Step aside Odegaard, Mikel Arteta must make key midfield change for Arsenal's clash vs Chelsea

Arsenal face their first big test of the new season when they take on Chelsea at the Emirates on Sunday afternoon, and Mikel Arteta has some huge team selection decisions to make ahead of the clash.

The Gunners have enjoyed an excellent start to the season, claiming maximum points from their first two league matches without conceding a goal. Despite this, the mood is sombre amongst certain sections of the club's fanbase, with many disappointed by the lack of forward additions in the final stages of the transfer window.

This frustration can quickly evaporate with a statement victory over a London rival. Arteta's men face a Chelsea side buoyed by two positive results to start the new season under new manager Xabi Alonso, and many are now tipping the Blues to be the side that pushes Arsenal for the title.

The Gunners can silence this noise around their West London counterparts with an emphatic win, and there is plenty Arteta and his coaching staff can get stuck into when devising a game plan for the encounter on Sunday afternoon.

For casual on-lookers, Chelsea's early season form probably looks like a classic example of a big team simply overpowering their opponents with their superior attack, whilst leaving themselves somewhat vulnerable defensively. For those much more closely observing the start of Alonso's tenure at Stamford Bridge, they've looked rather unconventional.

While they certainly have been excellent going forward and somewhat calamitous defensively, winning their first two games 3-2 and 4-3, the manner in which they've done this has been bizarre. The Blues have ceded possession in both games, having 38% of the ball at Craven Cottage before putting up just 26% possession at home to Brighton.

This is not only extremely rare for a big side, but this outcome from this pattern of game is extremely rare. Generally, when teams have so little of the ball across two games, they don't walk away with six points and seven goals scored.

At the moment, this seems very intentional from Alonso, although it's hard to believe it's sustainable. The current Premier League tactical meta is the mid-block, where teams intensely compete for possession in the middle of the pitch, but they don't press high, and they don't sit in a low block.

It's possible that Alonso's counter to this meta is to allow the opponents to have the ball and negate the mid-block by playing on the counter-attack. The likes of Cole Palmer, Joao Pedro and Morgan Rogers are extremely well-suited to this transition game, which is why they've been so deadly offensively.

An alternative viewpoint is that Alonso is merely adapting short-term to not having many midfield players available. Romeo Lavia and Malo Gusto started as the double pivot against Brighton, and Chelsea essentially vacated central areas entirely, which led to the Seagulls dominating the ball but left the West Londoners with an abundance of space in wide areas when they did get the ball back.

When Moises Caicedo returns and Reece James is fit to start in the middle of the park, perhaps this approach will change.

Another potential cause for this bizarre style could just be that Chelsea have deployed a front three incapable of pressing. None of their attacking players are effective out of possession, making it very difficult to win the ball back.

This third point gives opponents a clear blueprint for beating Chelsea, which Arsenal can certainly pull off. Arteta will, however, need to make a brave call in midfield to enact this plan.

The remit is clear: keep possession from Chelsea throughout and prevent their transitions. If the Gunners do this, the Blues will find it extremely difficult to win the ball and launch counters, while spaces should open up naturally in Alonso's dubious defensive set-up.

Martin Odegaard is an excellent possession player, but Arsenal's number one priority should be to stop Chelsea's transitions by physically dominating them in the middle of the park. Mikel Merino, who was outstanding in his short cameo against Aston Villa, is the man for the occasion.

Merino is an aggressive but intelligent passer. He can contribute to Arsenal's smothering possession game, while his defensive bite will help the Gunners contain Chelsea's quick counters.

As excellent as Odegaard has been at the start of the season, this is the sort of unpopular but necessary team selection decision Arteta should make on Sunday.

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