How Arsenal can line up with Kai Havertz and Declan Rice

Arsenal nearly won the Premier League last season and now knows what is required to stop Manchester City from running away with any league crown.

Mikel Arteta’s side overachieved in the last campaign, but it could be a good thing, and that season launched them into becoming one of the top sides in the country again.

After earning a return to the Champions League, the Gunners are now prepared to ensure they make the most of their new-found success and spend as much time among the top clubs in the country as possible.

There is a major shift in the clubs that represent England in the European competitions, and it is becoming trickier to win a place in the top four.

Newcastle United, Brighton and Aston Villa won European places last season, with the Magpies ending the term inside the top four ahead of Liverpool.

Eddie Howe’s side knows how challenging it would be for them to earn a place there again and have been strengthening their squad.

Liverpool has also bolstered their group and are favourites to finish the next campaign inside the top four yet again.

Arsenal has now added Declan Rice and Kai Havertz to their squad, with Jurrien Timber on his way and the likes of Thomas Partey and Granit Xhaka set to leave the club.

More new players could still join the Gunners, but how will the North Londoners lineup next season to make fans buy Arsenal tickets?

In this article, we cover some formations which could be used by Mikel Arteta to make his team win games and end the campaign with a trophy.

3-5-2

Mikel Arteta has mostly stuck with four at the back since he became the club’s manager, and the Spaniard has found some success and balance with that formation.

However, when he added Oleksandr Zinchenko to his squad in the last summer transfer window, he seemed to play with three at the back when the team attacked, as Zinchenko spends most of his time in midfield or attack.

It is believed that Arteta is adding Kai Havertz to his squad because he wants to set his team up with this formation.

Arsenal now has more than enough options to implement it to perfection, and we believe he could set his team up this way:

Aaron Ramsdale will remain in goal, having proven to be one of the finest goalies in England.

Ben White, William Saliba and Gabriel Magalhaes would be his three starting centre-backs.

Bukayo Saka could start on the right-wing back, with Zinchenko starting on the other wing, leaving space for three midfielders.

Rice will play as the only holding midfielder in the set-up, with Havertz and Martin Odegaard playing as the two offensive midfielders.

Gabriel Martinelli and Gabriel Jesus could now feature as the two strikers to complete an exciting formation that promises a lot of goals.

4-3-3

The 4-3-3 is one of the most popular formations in the world of football, and it will serve Arsenal very well with the new squad they will be left with.

If Arteta wants to set his team up with this formation, he may not make any significant change to his goalkeeping and defence as his team already plays with four at the back.

However, they will make a huge change in midfield. Without Xhaka and Partey, Rice and Havertz will support Odegaard, with the Englishman holding things at the back, while the other two support the attackers on the pitch.

The three men up top would now be Bukayo Saka on the right, Gabriel Jesus in front and Gabriel Martinelli on the left wing.

Arsenal may want to make changes, but they will not lack options because their current squad seem well-suited for this formation.

4-4-2

Just like the 4-3-3, the 4-4-2 is one of the oldest formations in football, and Arsenal will have almost no issue fielding a solid team with it.

Jakub Kiwior and Timber will struggle to break into the Arsenal back four that nearly won them the Premier League last season unless one of the players in that set-up is injured, suspended or rested by the manager.

Matt Turner is also not so close to ever displacing Ramsdale as the Gunners’ first choice, so their defence will largely remain unchanged from how it looked in the 4-3-3 formation.

Rice will start as the holding midfielder, with Odegaard playing in front of him and just behind the two strikers.

Both midfielders will be flanked by Bukayo Saka and Gabriel Martinelli, who will play in a very advanced role, while Havertz and Jesus serve as the two strikers.

The German has filled in that role for Chelsea and might also play more as a false nine or support striker for Jesus.

4-2-3-1

Another interesting formation Arsenal can use with their current options, including the new signings, is the 4-2-3-1.

This is one of the most popular systems, and it would ensure that they maintain their four-at-the-back system, which is quite important, considering they now have more defenders.

Arteta knows having four defenders provides a lot of balance and some security to the team, which is why he keeps investing in a few more to have a good depth in that area.

With this formation, he can field his best defenders while pairing Rice and Jorginho in a more defence-minded midfield.

Odegaard would then be given the freedom to roam the attacking midfield as the number ten, flanked on the right by Saka and on the left by Martinelli, while Jesus starts as the lone striker.

One of the most important factors in a successful season is squad depth, and Arsenal has invested heavily in ensuring they would have an advantage with regard to that next season.

Arteta has already proven he is one of the finest managers in Europe, and we expect the Spanish gaffer to now manage his team to do much better in the next campaign.

Ideally, this means finally winning the league, but achieving that would still not be easy, considering the other top clubs in England have also strengthened their squad.

However, with a big squad like he has now, which is also packed with quality players, Arsenal can win a trophy in the next campaign.

The likes of Liverpool and Chelsea would be stronger, which means the Gunners and Newcastle are at risk of losing their place inside the top four, but Arteta’s side has had a good summer.

Fans would now look forward to the departures that will happen at the Emirates as they attempt to balance the squad.

Thomas Partey and Granit Xhaka have been linked with a move to Juventus and Bayer Leverkusen before the transfer window closes.

Fabrizio Romano has confirmed Xhaka will now be allowed to leave after Arsenal found a breakthrough in talks with West Ham for Rice, but would they not miss these players?

Partey and Xhaka have been the most important midfielders at the Emirates since Arteta came to England, and losing both men in the same transfer window could be a blow.

Their departure will leave Jorginho and Mohamed Elneny as the only experienced midfielders in the squad, but both hardly play for the Gunners and losing the key players could be a mistake.

Havertz and Rice come to the Emirates as young but experienced midfielders who have won European titles.

But that change of environment might make them struggle in the first few weeks or months of the season, and the Gunners cannot afford to start the term slowly because it could affect their momentum in the long run.

Their fans trust the gaffer to do a good job, and he now has the players to help him set his team up for success; it would be interesting to see how his side performs.