Arsenal news: Theo Walcott completely taken by surprise at Tottenham's formation switch to three-man defence

Tottenham held Arsenal to a 1-1 draw in the north London derby after switching to a 3-4-3 formation

Theo Walcott said he was taken by surprise during the north London derby after Spurs switched formations (Getty)

Arsenal forward Theo Walcott admitted that Tottenham decision to shuffle their formation and deploy three central defenders took the Gunners by surprise, despite Arsene Wenger insisting after the north London derby that he was ready for the switch.

The first clash of the season between the two rivals ended in a 1-1 stalemate, with Walcott seeing his closest chance to add to the scoreline cannon off the post after a fierce shot when veering away from goal. Spurs also had their chances to win the derby, with Arsenal struggling for penetration in the second half after missing chance before the break.

It led to questions thrown at Wenger afterwards in his post-match press conference regarding Mauricio Pochettino’s tactical switch, with the Argentine deploying a 3-4-3 for just the second time during his Spurs tenure after the clash with Watford last December, but while the Frenchman insisted he was prepared for the possibility of a change, it appears Walcott was not.

Asked if it took him by surprise, Walcott told BT Sport: “Yeah, it did completely to be honest. Middlesbrough did that against us and you now see a lot of teams doing that. Chelsea are probably the best at doing it right now.

“It was difficult to break down but it was one of those games where there weren’t many chances,” he added.

“I think Tottenham and ourselves had good periods in the game. But we didn’t manage to finish our chances or create as much as we’d like to. Maybe when we look back it will be a good result in the end.”

Wenger was a bit more prepared for the three-man defence, although he was still left frustrated by Arsenal’s inability to double their lead after Kevin Wimmer’s own goal.

“We know how to play against a back three,” Wenger said. “We knew they could play with a back three. That wasn't the basic problem. It was in other areas. I wasn't really surprised [they played it].”