It is now looking like Arsenal waving an early goodbye to the Capital One Cup at the hands of Southampton about a month ago could turn out to be a blessing in disguise. Of course it means that the Gunners have one less chance of winning a trophy this season, but we have got bigger things to worry about.
Arsene Wenger usually uses the League Cup games to give the fringe players and the up and coming academy lads some experience, but the way that injuries have rocked our squad at this early point in the season, it may be more important for those players to have a rest than risk picking up a knock.
So for almost the first time since the season started, Wenger has a whole week to work with the Arsenal squad in training and we certainly need it. With Theo Walcott, Serge Gnabry, Aaron Ramsey, Yaya Sanogo and Mikel Arteta returning to fitness, this week is very important as it gives the coaching staff at the club a great chance to get everyone playing as a team. And it gives the likes of Welbeck and Alexis a well deserved rest.
After two wins in a row, Wenger can build on the players’ confidence and look forward to a very winnable home game against Burnley next weekend and all of a sudden the poor results and the stuttering start to the season could start to become a distant memory. So the timing of this week off could hardly be better for Arsenal and Wenger, with the Man City and Liverpool results meaning we could start the game against Burnley in fifth place and just three points behind Man City who have the small matter of a local derby with Man United.