Arsenal face Aston Villa on Saturday afternoon, but how many changes should Mikel Arteta make to the side that started the 3-1 loss against Manchester City?
Mikel Arteta has to do something to end Arsenal’s recent blip and Saturday’s trip to Aston Villa provides the perfect opportunity to do just that.
Now, whilst the midweek defeat at the hands of Manchester City saw the Gunners lose top spot in the Premier League table, it’s worth pointing out they are level on points with the defending champions and still have the luxury of a game in hand – which is at home to Everton on March 1.
Although, the bigger picture is Arsenal’s form. It’s now four games without a win across all competitions and with some players either looking tired or just not hitting the heights from earlier in the season, Arteta has already hinted at freshening things up and there’s every reason to follow through with this plan at Villa Park.
“At the end that’s more determined by results. For us it’s more about performances and what the players have given us to take us to the position that we’re in today,” the Spaniard said in his pre-Man City press conference. “They deserve opportunities and we’re looking to move players and to give them opportunities they deserve.
“You talked about Leo, but we can talk about anybody who has had minutes in this league. There will be changes and it’s going to happen soon.”
Wednesday night saw two changes to the Arsenal line-up with Takehiro Tomiyasu and Jorginho coming in for Ben White and Thomas Partey respectively, but with little rest time between fixtures, there could be more alterations this weekend and football.london takes a look at what Arteta could have planned.
Oleksandr Zinchenko has been a revelation for Arsenal since arriving from Manchester City last summer, but he has certainly gone off the boil since playing a starring role in the 3-2 win over Manchester United last month and perhaps needs a rest after completing 90 minutes twice in the past week.
Luckily, Kieran Tierney is waiting in the wings. It’s something of a surprise that the Scotland international was not called upon in games against Everton and Brentford, but on the other hand, his lack of minutes could benefit the Gunners on Saturday as he will be one of the freshest members of the squad.
On the opposite flank, White could reclaim his spot from Tomiyasu who didn’t have the best of outings against City as it was his backpass that lead to Kevin de Bruyne breaking the deadlock before unfortunately getting a slight touch on Jack Grealish’s effort which ultimately deceived Aaron Ramsdale.
Vieira chance
Assuming Partey is not risked against Villa, Jorginho will likely get the nod to start as the deepest-lying midfielder. But there could be a slight change with regard to who starts in the more advanced roles as Granit Xhaka has lost some of his effectiveness in the final third which was highlighted twice in the second half against City.
Perhaps the Switzerland international is tired. After all, he has featured in every game since the World Cup break so a mini breather would be beneficial and possibly provides an opportunity for Fabio Vieira to show he can have an impact for the remainder of the season.
Trossard starts
It hasn’t happened yet, well for a Premier League fixture, but calls for Leandro Trossard to start ahead of Gabriel Martinelli are only going to get louder amongst a section of the Arsenal fanbase after the Brazil international struggled to make any sort of impact against Man City.
Granted, Trossard didn’t make too much of a difference either but having at least scored for the Gunners this year as well as looking bright when coming off the bench in previous games, it might be worth Arteta seeing what his £21million January signing can do right from the start.
Smith Rowe return?
The good news is that Emile Smith Rowe appears to be over the minor thigh issue that was troubling him so soon after returning following a lengthy lay-off post-groin surgery. He was in full training ahead of the Brentford and Man City games, but was not included in the matchday squad for either fixture.
With Arsenal looking a little blunt in attack having the 22-year-old – who netted 10 Premier League goals last season – available for selection again will be a gamechanger. The hope is that he is an option off the bench at the weekend and most likely at the expense of wonderkid Amario Cozier-Duberry.
An indicator as to if Smith Rowe will be in a position to return to the matchday squad against Aston Villa should come if he’s able to come through another training session unscathed whilst Arteta is likely to provide an update when he speaks to the media ahead of the game.
SOURCE: football london
