What was pretty much an Arsenal reserve team saw off Mansfield Town on Saturday to make the FA Cup quarter-finals.
That victory furthers the possibility of the Gunners blanking in Gameweek 34.
While Fantasy managers will have learned little else from an Arsenal second string beating a League One side, there are a few talking points to address.
RESULT
| Team | Opponent | Result | Goals | Assists |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Arsenal | Mansfield Town (a) | 1-2 win | Madueke, Eze | Martinelli, Norgaard |
SELECTION/ROTATION
| TEAM | CHANGES FROM GAMEWEEK 29 | PLAYERS WHO KEPT THEIR PLACES (+ MINS) | OTHER NOTABLE PLAYERS (+ MINS) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Arsenal | 9 | Mosquera (90), Martinelli (90) | Kepa (90), Norgaard (90), Madueke (90), Jesus (90), Dowman (77), Calafiori (76), Salmon (62), Havertz (62), Hincapie (52), Trossard (38), Eze (28), Timber (28), Dixon (14), Saka (13) |
GABRIEL + RICE ABSENCES EXPLAINED
As noted above, Mikel Arteta made nine changes to his starting XI on Saturday.
Jurrien Timber (£6.3m), Piero Hincapie (£5.1m), Eberechi Eze and Bukayo Saka (£9.8m) were all limited to substitute duty, while Viktor Gyokeres (£8.8m) was unused on the bench.
That still left Gabriel Magalhaes (£7.3m), Martin Zubimendi (£5.2m), Declan Rice (£7.4m) and David Raya (£6.0m) unaccounted for. Remember that the first three of those weren’t seen in training on Friday.
However, there doesn’t seem to be much concern about any of them.
“Well, they had issues and they’ve been carrying issues. And the amount of games that we are playing, it’s obviously super demanding. And it was the only time to try to make sure that we can clean those issues that they’re having to start the next sequence of two weeks before the break in the best possible way. We had to make those decisions.” – Mikel Arteta on Gabriel Magalhaes, Declan Rice and Martin Zubimendi
TROSSARD + CALAFIORI WORRY AS SALIBA MISSES OUT AGAIN
None of those players is newly flagged, then, but Leandro Trossard (£6.7m) and Riccardo Calafiori (£5.6m) are.
Both were forced off at the One Call Stadium, Trossard exiting in the first half. Calafiori was holding his hamstring before he hobbled off.
“Both of them, they had little niggles, they weren’t comfortable to continue. And we knew that this could be a possibility, especially in the conditions that we’re playing today. So, we had to take them off.” – Mikel Arteta on Leandro Trossard and Riccardo Calafiori
William Saliba (£6.1m) missed out again with the ankle issue that forced his no-show in Gameweek 29. Martin Odegaard (£7.8m) and Ben White (£5.1m), likewise, remained sidelined.
THREE AT THE BACK!
For the first time in years, Arteta sent his side out in a ‘three at the back’ system.
Gabriel Martinelli (£6.8m) and Noni Madueke (£6.8m) were the wing-backs, with teenager Marli Salmon (£4.0m) joining Calafiori and Cristhian Mosquera (£5.3m) at centre-half.
It sounded like needs must, rather than a tactic that Arteta would consider using more of.
“The players that are available, and if we want to manage the load and certain issues that we had in the team, we have to adapt to that. And sometimes it’s not ideal when you have a day to prepare, but as well, it was a challenge for all of us to see how we could adapt to that, which I expected were very difficult circumstances.
“[We trained it] once, 10 minutes!” – Mikel Arteta on why he used a three-at-the-back approach
DOWMAN THE BRIGHT SPARK AS SECOND STRING FLUNK AUDITIONS
Thumping strikes from the edge of the box from Madueke and Eze were enough to see Arsenal through.
Few of the second string impressed, though, from Mosquera at the back to a poor Gabriel Jesus (£6.4m) up top. Mansfield almost matched Arsenal’s shot tally (18-19), with the Stags’ Will Evans pouncing on an underhit Salmon pass to briefly restore parity.
Gabriel, Rice et al won’t have had sleepless nights after viewing this one.
Max Dowman (£4.2m) was the exception. Arsenal’s 16-year-old prodigy would have been disappointed not to score with two gilt-edged opportunities but was otherwise a joy to watch, nearly finding the net on another occasion when jinking through the Mansfield midfield.
Five shots was a game-high total he shared with Madueke, while he also set up a big chance that Jesus spurned.
A bit like Rio Ngumoha (£4.3m) at Liverpool, you still get the sense that, despite this impressive showing, he’s going to struggle to trouble a Premier League starting XI in the run-in.
All in all, then, a good day for owners of regulars like Gabriel and Rice. Not only were they afforded rests (and that’s surely what it was), but their understudies did little to inspire.
