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Arsenal's 3-0 wins over Manchester City and Coventry City to start the new season showed signs of a side who, after winning a first Premier League title in two decades, were willing to play more expansive football.
Of course, they will not be able to play like that in every game but their 1-0 victory away at Aston Villa last Monday was evidence that they are not going to rip up last season's blueprint anytime soon.
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Is that a good thing? We'll let you make up your mind on that one but Arsenal's defence was as tight as ever. Their attack? Well, the same problems they had last term were arguably there.
They did not carve out many clear cut opportunities, albeit against a good team, and as Leandro Trossard and Gabriel Martinelli did from the left flank in 2025/26, new arrival Christos Tzolis struggled.
Why Tzolis could be dropped for Chelsea on Sunday
The performance of Tzolis at Villa Park nearly a week ago was untimely.
There were just 25 hours left of the window when the full-time whistle blew and it was highly unlikely the Gunners were going to sign another winger to provide competition.
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Arsenal tried hard to find one throughout the summer. They pursued Vinicius Junior with everything they had and ultimately came up short in the race for Morgan Rogers.
Mikel Arteta wanted a level raiser. He also wanted Tzolis but the plan was never to use him as their first-choice.
It's why his display six days ago was even more worrying. While we will cut the Greek some slack - his performances in pre-season and against Coventry stood out - a conversation must be held around whether he should start against Chelsea.
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Tzolis vs Aston Villa
Minutes played
Touches
Accurate passes
Key passes
Accurate crosses
Shots
Successful dribbles
Possession lost
Duels won
In the Community Shield, the summer arrival ran Manchester City ragged, providing two assists. Yet, against a stubborn Villa, he did not have a shot, all three of his crosses failed to find an Arsenal player and he did not complete a dribble.
Chelsea are unlikely to provide as much resistance considering they have conceded five goals in two games but with it being such a big game, perhaps Arteta simply needs someone he can rely on to be a difference maker.
How Arsenal can solve their Tzolis problem on Sunday
The big issue for Arteta heading into their clash with Chelsea on Sunday is that there are not many options to choose from on the left flank.
This was the problem with not signing another forward and letting Martinelli head to Saudi this week.
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Action Images via Reuters/Paul Childs
One solution could be to field Noni Madueke on the left. It's a role he has played in on 17 occasions in his career. From that position, he could operate as more of a classic winger, racing to the byline on his stronger right foot. However, Arteta usually prefers an inside forward.
As a result, it is likely that the Spaniard will turn to Eberechi Eze, the player who made the difference off the bench in place of Tzolis last Monday.
Eze did not totally transform the game but he certainly offered more than the Greek, notably playing the ball down the line into the path of Riccardo Calafiori in the build-up to Saka's second half strike.
He looked far more composed in possession, far more likely to make things happen. That's unsurprising when you consider the level of experience the England international has in the Premier League.
With the start to the season Martin Odegaard has enjoyed, scoring against City and Coventry, Eze may well have his work cut out to start in a central role. As a consequence, performing well on the left may be the only hope he has.
This was an encouraging start, particularly as his performance away at Villa last term caused something of a stir with Arteta.
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During Arsenal's 2-1 defeat, the former Crystal Palace man failed to track the run of Matty Cash in the build-up to the first goal. Eze was subsequently withdrawn at half-time.
After that moment, he started just one of the next ten Premier League matches. He didn't even get on the field against Everton, Brighton, Bournemouth and the return fixture against Villa.
He also let Arteta down in the away draw at Brentford. Eze was again hauled off at half-time with Arsenal writer and content creator Connor Humm noting that Eze "walks around like Mesut Ozil." Humm continued: "That’s fine if you’re as good as Ozil but he's not even close."
Eberechi Eze minutes per game
Eberechi Eze minutes per game
Eze eventually grew into his skin towards the back end of the campaign and played a pivotal part in getting Arsenal across the line, most notably scoring a beauty during the run-in against Newcastle.
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