Mikel Arteta has hit back at criticism of his tactical tweaks at the start of the 2023/24 season, admitting that Arsenal can't play the way they did last year.
Arsenal manager Arteta has made a number of tactical changes in the club's first few games of the campaign, playing forward Kai Havertz in midfield, using midfielder Thomas Partey at full-back and putting natural winger Leandro Trossard as a false nine.
These changes have led to Arsenal dropping points at home already this season, disappointingly drawing 2-2 with Fulham last weekend.
Ahead of their Super Sunday clash with rivals Man Utd, Arteta used his press conference to defend his tactical decisions, saying: "I think we discuss formations in a different way.
"The other day there were 36 different formations in the match [against Fulham]. Against Manchester City 43. I don't know what formation we're talking about. For me it's something very different maybe from the ways that you look.
"I played different against Manchester City and there were 43 different formations. Every morning I come from my house to Colney. Sometimes I leave at six and I need to go to the windscreen because it's icy.
"At six o'clock normally I go Finchley Road and then the A21 because it's faster. Now Finchley Road is 20 miles per hour so sometimes I take a back door. But then I go on the M25. But depending on if it's a school ride I take one exit. If it's after seven o'clock I take a different exit and then I go. One day I have a flat tyre, what do I do? Maybe I have to replace it because there's a garage there. So every game is a different story guys. A different story."
When asked if Arsenal should go back to the tactical set-up which served them so well last season - a season in which the Gunners came within a whisker of winning the Premier League title - Arteta replied: "I cannot do that. I have different players. I cannot do that. Zinchenko was injured, Xhaka is not here, how can I do that?
"Unless we bring them back. I think that's not going to happen. It's different and it's going to be different and the energy is going to be different and that's because it's a different season. That's the beauty of it. The beauty of the thing that I enjoy the most which is new. We can still do much, much better a lot of things. Let's do that."
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This article was originally published on 90min as Mikel Arteta reveals Arsenal used '36 formations' in Fulham draw.
