Analysis: Arsenal

Unai Emery set Arsenal set up in a 3-4-3 formation, with Hector Bellerin and Sead Kolasinac providing the width either side of deep-lying central midfielders Granit Xhaka and Lucas Torreira. Alex Iwobi and Henrikh Mkhitaryan provided the support for Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang in attack.

Arsenal would look to try to find the free man during the build-up phases, often circulating the ball between the back three and the two central midfielders, attempting to draw Tottenham players towards them and free up passing lanes to the wide players or attacking midfielders. The key threat for Arsenal was the penetrative runs of their attacking players, who were constantly looking to get on the shoulders of the visiting defenders and exploit the space behind them. Aubameyang would often do this centrally, while Iwobi and Mkhitaryan would provide these options from the half-spaces.

In the first half, Arsenal showed a bias to building down their left side and exploiting the space behind Serge Aurier. This would be through the runs of either Iwobi or Kolasinac, who could often be found receiving the ball just wide of the penalty area and in a position to cross or cut back.

In the second half, however, a tactical switch from Emery saw Alexandre Lacazette come on to partner Aubameyang up front, with Aaron Ramsey operating as the only attacking midfielder in what effectively became a 3-4-1-2. The principles largely remained the same, although Lacazette and Aubameyang would often play far from each other in order to stretch the Spurs defence horizontally and open up spaces for Ramsey to run in behind. The Welshman was also able to drop into deeper areas and assist Xhaka and Torreira with the build, again with the aim of bringing opponents towards the ball and freeing up space elsewhere.

Out of possession, Arsenal operated largely in a 5-2-3 structure, in which Kolasinac and Bellerin dropped back to join Shkodran Mustafi, Sokratis and Rob Holding while Xhaka and Torreira protected in front. However, this structure only really applied when Tottenham had good possession.

When Spurs were in the initial stages of their build-up, Arsenal would press much more aggressively. The ball-side attacking midfielder and wing-back would look to press wide when an opposition centre-back or full-back had possession; Xhaka and Torreira would be positioned deeper and look to affect Christian Eriksen or Eric Dier should they receive possession, while the far-side attacking midfielder would tuck in to be in a position to affect Moussa Sissoko, effectively nullifying any Tottenham central overload. The deeper positioning of Xhaka and Torreira also offered extra security and allowed the wing-backs to be aggressive in their press – which created several early chances for the hosts.