Arsenal are in Norway tonight for European action against Bodo/Glimt. We’re way up north and winter is coming, but hopefully we’ll be fine.
In terms of team news, Gabriel Jesus has been left behind, which is probably sensible, all things considered. He has played a lot, had a tough game against Liverpool last weekend, and keeping him fresh for his hat-trick against Leeds on Sunday makes a lot of sense.
I expect a very similar level of rotation from the first game at the Emirates last week with the likes of Matt Turner, Rob Holding, Kieran Tierney, Fabio Vieira, Eddie Nketiah and other starters. However, there are still some gaps, and I’m interested to see if we shuffle the package a bit in that regard. Gabriel and Granit Xhaka started last week, they might be needed again tonight but they will also be needed for the weekend.
When asked about fitness updates, Mikel Arteta said:
Some players who were injured. You’ll know tomorrow, I can’t give you everything.
Which is par for the course now for this manager, he gives little away. Even when he talked about the fact that we will play on an artificial field tonight, he basically said ‘Yes, we will play on that field’:
Everyone is aware that there are many different things that are different, the speed is different, the way you use the grass is different, we have to adapt. We know it, we are here to win the game and tomorrow night, for sure, we will play on an artificial field.
A win tonight would go some way towards topping the group and therefore avoiding another round of matches, so it’s an important game, even if it does feel a bit underwhelming after facing a great team like Liverpool and also the Sp*rs. But this is an integral part of the season ahead. As I wrote yesterday, game by game applies here as well. The circumstances and the context are a bit different, but the Europa League is a trophy we should aim for this season, and you have to lay the groundwork for that with games like these.
For those who haven’t been paying their full attention, tonight starts early: 5:45 pm (in this part of the world).
We’ll have the usual live blog, post-game coverage on Arseblog News, so join us for that.
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There was an interesting question in the press about how Kieran Tierney reacted to the decision to play Takehiro Tomiyasu at left-back against Liverpool. Arteta said:
Like any other player. We know that we made a decision based on the best preparation to win the match and Kieran accepted it like any other player.
It comes after an interview in which the Scotland international admitted his start to the season had been a bit of a struggle:
“It has been tough. I missed pre-season after coming back from injury, and the first game I played was against Palace, that was the first week of training I had.
“I’ve just been trying to get minutes here and there, so it’s been a rough start, but whether it’s first, second or third, I’ll keep working hard and see where it takes me.”
There is always discussion when you see a decision like the one on Sunday. One which, I must point out, was spot on from the manager when you consider how well Tomi chained down Mo Salah, to the point where one of the best players in the Premier League was sent off with 20 minutes remaining.
However, I wonder if we just need to recalibrate our thinking a bit. Inevitably there is ‘What does this mean for Tierney?’ discussions online, but to me it says more about the depth of our team this season than it does about him. The ability to deploy and deploy players tactically, even if it’s not his natural position, is becoming more and more important in football these days. Just because you have two left-backs doesn’t mean that neither of them will always be the right choice for a particular opponent, and that’s what we saw on Sunday.
It wasn’t about relegating Kieran Tierney, it was about winning the game. And guess what? We win the game. The coach’s decision was fully justified and I don’t think it will be the last time this season that we see him do something like this.
Well, that’s all for now. Have a nice day, and I’ll see you later for the game.
