Smith Rowe shines, Nelson unconvincing – How Arsenal changes answered Mikel Arteta call vs Luton

Arsenal’s match with Luton was always going to be huge for their squad players. With the season now firmly at its business end, this felt like more or less the only chance Mikel Arteta had to rotate his side for some time.

A strong lineup will be needed at Brighton on Saturday and for both legs against Bayern Munich in the Champions League. Even the game at injury-ravaged Wolves that dissects those two quarter-final matches will be tough.

There are plenty of players who have been lacking in minutes recently for Arsenal. Prior to Wednesday night, Arteta had handed out starts to just 16 players since the winter break, and of that group Emile Smith Rowe and Aaron Ramsdale had been named in the starting XI just once each. There is an argument that this would make it tougher for them to have an impact, but in his pre-match press conference, Arteta seemed to imply this was not an argument he had too much sympathy for.

“When you play you say ‘yeah but it’s my first game.’ Our obligation and our duty is to be prepared to play any minute in any moment,” he said. “Look at the example of Reiss [Nelson]. His best moment for Arsenal, it’s a moment where he played a few minutes and made a huge impact and it’s one of the best days in his life as an Arsenal player. Nobody remembers if he started or if it was off the bench.

“There are a lot of examples in world sport where players made the impact. Sometimes you just need a second to change the history of a football club. You don’t need 100 minutes to play football.”

With that in mind it was a slight surprise to see Arteta make as many as five changes to the side that drew 0-0 with Manchester City on Sunday. For Oleksandr Zinchenko, Leandro Trossard, Thomas Partey, Emile Smith Rowe and Reiss Nelson, this was a huge night. Here football.london has a look at whether they grabbed their chance.

READ MORE: Every word Mikel Arteta said on Smith Rowe performance, Saka injury and Arsenal title race

READ MORE: Arsenal player ratings vs Luton as Emile Smith Rowe shines, Partey good, Nelson below par

Oleksandr Zinchenko

The Ukrainian has been the undisputed first choice left-back for most of his time at Arsenal. However, in recent months he has found himself out of the team. A persistent calf problem has been a huge part of that, but Jakub Kiwior could make a strong case that he started at Manchester City on form above anything else.

This was a typical Zinchenko display. The 27-year-old was a leader on the ball, constantly looking to dribble Arsenal out from the back. He was also everywhere in possession, making at least two passes with every single player who started on the night.

At the same time though, we saw the inherent risk that comes with playing Zinchenko. There were a few careless giveaways in possession that had Emirates hearts racing. Arteta has already insisted he’s willing to accept that though, and you can expect to see Zinchenko starting plenty of games between now and the end of the season.

Thomas Partey

After missing almost the entire season with injury, Thomas Partey’s return to action against Sheffield United was far from convincing. He looked better in a subsequent cameo against Brentford though, and put in his best display since his comeback against Luton.

He was a constant option as Arsenal looked to play out from the back and regularly looked to expose the spaces in the heart of the Luton defence. On another day one of those could have led to a goal.

At the same time though, we saw probably why this Arsenal side have moved on a bit from the Ghanaian. Those line-splitting passes sometimes left the Gunners exposed on the counter attack when they didn’t work out, creating a far less dominant Arsenal display than we’ve become used to in 2024. Partey did well on Wednesday, make no mistake, but it was not a performance that puts him ahead of Declan Rice or Jorginho in the defensive midfield pecking order.

Emile Smith Rowe

It was hard to see where Smith Rowe’s minutes were going to come from if he didn’t start this match. He could quite fairly argue that he hasn’t been given the opportunities his cameos and talent have merited, and with two years left on his contract in the summer, being overlooked again could have put the final nail into the coffin of his Arsenal career.

Instead though, the 23-year-old put himself right back into the forefront of Mikel Arteta’s plans with an impressive display. In a poor contest at the Emirates Stadium, his two moments of quality won the game for Arsenal to ensure they keep trundling along in the title race. He tired a little in the second half which is understandable. There’s no substitute for starts when it comes to match fitness.

It feels unlikely that we’ll see him starting at Brighton despite this display, but if there’s an injury in the midfield Smith Rowe is surely now next in line to start. The Hale Ender seems to be ahead of Fabio Vieira in the pecking order and has played himself into a potentially crucial role in the title race.

Leandro Trossard

It feels slightly out of place to include Leandro Trossard on this list, because he would have started games between now and the end of the season regardless of what he did against Luton. The Belgian is one of the few players Arteta has handed regular starts to this year.

He showed why here with a few moments of real quality on the left wing to open up space. His ball in behind to Smith Rowe was also key to creating the second goal that made the game safe.

Don’t be too surprised to see Trossard starting at Brighton on Saturday. With Bukayo Saka, Gabriel Martinelli and Gabriel Jesus all managing fitness issues, he’s going to be very important during the run-in.

Reiss Nelson

Nelson was the poster boy for Arteta’s ‘it only takes a moment’ stance before the game. He’s probably even further away from the first team after it though.

The 24-year-old may have been involved in the second goal, but he was far too passive in the final third for the most part. His off the ball work was a concern as well. Arteta could be seen constantly shouting at Nelson to track Alfie Doughty who found lots of space down the left. Were it not for the excellence of Ben White he might have been punished more brutally.

Nelson has seemed like a player who is comfortable with his role in the squad. He loves Arsenal, and feels at home with his boyhood club. With Saka injured though, this was a chance for him to put himself in the frame for more regular minutes. Sadly it’s one that he was unable to take.