When the team sheet came out for the game against Everton, a big name was clearly left out. Arteta who made three changes from our game against Manchester United, decided that Kai Havertz would be dropped to the bench and Fabio Vieira was set to replace him.
Havertz, who hasn’t really hit the ground running since joining the Gunners from Chelsea this summer, had started every game this season coming up to the Everton game. It’s hard to judge why he was dropped, having just come back from the international break with Germany, it could be as simple as Arteta not wanting to risk his fitness and wanting to rotate the squad or it could be the fact he hasn’t impressed in red and white so far.
Vieira, who did look good on Sunday afternoon, came in with a lot of energy but in my opinion didn’t really change how we’ve been playing dramatically, although he did make a great through pass to Martinelli for the goal that was ultimately disallowed with VAR for offside, I still didn’t think it was a standout performance over what we’ve already seen from Havertz.
Havertz came on from Vieira against Everton in the 80th minute and had a good 10-minute cameo, nothing that really stood out, but he did his job. After coming back from the international break with an assist for Germany against France, Arsenal fans would have been hoping that he came back with some needed confidence.
We have a lot of games this season, playing in four competitions and playing a game almost every three days, so rotation is going to be key if we want success, and having two good players to compete for a position is always what you want as a manager. If you look at Pep and Man City, their bench is always jam packed with quality and is always able to look to his bench and trust those coming on, ultimately this is what we want to see at Arsenal.
At this moment I wouldn’t look too much into it, I expect the change had more to do with rotation and the game against PSV in the back of Arteta’s mind, but it will be interesting to see who starts against PSV in our first game of The Champions League campaign. With a lot on the line and Arteta and the squad wanting to make a good impression after being out of the competition for so long, I’d expect him to be picking his strongest team.
What’s your thoughts Gooners? Who do you think starts against PSV?
Daisy Mae
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