Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal have taken seven points from their opening nine games but the draw against Brighton & Hove Albion at the Emirates Stadium was certainly controversial.
Declan Rice was dismissed for kicking the ball away and will now miss Arsenal’s game following the resumption of the Premier League season after the international break which just happens to be against the club’s biggest rival Tottenham Hotspur.
There are midfield options available for Mikel Arteta, here are three options the club could experiment with.
Thomas Partey
Of course, the safest and probably most risk-free decision would be to bring in Thoma Partey and potentially Italian midfielder Jorginho to add that defensive solidity that will be missing without Rice in the Arsenal team.
Jorginho has yet to feature for the Gunners this season so starting the Italian would be a risk but, away from his match sharpness, it would be the option that provides the least amount of risk for the Gunners due to the experience he possesses.
With Martin Odegaard as the attack-minded midfielder and Jorginho and Partey as the more defensive options, this could work well for the Gunners.
Jorginho and Kai Havertz in midfield experiment
If Arteta would rather not lose that attacking dynamic that the current midfield options provide for Arsenal, then he could do something different.
The Spaniard could start Jorginho as the deepest-lying midfield option and then bring Kai Havertz back from a number-nine role to a central midfield option.
Havertz has had a good start to the season for Arsenal but it would certainly be a risk for Arteta to start the German in a deeper role, considering how much he struggled for the Gunners.
This would give Arsenal’s midfield much more attacking prowess which could be a risk against Ange Postecoglou’s Tottenham. There may, however, be a third option.
Myles Lewis-Skelly or Ethan Nwaneri
The third option for the Gunners is the academy route with Ethan Nwaneri and Myles Lewis-Skelly excelling during pre-season.
Nwaneri is more of an attacking midfield option and Lewis-Skelly is more of a defensive midfield option so Arteta would have a choice between the academy pair.
Whilst Tottenham have not had the best start to the campaign, Postecoglou’s side still represent a dangerous test so Arteta may choose to go for a more defensive option.
This would suggest Lewis-Skelly would be the preferred starter for the Gunners. It would certainly be a risk but the midfielder looks ready for this baptism of fire.
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