Mikel Arteta treatment of two Arsenal stars has caused key issue within squad

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Arsenal’s disappointing defeat to West Ham on Thursday night has begun to raise questions about the quality of rotational options available to Mikel Arteta.

Arsenal were missing several key players including Kai Havertz, Takehiro Tomiyasu and Thomas Partey, whilst Fabio Vieira was also absent from the bench.

This limited Arteta’s options on the night, and his decision to start Leandro Trossard over Emile Smith Rowe was one that backfired, given the Belgian’s poor performance.

Arteta made three out of a possible five substitutions, and whilst Smith Rowe had promising moments, Reiss Nelson and Eddie Nketiah could not make a significant impact on the game, despite replacing two underperformers in Trossard and Gabriel Martinelli.

The Spaniard has arguably shot himself in the foot with some of his selections this season, in a problem which became apparent during the West Ham defeat.

Arteta treatment of Nelson and Smith Rowe has created problem

Nelson and Smith Rowe have hardly featured all season. The two Hale End graduates have made just five starts between them in all competitions, with none of them coming in the Premier League.

Nelson has played just 409 minutes, whilst Smith Rowe has just 243 under his belt. Trossard by comparison, has played 1025 minutes, more than both combined.

The two Hale End graduates have made the majority of their appearances as late substitutes, with little time to impact the game, and as a consequence, they have not built up any match sharpness.

Their lack of regular minutes has meant that when they are needed off the bench, with the West Ham game a key example of starters needing ready replacements.

Martinelli and Trossard were well below par, and having substitutes capable of changing the game could have made a huge difference in the defeat, which saw Arsenal fail to score at home despite firing in 30 shots.

Mikel Arteta needs to rotate the Arsenal squad more

Martinelli has struggled for form in the last few weeks, and some time on the bench, with Nelson coming in for a start, could be beneficial to both players.

Despite Nelson impressing in the Carabao Cup and Champions League, he has not made a single start in the League, and the 24-year-old may be questioning his decision to turn down numerous offers elsewhere to sign a new contract at the club, given his lack of opportunities.

Smith Rowe needs minutes to aid his recovery from a series of long-term injuries, and both players arguably deserve to start over Trossard and Martinelli given their poor recent form.

Having more match-ready players on the bench, and within the squad, will provide internal solutions to expand Arteta’s options before decisions are made ahead of the January transfer window.