. This squad is starting to have the depth needed to truly compete on multiple fronts and I'm really intrigued to see how Arteta utilises the new signings in order to create new patterns of play and unpredictability for the opposition week to week and even within games. And as we're set for the off, here is my Arsenal XI for the opening game against Nottingham Forest.){kind=link}
Oli Price-Bates, The Fresh Arsenal podcast, external
Arsenal head into the new season stronger than the last and crucially with a number of different ways to play. The team got really good at plan A last season, but when that wasn’t possible, through injuries or tricky opposition, Arsenal fell short.
Mikel Arteta has been backed in the market and the signings of Kai Havertz, Declan Rice and Jurrien Timber provide him with a number of different tactical approaches to suit certain scenarios and opposition.
We saw the first of the tinkering in Arsenal’s Community Shield win on Sunday. There was Timber inverting at left-back and Havertz playing as Arsenal’s ‘false 9’, but almost as a high-pressing attacking midfielder, with a physical presence that gave the Gunners a real outlet in possession and posed new questions for City’s defensive structure.
Arteta has to find the balance between tinkering and consistency though – a point made more crucial given Arsenal’s participation in the Champions League this season and with Premier League games seemingly set to last 100 minutes.