Midfield Balance Is Crucial for the Rest of Arsenal's Season

Arsenal must stay balanced in midfield if the team is finally going to establish some consistency for the remainder of this season. That won't be easy for manager Arsene Wenger to achieve, considering the squad he's assembled is littered with a small army of players who all want to operate in a central, attacking midfield role.

However, Wenger can take some inspiration from recent matches. The Gunners have won seven, drawn one and lost just once in their last nine games in all competitions.

The backbone of many of those good results has been an emerging chemistry between the middle trio. Specifically, Francis Coquelin, Santi Cazorla and Tomas Rosicky have combined wonderfully in recent matches.

The way things have worked has been simplicity itself. Coquelin has been key, excelling since being recalled from a loan spell at Charlton Athletic.

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He has remained disciplined in terms of maintaining his position at the base of midfield. That's something veteran terrier Mathieu Flamini often doesn't do.

Coquelin has also been snapping into tackles with reasonable precision and considerable tenacity. That's something smart and steady Spaniard Mikel Arteta can't always be trusted to do.

Coquelin, a talented 23-year-old whose previous lack of development has been a surprise, has made a two-fold impact.

First, he's helped improve Arsenal's defence. Jack de Menezes of The Independent detailed what Coquelin has meant for the back four after the Gunners swept aside Stoke City, 3-0: "The Gunners have conceded three goals in the four games Coquelin has started, whereas the Gunners have conceded over a goal a game without the Frenchman playing in front of the back four."

As much as Coquelin has helped solidify things at the back, he's also provided a vital platform for Arsenal's more forward-thinking midfielders. Recently, that's meant more room for ageing but still-effective playmakers Cazorla and Rosicky to roam and create chances.

Having two like-minded, busy technicians at the heart of midfield has helped restore the fluency and guile to Arsenal's combination play. Both Cazorla and Rosicky love to pass and move between the lines, the vital requirement in Wenger's brand of expressive, attacking football.

But as much their skill and flair has mattered, busy is the key quality from that description of Rosicky and Cazorla's recent performances. They've both foraged for possession, tracked runners and rotated positions.

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The former efforts have meant Arsenal have lost little defensive cover, despite the fact neither Cazorla nor Rosicky are ever going to be competent tacklers. Their movement has also knitted together the defence and attack through midfield.

The movement in forward areas has been just as important. It's meant opposing teams have found the pair difficult to mark, and defenders have been dragged out of place.

Perhaps most significant, neither Cazorla nor Rosicky has been the designated No. 10 or the designated box-to-box midfielder. Usually those roles are very specific in a midfield that's become too rigid during recent seasons.

It's the No. 10 spot most of the midfielders in this squad want to call their own, and the debate about who should play there isn't about to go away.

In fact, it's only going to intensify now that club-record signing Mesut Ozil is fully fit. He seems like the natural choice for No. 10, but so does Cazorla.

When the two are in the same lineup, one usually has to make the concession of moving to the left wing so the other has the freedom to roam centrally. It's no coincidence Cazorla has been Arsenal's best midfielder while Ozil has been out and the little Spaniard has returned to the middle.

Cazorla has been exceptional as Arsenal's central schemer, but after seeing Ozil finally return to the field as a substitute during the demolition of the Potters, Cazorla sounds like he already knows his position is under threat.

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The 30-year-old has made it clear where he wants to stay, per Jeremy Wilson of The Daily Telegraph:

"

I am a midfielder and I always want to help the team score, and I will try to make more before the end of the season. I always try to make goals. I have more space [in the middle], more possibilities to score and assist, and I like this position very much. I always can help the team and I love when I play in the middle. I want to continue to play at this level for the rest of the season.

"

The question is can Wenger keep Cazorla in the middle and also make room to play Ozil centrally? Wilson, who credits the Cazorla-Rosicky partnership for producing Arsenal's "best attacking balance of the season," believes he can.

But Wilson suggests it may mean Cazorla playing ahead of Aaron Ramsey and Jack Wilshere. While the latter is a long-term injury concern, Ramsey, who also recently returned from injury along with Flamini, is a phenomenal talent who merits a place in this Arsenal midfield when he's fully fit.

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A trio of Ramsey, Cazorla and Ozil would certainly be gifted, but it wouldn't be underpinned by the necessary presence of a true defensive-minded anchor. Perhaps the key could lie in the latter stages of the game against Stoke.

It was significant that Wenger introduced Ozil for striker Olivier Giroud, opting to leave Cazorla and Rosicky on the pitch. Along with Coquelin, this meant the Gunners briefly adopted a diamond shape in the middle.

Granted, Wenger's hand had been forced by having to change right-back Mathieu Debuchy early on. But this could be one way for him to feature three attacking players in central areas and still keep a holding player at the base.

Coquelin deserves his place there, but will he keep it ahead of Arteta and Flamini? Wenger played with two holding midfielders earlier this season when he briefly reverted to a version of 4-4-2.

But he's since found true balance comes from deploying a pair of playmakers ahead of one deep-lying minder. That's what the puzzle is supposed to look like, but now Wenger has many more pieces to choose from.

How he makes everyone fit to maintain the recent balance will be crucial to Arsenal's success for the rest of the season.