Inter preview: We have a BIG squad, use it …

Morning all.

We’re in Champions League action this evening when we take on Inter Milan. Arsenal sit top of the table, and the rules of this new league format mean that teams that finish in the top four will play their second leg at home in the last 16 and also the quarter-final if they make it that far. On top of that, if you finish in the top 2, you get a home semi-final in the second leg if you reach that.

So, if my maths are correct, we could do that last part tonight with a win, regardless of what other teams do. The question is, how much will that influence the manager’s team selection this evening? There are two factors at play for me. One is the fact we’re going to play Man Utd on Sunday, and they’ll have had a full week off between the Manchester derby and this game. As we saw against Nottingham Forest at the weekend, facing opposition who haven’t had to deal with a schedule as hectic and demanding as ours makes life a bit more complicated. For me, that would be a significant consideration when it comes to tonight’s team selection.

The second factor is that we essentially have a safety-net option in this competition, a final game at home against FC Kairat, a side from Kazakhstan who sit bottom of the table and are so far down the UEFA coefficient rankings that anything other than a win in that fixture, even with a heavily rotated side, would be essentially unthinkable.

I don’t know how much we can realistically shift things around at the back, with Riccardo Calafiori and Piero Hincapie still sidelined, but Cristhian Mosquera is back to take some of the burden off one of William Saliba and Gabriel, and despite being somewhat on the fringes this season, I’d play Myles Lewis-Skelly in order to rest Jurrien Timber. If he and Ben White timeshare the game at right-back, I think that’d be all right, but the Netherlands international in particular looks like those legs are a bit heavy at the moment.

In midfield, there’s plenty to choose from with Mikel Merino, Christian Norgaard, Eberechi Eze and Ethan Nwaneri all available, and with regards Eze in particular I really want to see him start this one. Maybe you can say we’ve been managing his load, but the through line between that momentary lapse of concentration at Aston Villa and his involvement in the Premier League seems obvious. Mistakes happen though, and for the good of our season, we need him involved. If he is picked tonight, hopefully he can step up with the kind of performance that will be restorative for him and for the manager.

Up front, if Kai Havertz is fit enough, I’d love to see him start. I don’t think he can do 90 minutes yet, but the more minutes we can get into him the better. I’ve said enough about Viktor Gyokeres, and beyond his goal against Aston Villa, we haven’t seen as much from Gabriel Jesus as you might like – although we are, much like Havertz, talking about a player who has spent essentially a year out. Maybe the German is only ready for 20/30 minutes at this point, in which case flip a coin on which of the other two gets the nod, but I do hope we can get some playing time into his legs later on.

On the wings, choose your favourite combo from Bukayo Saka, Noni Madueke, Gabriel Martinelli and Leandro Trossard, but as I said above, I hope this is a team selection that bears Sunday in serious mind. Speaking in Milan last night, Mikel Arteta said of his potential team selection:

It’s very particular for every game, I’m afraid, because every game has a different situation, and the players are in different stages as well. We will prepare the game, the line-up and the finishers in the best possible manner to win the game.

And on the challenge Inter present:

They’re a closed team, a bit aggressive. In the first phase, they’re aggressive. Where they lose the ball, they’re more aggressive in getting it back. Then they have the talent, the ability, the mentality. We’ll see how the game is tomorrow. We are very clear about what we have to do to play the game we want to play, and then you deserve it. It has to be when we have the opportunity to score the goal, and then dominate these things, which are vital.

For me, this is a pretty low stakes affair. We’re in such good shape in the Champions League that even if it doesn’t go well, we’re not going to be scuppered by it. Obviously I hope it’s a resounding win for Arsenal, but I think I’m going to be able to watch this one without much stress. Famous last words, perhaps, but a solid result and a clean bill of health coming back to North London is basically all I need from tonight. Sunday is just far more important to our season.

And perhaps the benefit of some rotation is that players who we are going to need to be involved because of the schedule will get playing time, and build some form and rhythm which will be important as and when they’re needed for the Premier League. Fingers crossed.

As ever, you can join us later for live blog coverage, we’ll bring you all the post-game stuff on Arseblog News, and there’s a a new episode of The 30 on Patreon to listen to as well. There’s also an Arsecast Extra below if you haven’t had a chance to listen already.

For now, have a good one.

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