After the fallout from the defeat to Manchester City, the end-of-season aim is very simple for Arsenal now: win. Chelsea are next up in the remaining five games on the order for the Gunners with the Blues in incredibly poor form.
Frank Lampard is yet to pick up a win as Chelsea boss and the looming appointment of Mauricio Pochettino seems to be seeing this season flitter away as the games run down. 14 points off a Europa Conference League place, it has been a dreadful campaign from the Blues.
If anything, Arsenal couldn’t wish for a better opponent but there should still be changes from Mikel Arteta. The side needs a fresh injection of quality and fitness and there’s options to provide that both in the starting XI and the bench as football.london takes a look at four changes needed to be made.
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Jorginho
Thomas Partey has been a shadow of his former self, with his displays in the previous few games both lacklustre and rash with it all coming to a head against City having got into a number of tussles with opposition players. The summer will need to be used to provide competitive alternatives to the Ghanaian but for now, he could do with being taken out of the limelight.
Jorginho, therefore, is the obvious choice who genuinely looked good when coming on at the Etihad Stadium. He brings calm where Partey has been anything but of late and facing his former club, it could be the perfect time to bring him into the fold.
Leandro Trossard
Arsenal need to get Leandro Trossard into the team. The Gunners have not won a game since the Belgian was dropped to the bench at Anfield having won the previous seven before the draw with Liverpool.
However, the problem lies in the front three themselves being so undroppable. Some might suggest taking Gabriel Jesus out but instead, I think Trossard can shine with the starting trio and replace Granit Xhaka in the line-up.
Defensively there are questions for Arsenal but against a Chelsea side that ships goals and currently have two fewer Premier League goals than Erling Haaland, there’s a reason to go heavier on the attacking five which also includes Martin Odegaard. Trossard creates something of a chaos factor and has great understanding with anyone who he played with and so it makes sense that he might be the right pick for Tuesday night.
Kieran Tierney
With Xhaka absent, it, therefore, is probably the smarter play to allow some greater defensive presence at left-back. This is where Kieran Tierney comes in and it might be tempting to have the Scot replace Oleksandr Zinchenko anyway considering the former Man City man has not been in the best form.
Teams have exploited this space on numerous occasions and his influence further up the field seems to be far less than in the first two-thirds of the campaign. Tierney has plenty to prove and suddenly might have the opening he’s craved.
Reiss Nelson
The final pick of the list is the player who impressed me more than perhaps any other player from the bench. No, I don’t think Reiss Nelson should start but certainly be given more time to come on and influence the game instead of being restricted to the final moments.
He has looked bright, motivated and when on the ball you get a sense something could happen. Have we been underestimating this Hale End graduate all along?
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