Ben White and Gabriel at heart of Arsenal experiment in secret Brentford thrashing

It may not count as revenge for defeat on the opening day of the season but Arsenal hammered Brentford 4-0 at London Colney in a behind-closed-doors friendly this morning, delivering a performance that suggests Mikel Arteta is still getting something from his players amid the heat. The return of Gabriel Magalhaes has come at the perfect time for the Arsenal boss, who could be about to embark on a dramatic formation change following an impressive performance from his troops.

The Spaniard has not had much joy from his favoured 4-2-3-1/4-3-3 system in the opening three matches of the Premier League campaign having lost all three games to Brentford, Chelsea and Manchester City respectively without scoring a single goal.

Arteta is now under immense pressure and knows he could be just one defeat away from the sack. That has now promoted change.

Arsenal romped to victory courtesy of goals from Gabriel, Alexandre Lacazette and Cedric Soares (2), atoning for the embarrassing 2-0 defeat against the Bees in west London nearly three weeks ago.

Both clubs are obviously missing large numbers due to the international break but Arteta is not wasting any time as he looks for solutions to Arsenal’s crisis within his squad.

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White, who recently cost £50million, thrived in a back-three at Brighton, where he swept up from the likes of Lewis Dunk and Adam Webster on his way to earning an England call-up.

Arsenal’s options in reserve at centre-back including Rob Holding, Pablo Mari and Calum Chambers have simply not been up to scratch in recent weeks.

The introduction of a back-three could prove to be a eureka moment for Arteta as he fights to keep his job.

While Arsenal are without question miles off the Premier League-winning Chelsea side of 2016/17, Antonio Conte did not have the easiest time until he introduced a back-three in west London.

The formation is renowned for tightening up teams defensively and that is exactly what Arsenal need at the moment.

It should not be forgotten that Arsenal have been missing a number of high-profile players in recent weeks but when the pressure is on, there is no time for excuses.

Moving to a back-three would have kept Frank Lampard in a job last year at Chelsea and Arteta must now follow suit, before it’s too late.

Thomas Tuchel, although clearly a superior coach, has executed a masterclass when it comes to operating with a back-three since he arrived at Chelsea and there is a lot Arsenal can learn from the Blues, who are arguably the best side in world football right now.

Arteta may not prove to be successful in the long run but deploying his previously 3-4-3 system may just give him the best chance of doing so.