French World Cup winner and Gunners legend Emmanuel Petit has shared the one thing which has deeply concerned him about Arsenal for a long time.
Arsenal face Tottenham in North London Derby today
The day has come for manager Mikel Arteta and his squad to do battle against fierce north London rivals Tottenham, with the 14:00 kick off looming and Arsenal desperate to seize all three points.
Arsenal have a couple of key absences, especially in midfield, with Mikel Merino sidelined until mid-October at the earliest and Declan Rice unavailable through suspension.
Arteta could drop Kai Havertz back into midfield this afternoon, and play new arrival Raheem Sterling as a false-nine on his possible debut for Arsenal, as they attempt to plug the gaps left by Rice and Merino’s absences.
Arsenal’s next five Premier League games | Date |
|---|---|
Tottenham (away) | September 15 |
Man City (away) | September 22 |
Leicester City (home) | September 28 |
Southampton (home) | October 5 |
Bournemouth (away) | October 19 |
Defender Riccardo Calafiori, captain Martin Odegaard and striker Gabriel Jesus are contending to be fit, according to Arteta in his pre-match Arsenal press conference on Friday, with the trio all touch-and-go depending on last minute assessments.
The Premier League title hopefuls have been desperately unlucky with injuries over the international break and beforehand, which is regrettably out of Arteta’s control, as the Spaniard now looks to set up his team in the most productive way possible against a plucky, attack-minded Tottenham side.
Sporting director Edu Gaspar brought in five major signings to reinforce Arsenal’s squad over the summer, with Sterling, Neto, Merino, Calafiori and David Raya joining for under £100 million.
However, their lack of depth is still a concern, especially for Petit.
Emmanuel Petit shares the one real worry he has about Arsenal
Speaking to TalkSPORT, Petit shared his real concern about Arsenal’s lack of rotation options, suggesting it could be their achilles heel as Arteta attempts to end Arsenal’s 21-year-long wait for a league title.
“City started poorly (last season) and they were missing big players during the season, but they won the title,” Petit said.
“I’m not sure that can be possible for Arsenal in terms of quality and quantity of players. That’s what I’ve been worried about for ages, the rotation of the team. Now they are back in the Champions League again. Playing every single three days, international duty as well with your country, that means you need to get rotation in your team.
“When you get important players injured, what’s the solution for Arteta? He’s got players, but not in the same position and who cannot bring the same qualities on the pitch. I’m pretty sure that Arteta and his staff have been scratching their heads trying to find the best solution, especially in midfield.
“In modern football, you win games in the midfield most of the times. Those two guys are leaders, Rice and Odegaard. I’m very, very upset they won’t be here on Sunday because in terms of rotation, it’s already quite limited for Arteta.”
After Tottenham, Arteta and co face crucial fixtures almost immediately – with Atalanta awaiting them in the Champions League just days later and a trip to Man City looming next weekend..
