Mikel Arteta must trust one player who impressed in Arsenal’s win over Brighton on Wednesday night to start against Slavia Prague in the Champions League next week.
The Spaniard named a much-changed starting eleven for the clash against the Seagulls, which included four teenagers and several players who have hardly featured this season.
Arsenal ran out 2-0 winners courtesy of second-half goals from Ethan Nwaneri and Bukayo Saka, setting up a quarter-final tie with Crystal Palace in December.
The fixture schedule doesn’t slow down for the Gunners, as they travel to Burnley, Prague and Sunderland in the next nine days. Arteta will need to continue to rotate in this time to keep his squad fresh.
Kepa Arrizabalaga should start against Slavia Prague next week
Arsenal signed Kepa Arrizabalaga for £5 million in the summer.
The Spaniard’s arrival surprised many, given how impressive he was for Bournemouth last season and the fact that Arteta already has David Raya at his disposal.
Many speculated that Kepa might be used in European matches, but this hasn’t unfolded. The former Chelsea man has thus far been limited to outings in the Carabao Cup.
However, after keeping a second consecutive clean sheet and performing excellently against Brighton, this ought to change.
Arteta needs to ensure Raya doesn’t burn out mentally from playing every league and Champions League game, and he has a more than capable option at his disposal to fill in for the number one.
Kepa should start in between the sticks for the Gunners against Slavia Prague on Tuesday. The deputy shot-stopper has earned a game in a more meaningful competition, and Arteta should be able to trust him against a lesser European side like Prague.
Not only will this help to keep Raya on his toes, it will also demonstrate to the entire squad that there is a meritocracy in place, that positive performances will be rewarded with minutes.
Ben White and Myles Lewis-Skelly should also start against Slavia Prague
Ben White and Myles Lewis-Skelly came in for Jurrien Timber and Riccardo Calafiori against Brighton.
Arteta will likely revert to type for the clash with Burnley on Saturday afternoon. Timber and Calafiori are currently clearly the first-choice full-back options, but White and Lewis-Skelly need to feel like their strong performances will be rewarded, just like Kepa.
White was excellent against Brighton, while Lewis-Skelly has now registered more assists than anyone else in the Gunners squad this season, barring Declan Rice.
The duo started against Olympiacos before the last international break, and this rotation pattern should continue for the game against Slavia Prague.
Both are perfectly capable of handling the threat that the Czech side will pose, and thus, it’s a sensible rotation decision to make.
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