Arsene Wenger believes his tactical switch to three at the back was instrumental in their 2-1 Premier League win at Middlesbrough on Monday night.
Wenger responded to Arsenal's 3-0 loss at Crystal Palace by switching formations to a 3-4-3, it's the first time in his 21-year reign as Gunners boss he didn't deploy a back four.
The three points were badly needed and leave Arsenal within seven points of the top four.
Wenger took the chance after the game to say 'I told you so' to his doubters:
“The first time in 20 years,’ he said of the formation switch. ‘That shows you that even in my age you can change.
“But sometimes when a team lacks confidence, just to add something new to believe helps to focus and overall the fact that we conceded three at West Brom, three at Crystal Palace, I felt it was needed.
“I felt that we were recently a bit vulnerable defensively and to give a bit more reassurance to the team. Recently we faced many direct games, I thought before the game maybe they’d play with Gestede and Negredo and go for a very direct game. Those are the reasons.
“It worked well in the first half, we didn’t give any chances away and we were quite solid on set-pieces. In the second half on one or two occasions, I felt we could have been a bit more dominant in the air, but overall yes.”
