The point may have been lost in Paul Merson’s comments comparing Unai Emery to Arsene Wenger but the TV pundit was actually trying to make a valid criticism of Arsenal’s midfield in the North London derby.

Emery opted for three holding midfielders against Tottenham, and there was a distinct lack of creativity which meant the front three were starved of service for large portions of the game. Merse’s solution would be replacing one of them with a playmaker:

“Unai Emery has missed a trick with a midfield player. The only solution I see would be to play the front three with Mesut Ozil in the hole behind them and have two holding in front of the back four.”

The three in midfield was certainly a problem versus Spurs. There was distinct lack of control in the middle of the park, although it must be said Matteo Guendouzi did exceptionally well in the second half to wrestle the initiative back in Arsenal’s favour.

Emery could be accused of playing too cautiously, trying to block the middle of the pitch in order to allow the front three to attack by themselves, but it is a trick that the Spaniard has used before.

In the 2-0 win against Chelsea back in January, Emery selected Guendouzi, Torreira and Xhaka as the Gunners used a high pressing game to hound Jorginho in the Blues’ midfield. The key difference on that day, though, is that they weren’t playing with a front three.

They had two strikers with a playmaker Aaron Ramsey playing in the number 10 role. Having that link between the midfield and attack is vital to get the service that the forwards need.

The solution doesn’t have to be Mesut Ozil as Merson says, but someone like Dani Ceballos would have fitted in just as well. Considering he is more comfortable anyway playing in a deeper role, it was a huge surprise that he didn’t start on Sunday.

There were certainly signs against Liverpool that the Spaniard isn’t quite up to the pace of the Premier League quite yet. Emery may have felt that the intensity of the derby would have meant the game would have passed him by.

Still, it would have been interesting to see Ceballos tested on such an occasion. He was tremendously impressive on his home debut against Burnley, and if Arsenal are to get the best out of their front three, his introduction into the middle of the pitch will be crucial.

Hopefully, we see the 23-year-old feature alongside Guendouzi and Torreira after the international break. It will be interesting to see whether the trio can provide the passes that the likes of Pepe, Lacazette and Aubameyang can feed off.