It’s good to be back
The big talking point for me was the return of Emile Smith Rowe. That might seem obvious, but it needs to be highlighted from the start.
The England international returned to the field as if he had never been away which considering he had undergone surgery just four months prior, is a very good thing. His movement was excellent, and he looked confident on the ball to hand Arsenal a big boost.
The Arsenal side lacked motion in the middle and his arrival brought about another gear being found after an initial couple of goals. The Gunners have been lacking so much without his depth and quality available to the team.
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The question now will be can he force his way back into the side? Gabriel Martinelli chipped in with an assist but outside of this sole contribution performed below expectation in a run that spans a number of fixtures.
There’s also scope for him to play in the midfield and provide competition to Granit Xhaka. The new role of the Swiss midfielder has opened up this possibility and there’s a chance to see it in action when the Gunners want to be more forward-thinking.
Midfield maestros missing
What was apparent right from the start was the sheer gap between how Arsenal moved the ball with their starting Premier League options compared to the rotated trio that came in for this cup clash. Mohamed Elneny, Sambi Lokonga and Fabio Vieira all came in and where the cutting middle third that has sliced open many a top Premier League side was lacking, the Gunners looked more reliant on the full-backs to force the ball up the pitch.
This in turn mean that both Bukayo Saka and Gabriel Martinelli had to drop far deeper than they typically would to try and help with the build-up. There were moments Takehiro Tomiyasu would tap a pass to Saka who was but a few feet away.
Unsurprisingly, when Lokonga and Tierney were brought off for Oleksandr Zinchenko and Granit Xhaka, the progression through the left immediately led to the free-kick that brought about the Arsenal opener. For Lokonga in particular this will be a game which is a real problem in his Arsenal career and where his future lies now is very uncertain.
Without Xhaka and Zinchenko the score remained goalless and as soon as they entered the fray, Gunners found three goals to win the game. Football can sometimes be a simple sport, and the reason why Arsenal eventually won the game stemmed from this substitution.
The small squad
Mikel Arteta said ahead of kick-off that he was not happy with the size of the group. He told ITV: “We’ve got a really small squad at the moment.”
Arsenal started their main front three with both Gabriel Jesus and Reiss Nelson out of the picture at the moment. Although the option of Marquinhos was available to Arteta, the Spaniard has seemingly not favoured the Brazilian despite an impressive start to his time with the club away in the Europa League.
The return of Emile Smith Rowe to the squad is certainly a boost but there remains a feeling of real thinness about the team. An injury to key players like Saka and Thomas Partey and suddenly questions are being asked about who is coming in.
The transfer window remains open which is a benefit to the club but the pressure mounts on sporting director Edu who needs to find the players. Chelsea have reportedly agreed to meet Atletico Madrid’s asking price for Joao Felix on loan, a player who had been linked with a switch to the Emirates shaving down the winter options further.
The main focus remains very much on Mykhaylo Mudryk. The Ukrainian would certainly add the competition and quality needed for this squad to mount a lengthy challenge on the title through until the end of the season.
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