With us taking a six-goal lead into the second leg of our Champions League last-16 clash against PSV Eindhoven, Mikel Arteta has been weighing up the best way to tackle the game against the Dutch champions.
Many have speculated that the boss may use this as a chance to shuffle his pack and rest some of his key players ahead of a visit from Chelsea on Sunday, but Mikel admitted that he’s still not decided who will line up at Emirates Stadium on Wednesday night.
That's because he feels last week’s incredible 7-1 scoreline could have been very different had PSV taken an early opportunity, and with that in mind, he is keen to ensure that his players remain focused on the task at hand and claim a sixth-straight win in the competition for the first time since 2005.
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Reflecting on the situation we find ourselves in, he said: “It is unique but it's also understanding how the game was played a week ago and the fact that everything went in the right direction for us from the beginning. We're going to have to earn the right tomorrow to go in the same direction, so we’re fully focused on that.
“We understand what happened in the first game and the direction that it could have taken in the first 10 minutes. After all the control that we had, if we give the goal away or if the referee would have given the second yellow card to Myles, it's very simple. This is football, you have to earn it and we're going to have to do a great job tomorrow again to win the game.”
There are some useful tools at Mikel’s disposal if he does want to mix things up, including Ben White, who is gradually being eased back into the side following his lengthy lay-off following knee surgery but could be in contention to start a game again soon.
“I think we have to manage him very well because he was still having some issues to manage in terms of the load,” Mikel added. “We're very cautious to make sure that when he comes back, he can now maintain that level and there's no more setbacks, but I think he's in a good position now to give him a start.
“The connection that we had on the right side with him, Bukayo and Martin was something exceptional and a real threat in the team, we missed that. It’s true that Jurrien has been equally exceptional as well with his performance and consistency. Now we're going to have another option, which is great to have.”
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Oleksandr Zinchenko is another who has been used regularly from the bench in recent weeks in a central midfield role, and having seen what he can do in that role during their time together at Manchester City, Mikel has been happy with what he’s seen from the Ukrainian so far.
“He's very good, and with the options that we have, we believe that it's a position that he can help in and that suits him,” he added. “He's played there before, I've known him for many years and he can really fit in that position and he's adapted really well in training. He had a few opportunities in the last few games as well to show that, so I'm happy that he's doing well there.”
A few academy players may also be excited at the prospect of getting some Champions League minutes under their belts, such as Nathan Butler-Oyedeji who came on late in the win against Dinamo Zagreb to make his Gunners debut.
Mikel is keen to reward youngsters who have regularly featured on the bench or in training sessions to give them a flavour of what might be in the future.
“They've been extremely helpful, and bringing so much to the team,” he said. “Whenever you have the opportunity to any player to say thank you or to give minutes, which in the end is the way of telling them that we trust you and we appreciate what you do for us, we will do.”
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