Arsene Wenger’s half time adjustment proved the difference as a stuttering Arsenal overturned a first half deficit en route to a 3-1 win over a Cologne team who were lacking the enthusiasm of their supporters.

Pre-kick-off events

It’s not possible to talk about Thursday night’s performance without providing context of the evening.

Due to the well-publicised events off the pitch in and around the ground, kick-off was delayed by an hour. At the time of the announcement, players weren’t aware whether the game would be taking place at the re-arranged time, or whether it would take place the next day, next week, or at all. Given how everything in Modern Football is controlled to the nth degree, this uncertainty will have thrown them off.

Understandably, all 22 players were off their game and the first half was a strange, disjointed affair. Everyone in the stadium except the travelling Cologne fans looked unsure of themselves and almost like they’d rather be someone else. The Arsenal fans, the Arsenal players, the Cologne players, and even the referee who couldn’t bring himself to pull a card out of his pocket to book a struggling Rob Holding on two separate occasions.

Singling out Holding would be unfair. Like at Anfield, the youngster had been thrust into a new, imbalanced starting XI, with a number of players playing in unfamiliar positions. There was minimal chemistry in the starting XI and it was no surprise that Arsenal’s play lacked cohesion and rhythm, giving the illusion that there was no plan.

Next, Maitland-Niles – not a wingback

Maitland-Niles – not a wing back

Ainsley Maitland-Niles has a fair skillset and may well develop into a serviceable player, but there is currently no consensus on what his best position is. The one thing we can all agree on after Thursday night is that he isn’t a left wing back.

In the first half, Nacho Monreal took up a fairly wide position in the back three to allow himself space to build play from deep in an area the Cologne players wouldn’t look to pick him up in. However, the knock-on effect of this is that Maitland-Niles didn’t know whether to hug the touchline or step inside where Monreal was stationed to provide an option and also draw the right-sided midfielder to give Nacho space should he want to travel with the ball or play a one-two, resulting in the youngster looking lost at sea.

To his credit, he fared a lot better when moved to central midfield after Arsenal’s half time adjustment.

After adjusting their distribution of players, Arsenal looked more at ease against what Cologne had to offer them. They moved the ball better and always looked the more likely to score the game’s next goal. Everyone looked happier doing what was asked of them and there was suddenly a sinus rhythm to what had been a flatlining performance.

This upturn of fortunes is categorically not an argument for scrapping the 3-4-2-1, but rather an argument in favour of adapting your formation and tactics based on what the opposition present you with.

Next, why wait until half-time?

Why wait until half-time?

The main point of contention is why it took until half time for Arsenal to make what was an entirely necessary and correct adjustment, given the circumstances.

Even after going 0-1 up after capitalising on the latest in a long line of David Ospina calamities, Cologne persisted playing one up front, with no second man coming in to support any pressing of the ball when Arsenal had possession in the back three. This left Arsenal with two spare men at the back and far too many ahead of the ball, in areas congested by retreating and disinterested Cologne players.

Wenger’s decision to withdraw one of his three centre back and revert to a back four was absolutely the correct one given the circumstances, but perhaps it could have been taken after 20 minutes, rather than 45.

Even if he didn’t want to make a substitution that early, he could have shifted Monreal to left back, leaving Holding and Per Mertesacker in the middle, and moved Maitland-Niles to central midfield. The personnel was already on the pitch for a workable solution.

With all the chaos both on and off the pitch, it’s worth mentioning Mohamed Elneny providing a constant at the heart of the action.

He’s not a flash player, and doesn’t really have a ‘Thing’, but he does everything to a decent standard. Elneny is a risk-averse player, who will spot players between the lines, but won’t play the pass unless he think it’s definitely on. He won’t turn the ball over in dangerous areas. He won’t win you a game, but he’ll help you Not Lose it, providing a steady platform for your playmakers and goalscorers to go out and get it done.

When things aren’t going your way and there’s too many people trying to do too much with the ball to force something, it’s crucial to have someone like Elneny who can keep their head and try to instill calm in those around them through leading by example, rather than angrily shouting and gesticulating.

Next, subpar Alexis

Subpar Alexis

Contrary to Elneny’s performance was Alexis Sanchez, who was frankly dreadful save for his brilliant goal.

Alexis made a number of poor choices on the ball, holding on to it for too long, dribbling down blind alleys, selecting the wrong pass, or overhitting his intended target.

In his defence, his preseason preparation is weeks behind everyone else’s, he hasn’t played much competitive football recently, and one can only speculate about his mental state having been hours away from securing a move to Manchester City, only for it to fall through at the death.

However, sometimes all you need is one moment of quality to decide a match, and Alexis provided that.

While Alexis is a fierce competitor and will always snap into a strong-minded zone where he makes it his mission to score at some point in a match, there is a danger that he won’t be his old self for the duration this season.

He may not fully mentally check out, like Emmanuel Adebayor in the 2008/09 season, but as his contract winds down and Arsenal’s chances of silverware start to dwindle, he may start running the ball down to the cornerflag on his Arsenal career, wanting to avoid injury and not overly exert himself ahead of his big summer Bosman move and sizeable sign-on fee.

He’ll still score plenty of goals, but won’t have as much of a transformative effect on the collective as he did during the first half of last season.