Arsenal managed to come away from Old Trafford with a one-goal victory and stake three points despite being far from the best side on the day. Mikel Arteta was relieved to see Riccardo Calafiori’s headed goal not be in vain and kick the season off in the perfect way.
Now that they have moved past their tricky start, they face relegation candidates Leeds United next. The Whites kicked off their own season on Monday night at home to Everton, where Arteta will have had his first glimpse of the newly promoted side.
The win over Manchester United revealed plenty of positives for the Gunners, but mainly areas for development for the team. One thing that could change is the starting XI, and now, with such a deep squad, rotation is almost an expectation.
Speaking ahead of the clash with United, Arteta was clear in the sense that leaving some players out that have played, some out of the matchday squad altogether, would be part of the “next level” that his side were going to.
“We’re going to play with 11 players, there are going to be some players on the bench that are going to be used, some others that cannot be used, some players that we’re going to have to leave in the stands,” he said. “That’s the level, that’s the next level that we’re going to face, something that probably we haven’t faced before.
“And then I heard a lot that you have two players per position, well, we have three and four because there are players that can play in different positions as well. So it’s going to be about earning the right to play, to compete and when you don’t have the chance to do that to co-operate with the right way with any teammate to improve the level.
“And it’s going to happen to all of them because the season is going to be so demanding that the first week is going to be a little bit different, but the moment we start to play three times a week, it’s going to flow in a very natural way.”
With that in mind, football.london looks at what changes from the team that emerged victorious in Manchester might be made to face Daniel Farke’s side.
We start with Gabriel Martinelli, who endured a torrid time on the left at Old Trafford. In his place is Noni Madueke, who comes in to provide some variety on the left-hand side and a strong left foot. The hope is that he will be able to ping in the crosses for Viktor Gyokeres, who maintains his spot and is looking for his first competitive goal.
In the back line, Ben White came off after receiving treatment. Jurrien Timber, therefore, comes in to replace the player for whom there is no need to risk in the game.
Lastly, and this is a big one, Declan Rice drops out. He didn’t quite look sharp enough in the game with United, whereas Martin Zubimendi had an excellent game and was critical to all the turnovers during the fixture.
It is not a like-for-like swap in Rice’s place; instead, Kai Havertz comes in to join the midfielders and offer more attacking quality. With more dominance expected, adding an attacking player into the fold gives the Gunners an extra edge in attack and a change of shape to unsettle the away side, making the team far less predictable.
Changed Arsenal XI vs Leeds United: Raya; Timber, Saliba, Gabriel, Calafiori; Zubimendi, Havertz, Odegaard; Saka, Gyokeres, Madueke.
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