Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta has a few options at his disposal within his squad, but he seemingly made the right calls early on in the clash with Brentford
With the strength in depth that Arsenal now have, Mikel Arteta’s every move in his team selection will be scrutinised and analysed each game. That’s particularly the case when the Gunners have a busy fixture schedule, which is what they are currently experiencing across their many competitions.
The team were thrust straight into the thick of it when they faced Tottenham, Bayern Munich, and Chelsea in one week. The side looked exhausted after the latest of those three encounters, but the action continued after that, with Brentford visiting the Emirates Stadium in midweek.
There was plenty of intrigue over which options Arteta would call upon, for several different reasons. The backline has many injury concerns, with Gabriel Magalhaes and William Saliba out of action with knocks, while there could be a desire to ring the changes in the midfield and frontline to bring in some freshness.
The manager did just that, naming Ben White at right-back, resting Jurrien Timber in the process, while he also brought in the likes of Noni Madueke and Martin Odegaard into the frontline. Perhaps the most bold choice was continuing with Mikel Merino up front, while the recently returned Viktor Gyokeres remained on the bench.
In just 10 minutes against Brentford, three of those decisions were justified. Madueke and White combined well on the right, finding Merino, who opened the scoring with another important goal for the side.
Even without the influence of Timber, Saka, and Gyokeres, Arsenal were able to recreate the synergy they have on the right flank as if nothing had changed. It underlined just how important the whole squad will be in ensuring the team pick up enough points in the Premier League, as well as those important victories in the cup competitions.
It was a first start for White since he was named in the side against Manchester United on the opening day of the season, while Madueke’s good start to life at the club was halted through injury, but his return to the side is another positive. The squad as a whole becomes even more important when injuries start to wreak havoc, just when it seemed as though the issues had subsided.
Recent returns, particularly in the forward line, appeared to bring an end to the issues that Arsenal faced, but there are some fresh issues to contend with. Gabriel Magalhaes and William Saliba are both currently missing through injury, while Cristhian Mosquera is a new injury concern after he limped off against Brentford, and Declan Rice was also replaced late on after receiving some treatment on a calf issue.
Arteta admitted before the match that the issues had caused him something of a headache in recent weeks. On managing his squad, the manager said before the Brentford match: “We try to manage every case, every individual in relation to how they feel in the context of the matches, adjust with the only purpose to have the best options on the best pitch and to be better than the opponent, that’s it.”
