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Unai Emery discusses tactical switch but rules out pairing Alexandre Lacazette and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang
Unai Emery insists he is open to adapting his tactics at Arsenal – but says he will not be pairing Alexandre Lacazette and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang against West Ham.
The Spaniard has used a 4-2-3-1 formation in each of the Gunners matches thus far, with Aubameyang leading the line and Lacazette starting on the bench.
On both occasions the Frenchman has been come on in the second half, but on both occasions has led the line with ex-Dortmund hitman Aubameyang moving out to the left wing.
Doing so from the start against the Hammers at the Emirates has been mooted as a possibility as Arsenal look for their first points of the season, following the 2-0 reverse to Manchester City and the 3-2 loss at Chelsea.
The duo are close friends off the field and have been keen to stress that they can play together.
But playing from wide isn’t something that suits either forward, both of whom prefer to play at the point of attack.
And Emery, when asked whether he would change his formation this weekend to accommodate the duo as a partnership, had some bad news for the pair.
“At the moment, no,” said Emery when asked if they would play together. “At the moment, I think we need to have the control with the possession, with the positioning on the pitch, with more players inside.
“And after this possession, to do the attacking moments and defending moments with this balance.
“But, it is one possibility to continue in our progress and in one moment to try also to play with two scorers. In the last match of the pre-season, against Lazio, I did it with Lacazette and [Eddie] Nketiah.
“But also, this position also for the players, they know that in one moment we can do that. But at the moment, no.”
Emery insists he is happy to change his style based on the opposition, but insists that he will always look for his side to ‘control’ the match – regardless of formation.
“My idea is first control, but the opposition want the same. With this control, you can be near to win and then know when you need to change the rhythm.
“I know we need intensity in every moment in the games. This control is to not let the opposition play. For example in the two first matches, we didn’t have the control enough; only in some moments, but not like what we need to find to win.
“Saturday is another match, tactically it will be different. It will be demanding and I want to have more control to find the win in this match.
“We are working on different situations tactically. In the first we are playing with four at the back, then we have two and one, and one and two.
“With two and one, it is like a 4-2-3-1 and one, two, is for a 4-1-4-1 or a 4-3-3. We have players who train in this system.”
