After suffering a humbling 3-1 defeat to Man City on Wednesday, Arsenal are in a must-win scenario against Aston Villa, which is why we have suggested 3 selection changes for Mikel Arteta to make to get the all-important 3 points.
Currently, Pep Guardiola’s side are level on points with the Gunners, albeit having a superior goal difference and after playing an extra game, which puts the onus on them to beat Unai Emery’s men on Saturday.
Keeping that in mind, Mikel Arteta should take these 3 key selection changes as Arsenal prepare to face Aston Villa to retain their place at the top of the Premier League table.
3 selection changes Arteta should take ahead of Arsenal vs Aston Villa
1. Trossard in, Martinelli out
Well, it has been suggested by Jamie O’Hara that the Spanish manager may drop the ‘electric’ Gabriel Martinelli, who has been out of form since the World Cup for the ‘fantastic’ Leandro Trossard.
Mikel Arteta should perhaps do so as one of his 3 selection changes ahead of the trip to Villa Park, as Trossard seems to be having an impact every time he gets on the pitch. Whether that be through his goal against Brentford, his sparkling display against Man City in the FA Cup or his bright cameo against Manchester United.
With Gabriel Martinelli not getting the space to run into, which was afforded by Gabriel Jesus’ fluid movement, starting the Belgian, who is showing no signs of struggling to beat defenders or impact the game as a whole would be a start.
2. Arsenal miss the width offered by Kieran Tierney, which would be handy vs Aston Villa
While Oleksandr Zinchenko has been impeccable as an inverted left-back, a touchline-hugging full-back like Kieran Tierney should tempt Mikel Arteta to including the latter as part of his 3 selection changes as Arsenal ready themselves to face Aston Villa.
Considering Zinchenko inverts, Martinelli also tends to struggle, as he has no space in central areas to exploit, and while Trossard can thrive out wide, he also remains at his best as an inside forward.
The Scot will allow the Gunners to stretch the pitch, offer either of their left-wing options on the day more positional freedom and add a sense of unpredictability that has been missing in attack.
3. Starting Fabio Vieira instead of Xhaka is the last of the 3 changes Arteta should make
While Granit Xhaka has been a ‘revelation’ this season, as per Ally McCoist (via Amazon Prime Video Sport), Mikel Arteta should perhaps bench him against Aston Villa, as one out the 3 selection changes he must make ahead of the all-important contest.
Since the World Cup and especially against Man City, the Swiss international’s form has dropped off and creatively, he has offered little to nothing to the side.
As for Fabio Vieira, he has simply remained on the periphery of things and considering he joined the club with the reputation of being an output machine, he could help ease the burden off Martin Odegaard and the wide players to create something out of nothing.
Receive exclusive football transfer news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
