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Gary Lineker believes Mikel Arteta should consider a lineup change ahead of a key run of games.
Gary Lineker has suggested Mikel Arteta should change his starting lineup as they prepare for their all-important run-in. The Gunners are alive in all competitions at this point, and they have a Carabao Cup final with Manchester City to look forward to this weekend.
Before then, they face Bayer Leverkusen as they look to stay in the Champions League, while they also have the FA Cup quarter-final in early April, and things are looking very positive as far as the Premier League title race is concerned.
Mikel Arteta has the luxury of having excellent competition throughout his squad this season, and while there have been injuries, with Mikel Merino lost for the seasons, there hasn’t been an injury crisis to the level of last season, when the Gunners lost a number of starters to longer term issues.
That has left Arteta with some big decisions to make, and one of them involves the striker role, with the competition between Viktor Gyokeres, Kai Havertz and Gabriel Jesus.
In reality, the main competition is between the first two, with Gyokeres more of a goalscorer and Havertz perhaps suiting the overall Arsenal style a little better, operating as a false nine.
That makes Arteta’s decision-making a little tougher, though Gyokeres did score against Everton last time out, so he is likely to keep the starting role for now. But according Lineker, that shouldn’t be the case.
“But I still think they’re a bit short up top. I prefer Kai Havertz up there, personally, if he can get and stay fit. He’s more of a false nine but he gives them a bit more I think. It’s one to watch but Arsenal are going better than everybody else right now, they’re in a fabulous position in terms of being in all four competitions.”
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