After an international break that has felt like an eternity, Arsenal can reignite their season on Tuesday.
That said, if we are being totally honest, it does feel as if the club are now out of the Premier League title race, and with 11 points separating them from sixth place, Champions League football seems all but certain for next year.
However, that doesn't mean that the game against Fulham is pointless, as it might offer Mikel Arteta the perfect opportunity to get his players back up to speed and feel confident ahead of their UCL clash with Real Madrid early next month.
Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta celebrates after the match-1
Moreover, it gives him an opportunity to try something that might improve the balance of the team ahead of that game: replacing Thomas Partey with Mikel Merino and unleashing someone new up top.
Why Merino should replace Partey
Okay, before the pitchforks come out, we are not suggesting that Merino is a better midfielder than Partey or that the former Atlético Madrid ace is no longer good enough, but there are a few reasons why Arteta might want to do this.
Arsenal-Partey
The first is to protect the Odumase Krobo-born star, as he's played a massive amount of football this season for someone who has been so injury-prone during his time in England, and he also started both of Ghana's games during the international break.
The second reason for starting the Spaniard over him is that it could mean Declan Rice moves back into the six and is prepared to play there against Real in a couple of weeks; as for all the brilliant passing and tactical awareness the Ghanaian international brings, he is not as mobile as he used to be.
Thomas Partey's Arsenal injury record
Season
2020/21
2021/22
2022/23
2023/24
2024/25
Total
All Stats via Transfermarkt
So, when the likes of Vinícius Jr, Kylian Mbappé, Jude Bellingham, and others might be running at the back line, the Englishman's unreal engine might be more helpful.
Furthermore, when he played central midfield for Real Sociedad last season, the Pamplona-born star won the most duels in Europe's top seven leagues, so just imagine how combative a midfield with him and the former West Ham United captain could be.
Finally, by moving Merino back into the midfield on Tuesday, Arteta can start someone else up top and get them feeling comfortable in that role ahead of a season-defining month or so for the club.
The Arsenal star who should start up top
So, there are a few players who could fit the bill here, from Ethan Nwaneri to Leandro Trossard, but the former might still be a little too inexperienced, and the latter lacks the explosiveness that would allow the team to exploit transitions and breakaways.
Gabriel Martinelli, on the other hand, has no such drawbacks.
Gabriel-Martinelli-Arsenal-Southampton
Now, again, it has to be said that, like most of the attack this season, the former Ituano gem has been underwhelming at best, but one of the reasons fans get so frustrated with him is the fact that he's shown us that he can be an incredibly effective attacker before.
For example, in the 22/23 campaign, the then "unplayable" 23-year-old, as dubbed by pundit Owen Hargreaves, scored 15 goals and provided six assists, which comes out to an average of a goal involvement every 2.19 games.
Martinelli's Arsenal career
Season
19/20
20/21
21/22
22/23
23/24
24/25
All Stats via Transfermarkt
Moreover, the Brazilian "monster", as journalist Mark Mann-Bryans described him, has experience playing up top for the club in the past.
Between the 2019/20 and 2022/23 seasons, the 23-year-old dynamo has made 16 appearances as the team's number nine, and in those games, he has put the ball in the back of the net nine times.
So, when starting as the centre-forward, the £180k-per-week ace averages a goal every 2.11 games, which might not be as prolific as some would like, but is undoubtedly a rate of return the team could work with.
Finally, while his finishing might not be what it was in the past at the moment, Martinelli can still provide a level of explosiveness that the other options cannot, which in turn will force opposition teams to constantly be aware of where he is on the pitch, freeing up space for others.
man-city-arsenal-walker-martinelli
Ultimately, there isn't really an ideal solution for Arsenal at the moment, but to give the team the best chance of making it past Real in a couple of weeks, dropping Merino into midfield and starting the pacey winger down the middle might be their best bet.
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Arsenal have a brilliant set of academy stars at Hale End.