Arteta, don’t be like Šilhavy or It’s time to get into the lineup

On Saturday morning, Arsenal London had a five-point lead at the top of the table, less than a week later they are already second by a score. Coach Mikel Arteta has a hand in the two losses in the space of five days.

The Spanish coach has incomprehensibly stuck to his conservative stance and not benched the out-of-form mainstays ahead of games against upstart Brentford and star-studded Manchester City.

You could say that Arteta approached the key battles like Jaroslav Šilhavy. And just as the national coach’s move with the proven Milan Havel and Ales Matějů at the expense of rostered players in the Qatar World Cup barrage didn’t work out, Arteta can’t be satisfied with himself. And at Aston Villa, at least two cast-offs have to start.

Leandro Trossard

Even when he was coming in, there were offers to send him on for Eddie Nketiah. Back then, the English sniper was in form, but now he’s completely out of it. With Nketiah, it’s been the same story every season. He looks promising at the start, but after a few games it turns out he’s not a number one player.

Trossard isn’t a pure 9 either, but he’ll play anywhere in the offense. The big advantage is his ambidexterity, good finishing, plus he could switch positions with Gabriel Martinelli as they are both capable of playing on the wing and in the middle.

Kieran Tierney

I dare say most Gunners fans couldn’t imagine Tierney being out of the lineup after Oleksandr Zinchenko’s arrival. They saw the Ukrainian reinforcement as a backup or a replacement for Granit Xhaka in the middle of the park.

However, Zinchenko wandered into the lineup at Tierney’s expense. It all worked Arteta’s boys were in the clear, but now in crisis Arsenal are sorely lacking that they can’t lean on a runner with a pull on goal. Ben White, Takehiro Tomiyasu and Zinchenko don’t have it, but the Scottish fullback clearly does.

Tierney’s rest will also come in handy at Aston Villa. And the eventual deployment may not mean sidelining leader Zinchenko. He can move into midfield, after all, he does move in the midfield, even though he’s listed as a defender.

Source: Premier League