“It is something that is on my mind and it is something that we’re going to experiment with.”

One of the big questions Rangers supporters had heading into pre-season was answered yesterday, with Steven Gerrard admitting that he wants to try and fit James Tavernier and Nathan Patterson into the same starting 11.

READ MORE: Tactical analysis: How Alfredo Morelos has evolved to become a more complete No.9

How he ensures that a generational talent in Patterson is given sufficient game time to aide his growth while his captain, who plays in the same position at right-back, is at the peak of his career and has just signed a new deal is quite the conundrum.

It may have only been for 15 minutes, and as will be explained, not in a system that caters for Tavernier’s strengths in particular. But Saturday showed that Gerrard doesn’t see rotation as the only answer to the Tavernier and Patterson question.

When asked if playing both together was more than a pre-season experiment, Gerrard told RangersTV: “We’re going to consider it because they’re two really good players.

"But it’s not going to happen at the flick of a switch. It’s something we’ll have to work on in training to get them used to it.”

“They’re two fantastic players, so I can’t have one of them on the bench for every game of the season that’s for sure.

“There will be times when it will suit us, there will be times when I don’t need it.

"But, it is something that is on my mind and it is something that we’re going to experiment with.”

What system does Gerrard envision Tavernier and Patterson fitting into?

Speaking further, Gerrard offered more insight into how he hopes to achieve this. Not by including Tavernier in his midfield three or in the forward line, but in a system where “James is more out wide, where he is more used to being.”

He all but admitted post-match that the solution to this problem would not be found in Rangers’ usual shape. Saturday’s match with Arsenal was reminiscent of a European tie as his side stayed compact in a mid-block and allowed the opposition room out wide when the visitors had possession.

Tavernier pushed up to join the front three in the second half, playing from the right. In this system, the front three are not tasked with tracking the opposition full-back, but instead shuttling across with play to block passing lanes and remain in areas that aid offensive transitions.

Furthermore, this position’s role is not to provide width in a traditional ‘wide-right’ sense. Instead as one of the ‘two 10s’ in this formation, the role is focused on finding space in between the lines and getting close to support the central attacker.

“What I will say is I didn’t want to change the system during the game today, we had too many changes so I didn’t want to go to a 4-1-4-1,” explained Gerrard, quashing the long-term prospect of fielding Tavernier as an attacker.

“If we use this system it will maybe be in more of a back three or in a 4-1-4-1, where James is more out wide, where he is more used to being when he is playing right-back.

“I certainly won’t play him as a 10 with his back to goal, I can’t turn him into a 10 overnight.

“But what I didn’t want to do today was change the system because of where the score line was at and we’d just made so many substitutions. So, it’s a work in progress but it’s very early days.”

What is Gerrard's plan?

The 41-year-old seems to think that either a three at the back or 4-1-4-1 is the best way to cater for both Patterson and Tavernier’s strengths. Each system would allow Tavernier to impact the game in areas from which he is dangerous, while also granting Patterson the opportunity to continue to develop as a right-back.

It’s interesting that Gerrard’s entire discussion on this topic featured Tavernier’s position exclusively.

It seems therefore, that whatever he and his coaching staff decide on, Patterson will be the player who lines up in the more conventional full-back role, whether that be as a wing-back, or behind Tavernier in a 4-1-4-1.

This is likely due to the stage he is at in his career, still aged 19, Rangers will want Patterson to develop in his strongest position.

When questioned on the changing positions in which Tavernier gained possession by playing higher up the field, Gerrard admitted that receiving the ball with his back to goal or side on was “not a big strength of his” [Tavernier’s].

There has been some suggestion that the captain could play on the right of a three-man midfield, but as alluded to by his manager, that position wouldn’t lend itself to Tavernier’s strengths.

Lining up at right-back, he is one of the Ibrox side's most advanced players in possession. Further, as is well-known, his team rely on much of their creativity coming from the flanks.

Playing in a midfield role would not allow Tavernier to pick up as many crossing positions and see his role more focused on prevention than action. Therefore, the answer is not for Rangers to bring arguably their most creative player infield to more congested areas of the park.

This means the answer will not likely be found in the 4-3-3 system that has brought so much success to Ibrox.

But in a sense, Gerrard’s ‘problem’ in having two first-choice right-backs could in fact be an answer to another topic requiring his attention.

The Liverpudlian knows his team need to evolve and adapt while on top, they can achieve that by developing different systems for different challenges they will face next season.

READ MORE: Why Steven Gerrard plays with a left-footed centre-back

Gerrard further hinted at the prospect of a new system, when asked if he and his coaching staff had considered trying a different formation, adding: “At times. Once everyone’s back and we’ve got the squad set.

“We’re still looking maybe to add something to it as well, once we’ve got the right personnel in.

“I need to have the variety because some teams and some managers will try and stop this system.

“They’ve seen it for a number of years now and within games, I might have to tweak something or change something just to keep people thinking.”

As Gerrard admits, for all this systems success, Rangers must evolve. Although tempting to apply the ‘if it’s not broken don’t fix it’ methodology, especially on the back of an unbeaten season, a team must remain unpredictable and develop options.

Therefore their need to evolve systems and need to adapt to include personnel coincides.

Rangers' development to include Tavernier and Patterson can allow Gerrard tactical variety while ensuring he doesn’t have “one of them on the bench for every game of the season” in his own words.

In part two released tomorrow, we will explore the systems aforementioned by Gerrard. To explore the benefits his side could gain from playing Tavernier and Patterson in either a three-man defence or 4-1-4-1.