In a week where Arsenal have to travel to the Etihad in a potential Premier League title decider, it's perhaps just as well the Gunners can focus on something else for a few days.
While Mikel Arteta's men have faltered on the domestic stage, in the Champions League, they continue to motor on. They have not lost a game in Europe yet this season and welcome Sporting to London on Wednesday night with a slender 1-0 advantage.
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Their victory a week ago was not a vintage one, far from it, but unlike in their last three domestic matches, they found a way to get over the line.
It's a precious advantage to take into Wednesday for the second leg and judging by how they have played lately, they will need it.
It's a big game for Arsenal to build confidence ahead of the Manchester City match and that means making a few changes.
The changes Arsenal need to make against Sporting
In order to get a tune out of his Arsenal side, Arteta simply has to make alterations to the attacking dynamic of this Arsenal team.
Across their last four matches, they have scored just three times, leading to questions surrounding the quality of the forward line. That said, how much of it is on Arteta?
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The Spaniard's tactics in possession are becoming a big problem for his players. It's too patient, it's too slow, it's too risk-averse. As a result, it's easy for the opposition defence to deal with.
The ball is very rarely played in behind and to be quite honest, it's a miracle Viktor Gyokeres has scored 18 goals this season. Against Bournemouth at the weekend, Arsenal created a dismal expected goals tally (xG) from open play of 0.18. That's not very good if you were wondering.
As a result, Arteta needs to find a way to generate a spark. Eberechi Eze will surely come in for Kai Havertz behind the striker. Across his last three starts in that role, the German has created just one key pass. It's a glaring issue that the manager must fix.
Who he selects out wide is up for debate. Bukayo Saka is unlikely to make it back from injury but the manager could call upon Max Dowman in a big game. He did so off the bench with still over half an hour at the weekend when Noni Madueke was withdrawn.
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Given his sparkling record in Europe this term, Gabriel Martinelli should also play.
Yet, there are issues in midfield too, where Martin Zubimendi is becoming a bigger and bigger problem by the game. While dropping him for Man City on Sunday may be something of a gamble given the alternative options, the Spaniard must be benched on Wednesday night.
How Arsenal can replace Zubimendi
Arsenal's depth in the middle of the park may not be enormous but there are a few solutions that Arteta could fall upon.
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If Martin Odegaard was fit then the Spaniard could select two creative figures in his club captain and Eze with Rice as the sitting midfielder.
If Havertz was in form, then a similar approach could be taken with the German and Eze ahead of Rice once again. Christian Norgaard could even be called upon.
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However, with the Dane having played just 56 minutes of Premier League football since arriving from Brentford, it is clear the experienced midfielder is not trusted.
So, Arteta could turn to Myles Lewis-Skelly instead, a man who has very rarely been seen himself in 2025/26, so much so that he and Ethan Nwaneri have been linked with moves away in a £100m double deal.
The Arsenal XI FFC want to see
GK - David Raya
RB - Cristian Mosquera
CB - William Saliba
CB - Gabriel Magalhaes
LB - Piero Hincape
CM - Declan Rice
CM - Myles Lewis-Skelly
CM - Eberechi Eze
RW - Max Dowman
LW - Gabriel Martinelli
CF - Viktor Gyokeres
Last term was undoubtedly the year of Lewis-Skelly. He made his first-team debut, became an England regular and dazzled in the Champions League quarter-finals against Real Madrid. He even scored against Man City. The teenager looked like the best thing since sliced bread.
He did all of that while playing out of position at left-back. The 18-year-old is not a full-back by trade. In fact, he rose through the academy ranks as a midfielder. Believe it or not, he's never once played in midfield for the senior team. It's time for that to finally change.
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We did almost get a glimpse of it earlier this season when the young Englishman was selected to start against Wigan in the FA Cup from the middle of the park. However, an injury in the warm-up to Riccardo Calafiori meant he started in defence once again.
Well, as Sporting travel to London on Wednesday, it's time to give Lewis-Skelly a go in midfield. He returned to the starting lineup at the back against Bournemouth at the weekend and he should be in from the get-go on this occasion too, just more centrally.
What makes Lewis-Skelly such a strong candidate to play in midfield? Well, he's a brilliant ball carrier and is excellent at progressing the play. Those are two qualities that Arsenal lack in Zubimendi.
Last term, the academy graduate ranked among the best 13% of full-backs in Europe's top five leagues for progressive carries. For comparison, Zubimendi only ranks in the top 53% of midfielders for that metric this season.
In that sense, he carries a bit of a Declan Rice vibe. This season, the midfielder sits among the top 5% of midfielders in Europe for progressive carries, according to Data MB.
myles lewis-skelly
Lewis-Skelly's running power is simply incredible and his ability to evade the press and spin away from an opposing player is first-class. Last season, no Arsenal player was fouled on more occasions per game (2.0) than the Hale Ender in the Premier League. The next best in the squad was Bukayo Saka, who was fouled on 1.6 occasions per match.
By finally unleashing the youngster in midfield, Arteta's side would gain plenty. It's time to bench Zubimendi and get Lewis-Skelly in.
Zubimendi-Calafiori-Gabriel-Odegaard-Arsenal Related
Arsenal can drop Zubimendi by unleashing the modern-day Vieira in new role
Arsenal need to make a change to their midfield this week.