Arsenal FC: What are the options for Arsene Wenger to solve the Gunners’ Midfield Conundrum?

Arsene Wenger and Arsenal would be glad to see the back of November, which has always been a month of misfortune especially for their league credentials. While it has not been a good month for the Gunners, it has not been the disaster that many Arsenal fans predicted despite the League Cup exit. They have managed draws against Spurs, Manchester United and PSG despite some poor performances and also, won a tricky fixture against Bournemouth at home.

With the Gunners just three points behind league leaders Chelsea after 13 games, they are definitely in with a shout for the elusive league title. However, for that to happen, the manager will have to figure out their best centre midfield partnership. Ever since Cazorla’s Achilles injury, Wenger has tried various partnerships with little success. In the four games played in November, the Frenchman has tried four different centre midfield combinations and has yet to identify his best midfield partnership.

With Mesut Ozil in the no. 10 role and playing higher up the pitch than in previous seasons, it is vital to establish a working centre midfield partnership which can not only help in quicker transitions but also, maintain defensive stability. For the same, here is a look at the various partnerships that have been used in this season.

Francis Coquelin – Santi Cazorla

An unlikely partnership established in the second half of the 2014-15 season is arguably Wenger’s first choice midfield this season. However, as compared to the last couple of seasons, the roles for the duo has been slightly altered with Cazorla playing much deeper than the French midfielder. Coquelin has been trusted with the job of pressing high up the pitch and winning the ball in dangerous areas of the pitch. This strategy worked a treat against an unsettled Chelsea side but has its own pitfalls when it comes to maintaining defensive stability.

Also, with Cazorla approaching 32 years of age and having a recurring Achilles injury, it is unlikely that he will play all of Arsenal’s games when he does make his return from injury. His skill on the ball coupled with his chemistry with Ozil makes him Arsenal’s best centre midfielder when fit. However, the only viable option to play alongside him is Coquelin due to his combative tackling as well as the ability to make up for Cazorla’s lack of pace. Mohammed Elneny can theoretically be an alternative but he is not as good as Coquelin is when it comes to winning the ball and also, the duo have hardly ever played together.

Francis Coquelin – Mohammed Elneny

This is the partnership that Wenger went for against Manchester United at Old Trafford as well against Southampton till Elneny had to be substituted. The midfield of Coquelin and Elneny has been used earlier as well with varying degrees of success against Middlesborough and Sunderland. Against Boro, they looked completely bereft of ideas and with Ozil and Sanchez not having the best of days, it was no surprise that the Gunners were unable to break them down. However, against Sunderland, they showed better promise and due to the early lead, they looked much better though the Gunners were not incisive until the introduction of Giroud.

Both Coquelin and Elneny do not make late runs into the box and mostly stick to their positions in midfield. As a result, it is easier for the opposition to isolate Ozil especially due to a lack of options. The way that Arsenal looked to counter the same against Sunderland was to push Elneny higher with Alexis dropping deeper. However, the same did not work against United who had a much stronger midfield and with Alexis deeper, Arsenal failed to impose any threat. Elneny and Coquelin are both useful players but both of them struggle to play between the lines and revert to sideways passes without dynamic movement. Hence, while they would be useful when protecting a lead, they would struggle to exert their influence on games where it is evenly poised.

Francis Coquelin – Granit Xhaka

This combination started against Leicester City in the second game of the season as well as against Spurs in this month. In both games, they looked a decent midfield partnership without really dominating or controlling the midfield. Xhaka’s range from a deeper role is ideal but he needs a more dynamic player alongside him. As much as Wenger would prefer him to be a box-to-box player, Xhaka clearly does not have the pace or dynamism to be a box-to-box midfielder. However, he is closer to a deep lying midfielder because of his ability to play between the lines as well as play long range passes to the flanks.

With Coquelin alongside him, they form a more functional role and as could be witnessed in the first half against Spurs, they can form a combative midfield. As with the case with Elneny – Coquelin, there would be a lack of runners from deep into the box. However, the advantage with this is the ability of Xhaka to play between the lines and hence, finding Ozil in space where he can create havoc for the 

opposition defense.

Coquelin is not a player who is very comfortable on the ball and having Xhaka alongside him would be to his benefit in this respect. However, Xhaka has shown in the games that he has played that he is not yet accustomed to the pace of the league and can be robbed of possession in tight areas when closed down rapidly. This is a partnership which can work when given the time but against weaker sides, there would still be immense responsibility on Sanchez and Ozil to create the options.

Francis Coquelin – Aaron Ramsey

Coquelin and Ramsey have played together on a number of occasions in the last couple of seasons and have never completely worked as a partnership. The reason for this is that the strengths and weaknesses of the players in question are quite similar. Coquelin and Ramsey are both capable of covering the length of the pitch but lack the ability to control games. Also, both are not great with the ball in tight spaces though Ramsey edges Coquelin in this respect.

The biggest flaw in this partnership is that Coquelin does not offer himself as an option to the centre backs and Aaron Ramsey has lacked the discipline to stay deep and control Arsenal’s midfield play. As a result, the centre backs are often without options to pass out from the back and are forced to cede possession by playing it long or to the full-backs. Arsenal’s play is rather predictable when the duo play together and with Ramsey and Coquelin both often out of position, they provide lesser cover to the defense as well.

Granit Xhaka – Mohammed Elneny

This was the midfield partnership which started the game against Bournemouth, which was won 3-1 by the Gunners. There were certain definite positives such as Xhaka’s ability to aid in transitions through his quick and incisive passing as well as Elneny’s superb work rate. While it is still a nascent partnership, they have the characteristics to gel well as a unit in the future.

Elneny is an interesting player in the sense he has almost every attribute that a center midfielder requires to excel but yet seems to lack that spark that differentiates good players from being world class. He will be able to do a competent job in most games but in games which are tight, he is not likely to be the difference. Xhaka has the quality to be a match-winner but has yet to come to terms with the league and is yet to earn the trust of the manager with his disciplinary record in question as well.

Elneny and Xhaka as a midfield can work in some games but will need to prove that they provide an effective shield to the defense in addition to improving their attacking impetus as a team. Both players do not enjoy the complete trust of the manager and this partnership is likely to be the least used of the above ones.

Granit Xhaka – Aaron Ramsey

This is a partnership that has never been used by Wenger, barring 25 minutes against Spurs when Ramsey entered the fray as a substitute for Coquelin. It is a combination which can prove to be exciting especially considering the impressive Arteta-Ramsey combination in the first half of 2013-14 season. Ramsey has never had a season even close to matching that success and part of it is due to the fact that he has never been given a proper run in center midfield. But the reason why he has not been given is also due to the fact that he does not seem to be capable of playing alongside Coquelin and Flamini, who have occupied one of the two midfield slots for the majority of the last three campaigns (including the current one).

Xhaka is a player whose attributes are complementary to Ramsey, on paper at least and hence why, they should be given a chance together at the base of the midfield. Ramsey has expressed his wish to play in center midfield on numerous occasions and with the Welshman’s contract ending in 2018, it makes sense to give him a chance in his favored position.  Aaron Ramsey, like Ozil and Sanchez, has the quality to be a world class player which is why he needs to be persisted in a role which can get the best out of him. It would be to Arsenal’s loss if they lose a player of his quality without providing him the chance that he craves.

Out of the current midfielders, Xhaka seems to be best bet to fill the Cazorla-shaped void in the team especially when it comes to playing between the lines. It is worrying that Arsenal still have no idea of their best midfield, four months into this season but the manager will soon have to find his best midfield if they are to have a sustained tilt at the title in 2016-17.