Arsenal headed into the two-week break off the back of wins over Sevilla and Burnley, however there were some negatives for Arteta. Club captain Martin Odegaard missed both games with Ben White a surprise absentee from the 3-1 triumph over Burnley.
Inside just four minutes, Martinelli have his nation the lead with a smart finish a Vinicius Jr pass. However, Luiz Diaz scored twice in the final quarter of an hour to win the game for Colombia. As for Saka, despite reports that Gareth Southgate was going to go strong with his team selection for the European championship qualifier against Malta, he was named on the bench.
As part of a front three, Harry Kane was flanked by Phil Foden and Marcus Rashford with Saka later coming on for the final 30 minutes. Considering the 22-year-old's amount of minutes played for the Gunners already this season, Arteta will certainly appreciate him remaining on the bench for 60 minutes where he was surprisingly joined by Rice.
Rice was also introduced to the game in the same substitution window as Saka, but again, given his importance to Arteta which reflected by his game time this campaign, 60 minutes rest is another welcome boost. The Three Lions play North Macedonia next Monday where starts for the Arsenal duo are certainly a possibility, although, with qualification secured, Southgate could opt to experiment with his starting XI.Despite only being on the pitch for 30 minutes, Rice and Saka both looked to have picked up goal contributions. Just 60 seconds after Saka found Kane in the box to score England's second, Rice went on a mazy run before finishing expertly, however the goal was disallowed with Kane in an offside position and deemed to have blocked the goalkeeper's view.
Nonetheless, it will have been considered an extremely successful night for all involved, but perhaps mostly for Arteta who was able to watch on calmly as two of his star players were handed a slight rest.
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