How did the 3-back formation become a trend in the Premier League?

Arsenal are the 17th Premier League team to use a back three, while Chelsea are on course to become the first Premier League champions to use the system. The rise of the back three tactic is easy to see.

On the evening of April 17, Arsene Wenger surprisingly deployed a three-man defense in a 2-1 win over Middlesbrough. It was not a good game but it helped Arsenal gain three important points, in a round in which Tottenham, Man City, Liverpool and Man Utd all won.

It was the first time Wenger had used the system since 1997 but Gabriel Paulista, Laurent Koscielny and Holding played well enough to stop Middlesbrough's attacks and end a run of four away defeats to keep alive their hopes of a top-four finish.

The 2-1 victory over Middlesbrough on April 17 was the first time Arsene Wenger used a three-defender tactic since his time as Arsenal manager.

"It was the first time in 20 years I used this system. It shows that, even at my age, you can change," Wenger said of his decision to deploy a three-man defence at the Riverside Stadium.

Arsenal became the latest team to use the increasingly popular defensive tactic. The match was the 112th time Premier League teams have used a back three, including the back five variant, this season.

Former Man Utd manager Louis van Gaal experimented with the idea of ​​three defenders after his great success with the Netherlands at the 2014 World Cup. Van Gaal alternated between the 3-1-4-2 and 3-4-1-2 formations a total of 12 times in his first season in charge of Man Utd.However, it was only when Antonio Conte moved to Chelsea last summer that the system began to dominate the league.

Before 1 October 2016, the three-at-the-back tactic was used 10 times. That number increased to 102 after this point.

The Italian was expected to use a back three from the start, having used it regularly during his time at Juventus and the Italy national team. However, Conte decided to start with a back four. It was only after a 3-0 defeat to Arsenal that he was forced to revert to his most trusted formula.

Since October 1, when Chelsea beat Hull 2-0 with three at the back, they have never stopped. The Londoners have lost just three of their next 26 games, and they have used the formation more than any other Premier League club (26 times).

17 teams in the Premier League this season have used a three-back formation.

Before October 1, the three-back tactic had been used only 10 times by Premier League clubs, but Chelsea's success has inspired other managers to adopt a similar model. Three teams in the top seven, Tottenham, Man City and Everton, have all used the three-back tactic more than once this season. 17 of the 20 teams currently competing in the Premier League have used the three-back tactic at least once.

That's a significant increase, with only West Brom, Southampton and Burnley yet to use the system.

Interestingly, Southampton, with Ronald Koeman in charge last season, played with three at the back eight times, more than half the Premier League teams. When he moved to Everton, the Merseyside club naturally benefited from the Dutchman’s versatility, having only used it once last season.

Statistics on the number of times the three-defender tactic was used by teams in the Premier League 2016-2017 season.

With 34 uses in 2015-16, the three-at-the-back formation only accounted for 4.5% of Premier League games. That figure has risen to 21% this season, a significant improvement for the system.

Furthermore, teams using three defenders have a better win rate (47.3%) than teams using a back four (36.7%), although much of that comes from Chelsea’s success. It’s arguably the most powerful weapon discovered this season.

Tottenham ended Chelsea's 13-game winning run with a three-man defence at White Hart Lane in January, while Jose Mourinho used a similar formation against Chelsea on Sunday night. The Portuguese coach also used the same tactic in the Manchester derby earlier this season.

Wenger once used three defenders and still finished outside the top 4. Conte, who pioneered and used this tactic the most, is firmly at the top of the table.

While far from perfect, the three-at-the-back setup has clearly worked for Premier League teams. Managers love it because it allows them to keep numbers in front of goal and in midfield, while still allowing enough space for wingers.

Deploying a lone striker also helps this system, as managers know they can dominate the midfield to increase the chances of scoring from distance.

In the same way that the 4-2-3-1 formation was popular after the 2010 World Cup, the three-at-the-back tactic is also on its way to conquering the Premier League as managers try to develop and maintain this trend in search of glory.

Conte's success with this formation has become the norm and it wouldn't be a huge shock if teams used three at the back more often in the new season.

According to VNE