Arsenal fans are ‘baffled’ by Mikel Arteta’s new striker experiment with defender now drafted in

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Arsenal faced Nottingham Forest as they tried to close the eleven point gap on league leaders Liverpool.

Mikel Arteta refused to give up on the title before the match and made one change to the defeat from West Ham as Thomas Partey was replaced by Jorginho in midfield.

Arsenal dominated the first half in terms of possession but failed to create any real opportunities as the void left by the injured Kai Havertz became clearer and clearer as the half progressed.

Arteta tried a variety of solutions to solve the attacking conundrum, Mikel Merino started the game up top before an interesting tactical switch from the manager.

READ MORE: Who is the referee for Nottingham Forest vs Arsenal? Premier League match officials and VAR announced

Arsenal fans react to Riccardo Calafiori position change

Arsenal fans noticed that Riccardo Calafiori was being used in the striker position interchanging with Merino halfway through the first half.

Gunners fans have taken to X to react the strange change in the set up with one fan writing: “Enjoyed Calafiori this half but baffled by where he is supposed to be playing.”

Another Arsenal fan wrote: “We might as well put Calafiori up front because he’s more of a threat than Merino at the moment.”

One Gunners fan could not comprehend whether the move was planned or an in-game idea from the manager, they wrote: “I don’t know whether Arteta has planned this but Calafiori causing chaos could win us this game. Go on Riccardo.”

Martin Keown also noticed Calafiori striker role

Speaking on TNT Sports match coverage of Nottingham Forest v Arsenal, former defender and now pundit Martin Keown also noticed the peculiar positioning of the Italian defender.

Keown stated: “He’s had an interesting evening, almost playing like an auxiliary centre-forward.”

Calafiori was booked early on in the game for pulling the shirt of Forest winger Callum Hudson-Odoi but enjoyed success floating around the left hand side before drifting centrally.

He hit the post with a beautiful curling effort midway through the half and his performance will certainly give Arteta food for thought moving forward.