Mikel Arteta says he’s ‘really pleased’ with one Arsenal star for what he did this week

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Arsenal will have to use their squad carefully as they attempt to navigate a busy fixture schedule, and this began on Wednesday against Luton Town.

Mikel Arteta made four changes, which saw Thomas Partey, Reiss Nelson and Emile Smith Rowe come in for rare starts.

The risky decisions paid off, as Smith Rowe delivered an excellent performance as Arsenal strolled to a comfortable win, in which they were able to rest Declan Rice and Bukayo Saka.

Nelson made his first Premier League start in nearly four years, and whilst his performance was solid, it was unspectacular, and may not have done him any favours going forward.

Nevertheless, Arteta has now praised Nelson for the attitude he showed when coming into the team.

READ MORE: Arsenal’s XI for Mikel Arteta’s first match as manager

Mikel Arteta hails Reiss Nelson for attitude following Arsenal start

Speaking in his pre-match press conference, Arteta highlighted how well Nelson had done to prepare himself to start against Luton, having been left out of the matchday squad against Manchester City.

“I think a good example is Reiss, as well. In the previous game, he was not in the squad and then next game, he’s ready to start,” he stated.

“He is someone that doesn’t react the way he did if you’re not ready to perform. So, I’m really pleased with that kind of reaction in the team. And, obviously, I mean, I think he was really, really strong in the game.”

Arsenal face difficulty over keeping bench players happy

Arteta now faces something of a good problem, as he has a settled starting XI and a big, and near fully-fit squad, but this makes it more difficult to keep everyone happy.

There will now be a notable absentee from every matchday squad, with not enough space on the bench for everyone, and Nelson was left out for the game at the Etihad.

He then started against Luton and worked hard, showing that he is fully committed to the team and was not going to cause trouble as a result of his previous omission.

Whilst Arteta should rotate his pack given the tough fixture schedule Arsenal now face, there will be several players who have to face the frustration of being on the bench, whilst also needing to stay prepared in case they are suddenly selected to play, and Arteta so far, has managed to keep his squad happy.