Arsenal were disappointing as they drew at home to Fulham, despite the visitors being reduced to 10 men, and Mikel Arteta should consider making changes for the next game.
The Gunners are set to face Manchester United at the Emirates next week in what will be their toughest test of the season yet, and after three unconvincing performances, Arteta may now make a significant change to his team.
Three different players have started at left-back this season whilst Oleksandr Zinchenko recovered from an injury, with Jurrien Timber, Takehiro Tomiyasu and Jakub Kiwior taking the position in each game, but with Zinchenko appearing off the bench in the last two, it is now time to bring him back in.
Zinchenko, who arrived from Manchester City for around £30m last season, has made the inverted left-back position his own, and now he has recovered from injury, it is paramount that he returns to the side.
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Arteta should change up a number of selections starting with Zinchenko. Without his presence to link the defence and midfield, Thomas Partey has played as an inverted right-back to try and replicate his role.
This has meant William Saliba and Ben White have played away from their natural positions, with Declan Rice as a holding midfielder behind Kai Havertz and Martin Odegaard.
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Partey should return to a midfield role, with White returning to right-back, and Zinchenko back in to provide composure at the back.
Arsenal’s defence suffered another chaotic start as Andreas Pereira scored within the first minute of the draw with Fulham, and the team as a whole was panicked and rushing their build-up play until Zinchenko came on.
The return of Zinchenko may also allow Gabriel Magalhaes to return to the lineup, and if Arsenal employ the system which they are most familiar with, and which saw success in the second half against Fulham once the Ukranian was introduced, then they will give themselves the best chance of victory against United.