Arsenal face a season-defining game when they take on Paris Saint-Germain at the Emirates on Tuesday night.
The Gunners are set to miss out on the Premier League title, with Liverpool expected to claim the honour when they host Tottenham on Sunday.
Thus, all of the North Londoners’ effort and attention will go towards winning the Champions League.
PSG await over two legs in the semi-final, before a potential final in Munich against either Barcelona or Inter Milan follows that tie at the end of May.
Mikel Arteta should play Ben White at right-back for Arsenal v PSG
Arsenal comfortably beat PSG in October in the League Phase of the competition, courtesy of goals from Kai Havertz and Bukayo Saka.
However, Luis Enrique’s side have improved tenfold since then, with Ousmane Dembele now thriving in a central role and new signing Khvicha Kvaratskhelia hitting the ground running on the left.
The French giants undoubtedly possess a potent attack, but the Gunners can’t afford to be too concerned with this frightening offensive unit, and should instead look to play their own game in the first leg.
Mikel Arteta’s team have one of the fiercest defences in Europe already, so they should be willing to take a few more risks in the home game against PSG, to ensure they travel to the Parc des Princes with a lead, which they can then protect.
There are a few things the Spaniard can do to inject some additional attacking impetus into Arsenal’s game, including deploying Ben White at right-back.
Thomas Partey is suspended for Tuesday’s clash, meaning the Gunners boss will already be forced to reshuffle the pack somewhat.
Instead of moving Mikel Merino back into midfield and deploying Leandro Trossard up front, Arteta should start White, move Myles Lewis-Skelly into midfield and Jurrien Timber to left-back.
Jakub Kiwior was excellent in the Real Madrid tie, but Los Blancos hardly attacked down Arsenal’s left, and this won’t be the case with PSG, with Desire Doue or Bradely Barcola occupying that side.
Giving the Pole some experienced help on that side in the form of a lockdown defender in Timber makes sense in terms of solidifying the Gunners.
Meanwhile, Lewis-Skelly is ready to play in midfield, and the Hale End star deployed alongside Declan Rice could be a formidable partnership that physically dominates a technically excellent but feeble PSG midfield.
Ben White would unlock Arsenal’s attack against PSG
While the other pieces fall into place nicely, in terms of Timber and Lewis-Skelly’s positional changes, White’s introduction has the potential to unlock Arsenal’s attack.
Defensively, it might not be as watertight as Timber taking care of Kvaratskhelia, but part of the premise of the change is to focus on what Arsenal can do to PSG rather than the other way around.
Of course, Rice and William Saliba will be able to shuffle across and help the Englishman deal with the Georgian winger.
White gives Arsenal significantly more going forward than Timber, providing more consistent overlapping runs and higher quality crosses and cut-backs from the byline.
The former Brighton man’s inclusion would also see him reunite with Saka, with the duo’s partnership on the right-hand side of Arsenal’s attack essential to breaking teams down over the last few years.
Nuno Mendes will push high up the pitch, and the Gunners need to look to exploit the space the Portuguese leaves by having two outlets on the right in Saka and White.
If the right-back is taking up aggressive positions, it’ll naturally push Mendes back and somewhat stifle PSG’s attack.
Certainly an unconventional selection suggestion, but it’s one that Arteta must consider for the home leg, when the onus is on Arsenal to take the game to PSG.
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