Tottenham icon and former Spurs boss Glenn Hoddle has offered some selection advice to Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta after his side’s 3-0 win against Sheffield United last night.
The Gunners were the better side from start to finish. Alexandre Lacazette scored two very well-taken goals, while Gabriel Martinelli chipped in with one to help Arteta and co get a much-needed win.
Hoddle was really impressed with the Frenchman. He heaped praise on Lacazette’s performance against the Blades last night and claimed that if Arteta can play him and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang together up top, Arsenal can be a ‘real force’.
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He said on Matchday Live on Optus Sport: “For me, I look at Arsenal and I think ‘how can I get Aubaymeyang and Lacazette on the pitch together, playing up top?
“I think if you get them up the top of the pitch, you then have got to get the system right behind, and then I think they will be a massive threat. They seem to dovetail or Aubameyang has to play out on the left-hand side then has to get back and defend quite a bit.
“So, for me, those two would be a real force up front and then, for me, they don’t play enough together in those positions.”
The Insider’s View:
Under Arteta, Arsenal have never played two strikers up front from the start. The closest Laca and Auba came to playing together up front was when the Gunners boss deployed the Frenchman as a number 10 – behind his skipper who led the line.
Unai Emery had a fair bit of success playing Arsenal’s two strikers together up top in his first season at the club. He then moved away from that too, which shows that this Gunners side aren’t really suited to a two-up-top system.
On paper, there aren’t many strike-forces in the world much better than Lacazette and Aubameyang. However, it is very unlikely that Arteta will ever use them together up front – unless he completely changes his system.
