Morning from a very rainy Dublin today.
We go into the last Interlull of 2025 in good shape at the top of the table, but the key for Mikel Arteta during this break is how many of the injured players he can get back before the resumption and the very tricky schedule we face straight away.
A North London derby, a home Champions League tie against Bayern Munich, and then Chelsea away in the space of a week. Then there’s a midweek game against Brentford (who have caused us problems at home in recent seasons), before a trip to Aston Villa that weekend. Tough going, and we’re going to need some reinforcements, particularly in the forward line.
Things do sound relatively positive on that front though, with Simon Collings reporting in the Evening Standard that Viktor Gyokeres, Kai Havertz, Gabriel Martinelli and Martin Odegaard are all ‘pushing’ to be ready for that run of games, while Noni Madueke came close to making the squad for Sunderland. It goes without saying that having those players at our disposal again would be a massive boost, and then it’s about how quickly and effectively they can be reintegrated.
For some, like Gyokeres and Martinelli, it should be fairly routine. They’ve played plenty already this season, and if they’re back after the Interlull, their absences will have been pretty short-term, relatively speaking. The others will require more careful management. Havertz hasn’t played since the opening day, garnering just 30 minutes of action so far this season, and that presents its own challenges. On the one hand, he won’t be suffering from any kind of fatigue, but on the other ensuring his load is increased gradually will be important.
It always felt like the centre-forward position would be a bit of a time-share situation between him and Gyokeres, and I expect that to be the case when they’re both fit again. Initially the minutes will likely be skewed more heavily in the favour of the Swedish international, but later, I think we’ll see them deployed more tactically, depending on the opposition, game-state etc. And one thing we haven’t had the chance/luxury to see, is both of them playing at the same time, and how that might look.
If Premier League football is embracing some of its classic history with the renewed focus on long throws and set-pieces, could we see a revival of two big lads up top to present problems for defences who rarely have to face a centre-forward partnership these days? Not quite a case of putting all your eggs in one attacking basket, but if we think about how this team might present different problems to the opposition over the course of this season, this is one I’d be curious to see from time to time.
Meanwhile, both Odegaard and Madueke have minutes under their belts this season, but just 7 and 6 appearances respectively in our 17 games so far leaves them with some catching up to do. The captain has been really unfortunate with those shoulder problems, then a clash of knees, and I really think he’s going to be a key part of the team if we achieve the things we want this season. Of course there are questions about what happens with Eberechi Eze when he’s fit again, but honestly, I couldn’t be less worried about a scenario where we have an abundance of quality for one or two positions. I’ll leave that for Mikel Arteta to work out.
As for Madueke, having arrived with some skepticism, he won people over with his energetic performances on the right hand side. As an alternative to Bukayo Saka, who now feels like he’s really finding his range in front of goal with 4 in our last 7 games, he’s a great option. However, without a goal or an assist to his name yet, there’s obvious room for improvement when it comes to his end product when he’s fit again. I’m sure it’ll come, and we’ve seen far more expensive, much higher profile players this season struggle to produce thus far, but I bet if you asked him, getting on the scoresheet for his new club and providing for others will be his aim when he returns.
The question then is about how the manager integrates and uses these players. I think it’s fair to say it’s easier, or potentially less disruptive, to make changes in midfield and attack than in defensive positions where you worry about undermining the structure of the team mid-match. Nevertheless, I felt we could have used some fresh legs against Sunderland at the weekend, and there was quality and energy left on the bench at the Stadium of Light. Arteta has this big squad at his disposal, and I think for the most part he’s been willing to use it this season, so Saturday felt like a bit of an anomaly.
The return of five very good players, with Gabriel Jesus still to come, should present him with the ability to maintain a freshness across these upcoming fixtures, and I’m curious see how he does that. Let’s not forget that even with all that, there are some players who have been available who haven’t played as much as they would have liked so far this season, so how he manages all of it will be very interesting. Ultimately though, it’s the best kind of problem to have, and it’s also a way to attempt to reduce the injury load as the season progresses.
You could probably draw a line between the Havertz injury in August and Gyokeres ultimately suffering a muscular strain because of how much he had to play. These players bring competition for places, quality and variety, but also a way to ensure nobody gets played into the ground. Let’s keep fingers crossed we have these guys back asap, and that those players away on international duty come back unscathed.
Right, that’s it for today. There’s an Arsecast Extra below if you haven’t listened already. Till tomorrow.
