3 – Plan A was good, Plan B not so much
It’s clear to see why Arsenal have done so well so far this season, but it was just a bit too much to ask of this group of players on Sunday afternoon.
The fact that of the 540 minutes possible in the Premier League so far, Arteta has relied massively on Saka (530), Martinelli (525) and Jesus (524).
And whilst it’s all well and good establishing your desired front three, when it comes to needing something from the bench it’s hard for those players to get into the game.
Eddie Nketiah has had the most cameos so far this campaign, being subbed on in all six matches whilst playing on average 12.5 minutes per game.
That’s simply not enough to be relying on your second striker to come on and immediately impact the game, which is why Thursday presents a huge moment in the season.
Arsenal begin the gruelling fixture schedule that Europa League football presents with Thursday/Sunday football now becoming the regular between now and Christmas.
However, Thursday’s trip to FC Zurich presents an opportunity for the reserve players to all feature from the start, allowing them to make Arteta think twice when it comes to Premier League team selection.
FC Zurich are winless in seven games so far this season, losing five and drawing two as leaving them second bottom of the Swiss Super League.
If that doesn’t give Arteta reason enough to do a full XI switch then I don’t know what will!