It’s been a gruelling start to the season for Arsenal so far.
In their five Premier League games, Mikel Arteta’s side have played Liverpool and Manchester United away from home, and hosted Manchester City at the Emirates.
Then, in the Champions League, they kick-started their campaign away to Athletic Bilbao, who finished fourth in La Liga last season.
Fortunately, the Gunners’ opening League Cup fixture tonight is against what should be easier opposition in Port Vale. As such, Arteta has the chance to make some changes, including the dropping of Viktor Gyokeres, but not for Mikel Merino.
Why Gyokeres should be dropped
Now, while there are undoubtedly going to be some fans who want to see Gyokeres start tonight, there are several reasons why we think that is a bad idea, notably the state of the squad.
Jesus
Knee
01/26
Havertz
Knee
11/25
Madueke
Knee
11/25
Odegaard
Shoulder
09/25
Hincapie
Groin
N/A
Arsenal are already going through an injury crisis at the moment, and one of the players who is out of action and looks set to be out for some time longer is Kai Havertz.
So, while other players could start league games up top, the former Sporting CP star is the only natural option who plays there, and therefore, should be protected in a game like this.
Moreover, while some might argue that it’s the perfect fixture to help play the Swede into some form, the struggles of other top sides against lower opposition in recent weeks should serve as a warning that it may not be as easy as some expect.
In other words, if the Stockholm-born star starts and then doesn’t score against Port Vale, the narrative around his ability and suitability in this side will reach new levels and could totally derail his integration into the team.
Anyway, should the Gunners find themselves a couple of goals to the good late on in the game, Arteta could always bring him off the bench for 25 mins or so to run at a tired defence and grab a goal or two that way.
With all that said, then, the Spaniard has to drop Gyokeres to the bench tonight and go with another one of his attacking stars and not Merino.
The Arsenal star Arteta should start in place of Gyokeres
So, if Arteta does decide to start Merino in place of Gyokeres tonight, it wouldn’t be a terrible move, as we’ve already seen that he can do well up top.
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However, we think that the far better option for this game would be Gabriel Martinelli.
Yes, it’s not something he’s done all that often over the years, but the manager should play the former Ituano gem through the middle, and there are a few reasons why.
Firstly, the Brazilian is probably the club’s most inform attacker at the moment, as coming off the bench in Spain, he scored the opening goal and then provided an assist for Leandro Trossard to get the second.
Then on the weekend, as it looked like Man City were going to get all three points, he once again came off the bench to score a wonderful chip and prevent what would have been a minor disaster so early on in the campaign.
So with the 24-year-old being directly involved in the team’s last three goals, the manager should reward him with what would be just his second start of the season.
Another reason why he should be in the starting lineup is that, over the last few years, the rapid “monster,” as journalist Mark Mann-Bryans once dubbed him, has proven himself to be a real confidence player.
In other words, not only would starting him be the right thing to do as a reward for his form, but it’d also be best for the squad overall, as Arteta would have another inform free-scoring option he can call upon on the bench in league games.
Ultimately, Gyokeres should be rested tonight, and while Merino would likely do a fine job leading the line, Martinelli is in red-hot form in front of goal and deserves his chance to lead the line – it might just prove to be a game-changing development for Arsenal.
