Mikel Arteta has just done something at Arsenal for the first time in 405 days vs Southampton

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Mikel Arteta has made a few changes to his Arsenal side for the game against Southampton.

All the headlines ahead of the clash were about Aaron Ramsdale. The Englishman has returned to the Emirates for the first time since leaving the club on transfer deadline day.

It will be interesting to see how he will fare, but our focus is on Arsenal, and Arteta has given rare starts to three players – Jorginho, Raheem Sterling and Gabriel Jesus.

That has forced another player to play in an unnatural position against Southampton.

Mikel Arteta changes Thomas Partey’s position for Arsenal vs Southampton

Arsenal have been troubled by injuries since the start of this season.

The Gunners are still in a very respectable position on the table, but it makes you wonder where they would be now if they had everyone fit and available.

Against Southampton, Arsenal are without two key players who play in the same position – Jurrien Timber and Ben White.

Timber was withdrawn against PSG following a muscular issue, while his fellow right-back White has a groin problem that has kept him out of the last three games.

Arteta had to replace them, and as Arsenal Insider predicted, Thomas Partey has been deployed at right-back against Southampton at the Emirates.

The Ghana international is at his strongest when he plays in the middle of his park, but he has shown that he can play as a right-back too when really required.

However, it has been a while since he played in that position – the last time was at the end of August 2023 against Fulham, 405 days ago. That game ended 2-2.

Arteta has a Plan B if Partey experiment fails

It’s not ideal to deploy Partey at right-back, but Arteta didn’t really have much choice with both White and Timber unavailable.

The Ghana international should be able to do a decent job there against the struggling Saints, but in case things go wrong, Arteta has an alternative to bring on.

Takehiro Tomiyasu has been named on the Arsenal bench for the first time this campaign. The Japan international had been out of action since pre-season, but he is finally back.

We’re sure Arteta will not want to throw Tomiyasu on if the game isn’t going as planned, but it’s good to know that he is available if required.