There's been a lot of talk about how we shape this season and the results that have followed. For many, seeing Thomas Partey at right back simply doesn't cut it and they believe it is the reason we've not had a convincing victory.
Others have pointed out the struggles of Kai Havertz in the advanced midfielder role as a major issue in the lineup. Everyone is probably right in their assertions or maybe they're wrong but one thing that's certain is that Arteta knows exactly what he's doing.
Last season, our major issue was that we were very predictable. We only had one system and whenever a piece of the system was absent, we struggled.
We saw it when Saliba got injured and simply playing Holding broke it all apart. This is something that Arteta is trying to address as we field different 11s for different games.
I've always felt that Man City had an edge over us last season because they were able to rotate their squads and still got results. There were different tactical pieces moved around and that meant that opposition simply didn't know how to approach a game against City.
At Arsenal, Arteta is trying to create something similar with the squad and this has led to rotation around the squad. Unlike last season where we largely depended on only 13 players, in just 3 matches, there have been 17 players involved in the starting lineup.
Naturally, chopping and changing players in a formation will come with issues. Not to mention that there are two new players in midfield and that's a part of the pitch we're very dependent on to create chances.
Nobody likes dropping points at home but let's look at it like this, on a different day, we would have absolutely decimated Fulham. We simply need to sharpen up our shooting and that's about it.
I think all the talk about how tactical setup is warranted. However, I won't say it is all there is to why we didn't win.
I would also add that we showed our mettle, once again and we are not afraid of adversity. We are simply very difficult to win and I believe that's Arteta's plan for the team.
I suspect that we'd still see more tactical tinkering in the team. When you think about it, this is the best time to do it anyway.
If last season taught us anything, it is that leading the race for the longest doesn't mean much. You just need to be in the mix and then pounce in the last 10-15 games to win the title, which is what City did.
If we manage to keep the squad fresh through rotation and ensure a proper run in the Champions league. Everyone will be thinking fondly about all the tinkering we're doing now.
