ARSENAL manager Mikel Arteta claims the Gunners used a staggering 43 formations against Man City in the Community Shield.
The Gunners claimed their first silverware of the season with a 4-1 win over Pep Guardiola’s side on penalties following a 1-1 draw.
A series of tactical tweaks from Arteta pushed them to the victory after super-sub Leandro Trossard scored a late goal to level the score.
He attempted some similar changes during last week’s Premier League clash with Fulham, but the match ended 2-2 following two individual errors.
The Spaniard’s tactical ‘experiments’ have been a cause for concern for many Arsenal supporters.
However, when asked if he will revert back to last season’s successful set-up, Arteta did not let anything slip.
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He said: “In our last match against Fulham, we used 36 different formations. Against Manchester City in the Community Shield it was 43.
“There are so many patterns of play in every game and every sequence demands a different solution.
“Every morning I drive from my house to London Colney and sometimes I need to leave at six in the morning because the windscreen is icy.
“Normally I take the Finchley Road and then the A21, but sometimes the Finchley Road is going at 20mph so I take a back road and use the M25.
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“Then if it’s a school day and I have to drop my kids off, I take a different route or maybe I have a flat tyre and have to find a garage.
“Everyday it’s a different story and that’s the same with football. Every game requires different decisions and that’s the beauty of the thing that I love the most.”
Arteta has also urged impatient Arsenal fans to give Kai Havertz time to make his mark at the Emirates.
And he promises sceptical Gunners: “Show him the love and he will explode.”
The 24-year-old German international has struggled to impress since his £65million summer move from Chelsea and some supporters are already questioning his place in their team’s midfield.
But Arteta insists he has seen it all before with current fan favourites who were initially written off before they had a chance to show what they were all about.
Ahead of tomorrow’ Emirates showdown with Manchester United, he said: “We have some beautiful examples in the last few years of players that we have given a lot of support to and they have felt that love and just exploded.
“It took more than a few months for people to be convinced about Martin Odegaard. It was the same with Gabriel Magalheas and people said Ben White could not play as a full-back.
“Aaron Ramsdale wasn’t good enough for Arsenal and now we have signed another keeper and suddenly it’s a catastrophe.
“Bukayo Saka was a left-back when I came here and now he’s a right-wing and many supporters were not sure about Granit Xhaka.
“The players have to love what they do and that only happens when they feel supported.
“So I tell you now that I love Kai Havertz and I see his qualities every day in training.
“His work-rate is excellent, he has a football brain and understands when to move, when to stay, when to run. It’s phenomenal.
“And don’t forget that he has played with three different players behind him in our three games so far and they are the ones who will make him good.
“I was a midfield player and I know that you depend on the guys at the back to make you successful.
“It takes time to develop the chemistry. Granit would have been a different player last season if he didn’t have Oleksandr Zinchenko behind him.
“If you put Fabio Vieira and Gabriel Martinelli together, something good is going to happen because they are like brothers.
“It’s not about the tactics or formation, it’s just that they understand each other and love playing together.
“That’s something we have to sense all the time and it will be the same with Kai.
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“It’s never a specific science but we are talking about an international player who has already won the Champions League and achieved a lot at his age.
“He played just three Premier League games for us, so calm.”
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
