I know the Champions League is an important competition for us. I know that we want to finish in the top two. And I know that a win, or even a draw tonight, will essentially seal that.
But please, for the love of all that is holy, Mikel, please rotate the key players out for this game.
At Forest at the weekend, Declan Rice aside, we looked off it. Some of that was due to our inability to deal with the mid-block; some of it was due to poor form from some players, but I saw a few assertions online that some of it may well have been due to fatigue. Three away games in a row, with the fourth taking place this evening, means a fair bit of travel (even if one of them was just across London to Chelsea) and who knows, maybe that plays a part. But these players are all seasoned pro’s now; they’re used to playing twice/three times a week, and they’re used to the Champions League by now. Fatigue is a factor, but it shouldn’t be a deciding factor with performances like the weekend just gone.
But if it is, if it is even the ‘slightest’ of concerns ahead of a potentially resurgent Man United at home this coming Sunday, then Mikel Arteta simply HAS to rotate tonight. And rotate well. Personally, I’d rotate the shizzle out of the team, but I doubt Mikel will do that; he is a pupil of the school of “winning all the time” and we’ve heard him in the past say things like (paraphrasing here) “big players need to be able to play 60 games a season”, so my big fear this evening is that Mikel brings out all of the big guns to play against an Italian side who got one over on us last season.
That game was decided by a frankly farcical penalty, as well as (and this will shock you) a number of missed chances by us. But I also seem to recall that it was a pretty turgid game, which is also what I am expecting tonight. Inter have the second-best defensive record in this competition. We have the best. We have two defensive juggernauts going against each other, which sometimes means a cancellation of the actual ‘football’, with a tactical battle that makes it tough to watch.
Don’t care though.
If this game ends 0-0, if it’s played at walking pace, if the players leave plenty in the tank for Sunday, then I am a-ok with that. But even if that is the case this evening, I **_still_** don’t want to see some of our big-name players playing. Maybe you give them 15 minutes at the end to keep their well-oiled engine-like machines ticking over, but that’s it.
So, who should be the ones to start for this one then, eh?
Well, for me, I think we probably need to see at least one of White or Timber drop to the bench. Given he broke down after we played him for three/four games in a row before Christmas, that would be Ben White. Perhaps there’s an argument to say he can start this one, then job share with Timber for that last 30 minutes, which means Jurrien comes in fresher for United on Sunday, but personally, I just want to make sure we don’t lose either of them, and that to me means we don’t really want to be seeing them both starting. So I’d have MLS in at left back. If this is going to be a game of low incident, then getting Myles to build up some minutes and form in a game like tonight feels perfect.
As for the rest of the defence, if Mosquera is fit, I’d give him 60 minutes and sit down Saliba. Big Gabby is our big player, but he’s also the leader in that defence, plus he’s missed more of the season pre-Christmas, so Big Bill getting a rest feels about right for me.
Midfield is where I’d start to ramp up the rotation. Get Nwaneri in there for Odegaard, who was poor against Forest, as well as Norgaard anchoring the midfield. Every time the Dane has played for us, he’s been solid, stable, ‘no frills’ and that’s what we need tonight. It gives Zubi a rest, and it means we’re giving Christian a Champions League night in a big stadium. Feels obvious to me. In at left, I’d have Eze, and if this is going to be a game where you need some trickery to unlock things, why not have two creative and attacking eights given the chance? I’m not sure Arteta will do that; he might go for Merino, but I just hope to at least season Nwaneri at some stage. We don’t need Rice tonight; sit yourself down, Declan, get those feet up, then be the best version of yourself on Sunday (not that we haven’t already had that – he was the best player for us against Forest).
Then, up top…now…what to do…?
For me, I’d play Jesus from the start. The Italian defence will probably lap up a player like Big Vik, so let’s see if Gabriel Jesus can do something in the Champions League, which is a competition he’s always enjoyed playing in. And similarly, I’d also say that Martinelli can get the nod, too. I want Trossard for United, so I’d be telling him that he gets the jersey in the more important game this week. For the subs, let’s give Havertz another 20 minutes up top; I can see that he might be instrumental on Sunday, and we need to start building up those minutes for a player with whom we’re all so desperate to see get some proper minutes now. He’s being managed – the sensible thing to do – but we need to start unleashing him now because the games are only going to get more intense and we need him. On the left, I think he will go for Saka, but personally I hope he choose Noni Madueke and tells him “here you go, two games in a row, so show me what you can do”, and with a few goals in this competition already, maybe he’s just suited for this kind of competition like Gabriel Martinelli is?
Mikel gave us an insight into how he thinks Inter will approach this game, by being aggressive early, but this team – regardless of rotation or not – is a physical one, so I don’t think I’m too worried about the press of Inter from the start tonight.
It feels like a bit of a ‘free hit’ tonight, so I just want to see an Arsenal team unscathed, ready for Man United. We can still finish top by a good win over Kairat next week, so let’s go into this one wanting to win, putting our best foot forward, but not if it means somebody is going to tread on said foot.
As always I’ll be back tomorrow, so I’ll catch you wonderful people then, when we’ll know if we’ve got ourselves into the top two with this game or not.
Ciao.