Arsenal legend Paul Merson says manager Mikel Arteta has a real headache to deal with ahead of his side’s looming clash against Premier League title rivals Man City at the Etihad Stadium, in what is arguably their biggest game of the season so far.
Arsenal dealt selection dilemmas with key men unavailable
The north Londoners will be unable to call upon a host of key players for their trip to the Etihad Stadium, with captain Martin Odegaard, midfielder Mikel Merino, defender Takehiro Tomiyasu, left-back Kieran Tierney and Ukraine international Oleksandr Zinchenko all sidelined lately.
Odegaard will be out for weeks after sustaining ankle ligament damage on international duty with Norway, while summer signing Mikel Merino is out with a shoulder fracture and won’t be back till late next month at the earliest.
Tomiyasu’s knee injury means he won’t potentially be back until their home game against Leicester City next weekend, with Zinchenko missing their last two games after picking up a calf problem.
Arsenal’s next five Premier League games | Date |
|---|---|
Man City (away) | September 22 |
Leicester City (home) | September 28 |
Southampton (home) | October 5 |
Bournemouth (away) | October 19 |
Liverpool (home) | October 27 |
Tierney’s estimated return date is unknown, but a certainty is that he won’t be donning Arsenal red when Arteta’s side travel to Manchester today. Their shortage of midfielders means both Thomas Partey and Jorginho have been absolutely crucial, so sporting director Edu Gaspar will be relieved that he didn’t try and sell either man in the summer window.
The latter started Arsenal’s 1-0 derby win over Tottenham last weekend, playing a key role in thwarting the home side’s attack whilst providing balance in midfield next to Partey.
However, Declan Rice’s return to the fold against Atalanta saw the £110,000-per-week star dropped for their draw in Bergamo on Thursday.
Paul Merson says Arteta has a real problem over Jorginho
Writing in his column for sportskeeda, pundit Merson believes that Jorginho presents a real problem for Arteta to solve in the form of a selection dilemma.
“It won’t be as comfortable as the game against Tottenham,” wrote Merson. “I have a strong feeling Jorginho will play this game, despite Declan Rice returning from his suspension.
“With Kai Havertz in midfield the other day, it really helped both Thomas Partey and Jorginho. One thing Jorginho does really well is, he keeps the ball. During the 1-0 win at Emirates last season, City could not touch him, he was just too good.
“It’s a real headache for Arteta now. He must decide whether he should play Jorginho or not. A quick word on William Saliba and Gabriel Magalhaes as well, they are the best centre-back pair in the league. But I feel sometimes the work that happens in front of them goes unnoticed. Partey and Rice are both very disciplined and provide a lot of cover for the centre-backs.
“I like John Stones and Ruben Dias together, but they don’t play with each other consistently enough like the Arsenal duo.”
