggles at the start of the season have been defensive. They have failed to perform well in different areas, conceding four goals in two games and scoring none.

The team’s central defence was easily disrupted by both teams. The team’s inadequate marking and their failure in 1vs1 situation caused them a lot of trouble, especially against Chelsea’s new signing Romelu Lukaku. Pablo Mari and Rob Holding absolutely failed in covering the ex-Inter player which allowed him to play with the received balls which the Arsenal midfield let slip in on multiple occasions. The support from midfield in these situations was absent and the whole team’s defensive positioning lacked structure.

Then four Arsenal players failed to cover Lukaku and allowed a back pass which resulted in spreading out wide to the completely uncovered flank. Very poor marking by Arsenal.Players were easily dragged out of position and there was no one to cover depth. It was a completely disjointed performance. Struggling with picking a decent right-back option in the absence of Héctor Bellerín and heavily relying on Tierney on the left has left Arsenal completely vulnerable on the flanks. They allowed Chelsea to cross the ball 17 times, which showed that they were equally helpless both centrally and out wide. It is expected that they will have the same problems against City who involve many players in attack and rely on short passing, creativity and smart off the ball movement.

City could eas