Wenger has more potential configurations for his midfield pair, but the key point is not just about variety of personnel; it's also about variety of types. He is no longer just constrained to destroyer-passer combinations. The signing of Granit Xhaka gives them the proper box-to-box midfielder they had been lacking for some time, something Aaron Ramsey could only approximate.
Could a player like that have been the solution to break so many congested midfields? Could his surges have opened things up in the past? Wenger seems to think so, having said a few weeks ago that Xhaka "has the engine to make an impact with his runs." The Swiss midfielder's net-busting, long-range shooting could certainly have been a game-breaker.
Sources say there is still a feeling on the Arsenal training ground, however, that those goals are someway covering the fact that Xhaka is still adjusting to the Premier League. There are occasions in training when it looks like he is still adapting, explaining why Wenger has so far been reluctant to start him, only for the 23-year-old to then come on and score a screamer in an all-action cameo.
It is for that reason, however, that Wenger is likelier to go with his more traditional pairing.