2 – Squad Depth Is Key
With the added pressure of an FA Cup replay to now schedule into an already ridiculous month of fixtures, it is vital we have a big enough squad to deal with it.
Wenger made nine changes from last weekends 2-1 victory over Leicester, but it was still a very strong side to be playing in a competition as good as this.
Both Mathieu Flamini and Mohamed Elneny stand as automatic replacements for our first choice duo of Aaron Ramsey and Francis Coquelin, a position we’ve failed to cover in recent years.
Meanwhile the young legs of Alex Iwobi didn’t look fazed by another contest at the Emirates today, the midfielder enjoyed a good spell and will be a key figure when we travel to the KC Stadium.
What today showed is that we have a squad capable of rotating around to ensure legs are fresh for some key games coming up.
Both Mesut Ozil and Ramsey were left out of the squad completely today, so they will have enjoyed a week and a half’s rest when Barcelona come to town on Tuesday.
It may not have been the result we were reaching out for today but there are players in this squad that showed they’ve got capability should a sudden injury pop up.
The Gunners face a mammoth few weeks of fixtures now which could ultimately turn their season on its head, so Wenger will take confidence in seeing some of the non-regulars performing today.