Champions League action tonight as we face Ludogorets at home. It’ll be the first time we’ve faced the Bulgarian side, and on paper it’s one of those games for which we’re clear favourites.
You don’t need me to tell you we’ve had fixtures like this before which haven’t gone as well as we would have liked, but given the form we’re in anything less than a win would be a big disappointment. It’s also a game which should allow Arsene Wenger to rotate his squad a little bit.
The temptation to stick with what’s working so well is understandable, but there are bigger, more difficult games ahead and making sure we’re as fresh as possible for those has got to be part of his thinking. It’s also important the guys who find themselves on the bench every week feel involved and motivated, rather than bit-part players allowed an occasional cameo.
The squad is deep this season, so we have to be prepared to use it and have some faith in the quality of those players. The manager was asked about possible rotation at his press conference yesterday, but wasn’t giving too much away, saying:
At the moment I am just looking at how players recover, what is the next game, and ‘how do we win that game?’
We know David Ospina will come in for Petr Cech, as this European goalkeeper rotation seems to be a thing this season, but aside from that there are others who will be itching to get a chance. Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, for example, has been talking about how much he wants to play, tonight is a game which should allow him to do that. The onus then is on him to perform and give Wenger something to think about.
Others like Mohamed Elneny, Lucas Perez, Kieran Gibbs, and maybe even Gabriel, would fancy their chances of a start, but obviously the challenge for the manager is to make changes without disrupting our rhythm too much. He might be more of a mind to stick with the team that’s done so well recently and hope the scoreline allows him the opportunity to make changes during the game, but that doesn’t always work out.
The only outfield change from our last four games (either side of the Interlull) was Xhaka replacing Coquelin in the side after the Chelsea game. Aside from that it’s been the same starting XI, and many of those players were away playing internationals too. When you look at what’s on the horizon next month, with Sp*rs, Man United and PSG, tonight’s game is one in which he really should use his squad to the maximum.
There’s a weekend game against Middlesbrough, of course, and I’d have no issue with him going with what he perceives to be his strongest side for that, given how important Premier League points are. Whether he will make changes tonight remains to be seen, but I hope he does – because as much as we’ve all called for squad with genuine depth, we haven’t seen a lot of it yet. The EFL Cup, sure, but giving them a chance in the Champions League would surely be a better gauge of how good they are – even if we are playing a side perceived as a European minnow.
None of which is to take tonight’s opposition lightly. They come into the game sounding quite bullish, and as I said we’ve been ‘surprised’ before by teams we’ve been strongly expected to beat. If things don’t go well though, at least you know you’ve got some players on the bench who you’d be confident can make a significant impact based on what they’ve done in recent games.
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In other news, the manager says he had no contact with other clubs during the summer regarding the potential sale of Theo Walcott:
Look, I haven’t spoken to anybody because I was not ready to let him go. I always wanted to keep him. What I’ve seen of him is that he lets the passion for the game come out of his body.
Which is really quite the image when you start considering which orifice that passion comes out of. Then you realise you’re definitely overthinking things. As someone who was very much Walcott sceptic last season, I’m enjoying this season’s version a lot more and I genuinely hope he can keep this up. From what he has been saying himself, it’s like something clicked with him. Maybe it’s case of better late than never, but still. It’s better late than never.
Santi Cazorla, meanwhile, has made it abundantly clear how important it is to secure the future of Hector Bellerin:
It is clear that Hector is the right-back of the future. For Arsenal it would be a mistake to let him go. It is obvious that many teams want him. There has been talk about Manchester City and Barcelona. He is a player with great potential and I am sure he will also be a key part of the future of the Spanish national team.
Is there a team in Europe that wouldn’t fancy a bit of Hector at this point? His development into one of the best right-backs around has been meteoric, and when a player becomes as good as that and as important as that, it should be rewarded – even if he does still have a number of years left on his current contract. He’s one of the first names on the team-sheet every week, perhaps not as mature as some of the others of that status, but it should be recognised.
Right, that’s about that for this morning. If you can’t see the game later on, feel free to join us for live blog coverage which works on desktop, mobile, tablet, fridge, kiosks, TVs and almost everything else. There’ll be a post later with all the info, or bookmark our default live blog page and updates will begin automatically.
Until then.
