Martin Keown on Arsenal's switch to a back three: "It's not something you can adapt to overnight"
Arsene Wenger claims 'nothing is good enough' for
Did Arsenal not give their all? Arsene Wenger res
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Arsenal won their first away game since February on Monday night after Arsene Wenger changed his formation to accommodate three central defenders.
Christian Benteke bullied Arsenal's central pairing as the Gunners went down 3-0 at Selhurst Park last week, but the travelling fans finally had something to celebrate at the Riverside.
Alexis Sanchez and Mesut Ozil scored as Arsenal beat Middlesbrough 2-1. Laurent Koscielny, Rob Holding and Gabriel started centrally with Nacho Monreal and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain as wing-backs.
Arsenal headed back down south with all three points but it was far from a convincing performance. Keown, though, explained it will take time to adapt to the new system.
(Photo: Getty Images Europe)
"The last time Arsene Wenger played with three at the back, I was in the team alongside Tony Adams and Steve Bould at Derby in May 1997," Keown wrote in his column for the Mail.
"If you want to play with a back three, you have to know the system inside out. It is not something you can simply adapt to overnight.
(Photo: @BBCMOTD/Twitter)
"We first started playing this way under Bruce Rioch. Even though we had a group of experienced central defenders, the system was initially difficult to pick up. It required walk-throughs every Monday morning in training of scenarios we might face."
He added: "I can see Wenger persisting with the system between now and the end of the season. On Monday night, it was still very much a work in progress."