Arteta Hints at Shock Tactical Overhaul as Arsenal Prepares to Battle Chelsea

Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta has expressed his willingness to utilize players in unconventional roles during the upcoming period as he continues to address the persistent injury concerns that have affected this season's campaign.

The North London club might need to implement an emergency center-back solution as early as Wednesday evening's Carabao Cup semifinal opening leg versus Chelsea.

Prior to the capital city clash, Arteta disclosed that primary defender William Saliba remains questionable for selection. The Spanish tactician, whose injury reports should be viewed cautiously, also stated that Piero Hincapié, Cristhian Mosquera and Riccardo Calafiori would be unavailable for that defensive position due to ongoing fitness problems.

Arteta opted for holding midfielder Christian Nørgaard to partner Gabriel Magalhães during Sunday's FA Cup triumph against Portsmouth and acknowledged he might need to make comparable decisions in the coming days.

"We are working to discover ways to safeguard our squad," the Arsenal chief stated. "The positive aspect is that players you request to feature in alternative positions like Christian for instance or Dec [Declan Rice], they execute their duties instantly in an excellent manner and we must navigate through the upcoming weeks in this circumstance and I'm confident we'll manage that."

Rice represents another possible center-back option having featured in that role during his academy years and early period at West Ham United. However, the versatile midfielder has also excelled in a right-back capacity this campaign, delivering an outstanding display against Brighton & Hove Albion from that unusual position in December.

If regular fullbacks Jurriën Timber or Ben White are shifted centrally, Rice could find himself deployed wide once more.

While Rice's ability across different areas of the field has seldom been questioned, Nørgaard has yet to earn a Premier League starting berth since his summer transfer from Brentford. This doesn't reflect any hesitation from Arteta regarding the Danish player: "He remains prepared to undertake any responsibility."

Arteta Chasing Cathartic Semifinal Win

Arteta Pursuing Meaningful Semifinal Victory

Despite his cultural transformation, collection of runner-up positions and elevated standing in world football, Arteta's Arsenal leadership will always be viewed as unfulfilled potential until they add silverware to the club's trophy collection.

Two Community Shields represent the only honors the Gunners have secured since capturing the 2020 FA Cup final in a vacant Wembley Stadium during Arteta's inaugural season. The Spanish manager has yet to reach another major final, suffering four semifinal defeats across three separate tournaments over the last four campaigns.

Arteta honestly characterized those recurring disappointments as "agonizing" but remained hopeful that a meaningful breakthrough awaited.

Arteta's Semifinal Hoodoo

Arteta's Semifinal Struggles

"The game provides you with another opportunity," he informed gathered journalists before the journey to Stamford Bridge. "We have maintained excellent consistency in this tournament and now we must eliminate another major club to reach the final. That represents our objective. Hopefully we have gained knowledge from the previous year because it was devastating, particularly in how those matches unfolded, and the number of opportunities we squandered to advance.

"Therefore this season we aim to perform better and with greater effectiveness. The more you participate in these types of encounters the superior you become because it provides an advantage. It generates a different kind of atmosphere for the team and gives you the feeling that the goal is extremely close, and that serves as tremendous inspiration for everyone. We understand that we are two matches away from competing in a final."