Mikel Arteta makes Thomas Partey North London Derby decision amid Arsenal changes vs Tottenham
Arsenal have been in a position where rotation has been a tricky endeavour for Mikel Arteta. Games have come thick and fast with the pressure and expectation to win meaning that the Spaniard has often opted for little-to-no changes.
Following the wins over Wolves and Chelsea in which the Gunners have returned to high-scoring form with seven across the two games, they did indeed make some switches to the XI. Gabriel Jesus and Jakub Kiwior were changed for Takehiro Tomiyasu and Thomas Partey.
Still, the likes of Declan Rice, Bukayo Saka and Martin Odegaard have continued to play to a near-uninterrupted extent. However Arteta has been able to swap out some of his team. This therefore leads nicely into the North London Derby this weekend.
Arteta has been able to get a look at plenty of elements of his squad with even Oleksandr Zinchenko, Gabriel Martinelli and Jorginho all getting plenty of action in the past month. That said, following the win over the Blues perhaps the last thing that is needed against Tottenham is change.
Ange Postecoglou’s side have been resting for the past week and a half as they avoided a weekend game thanks to the FA Cup semi-final. They will be fresh and ready to take on the Gunners on their own turf but haven’t come through this period unscathed with Destiny Udogie expected to miss the rest of the season and the European Championships in the summer and Pedro Porro remains a doubt.
It might be seen as advantage Tottenham with the additional rest, but the Arsenal snowball which has built up since the defeat to Bayern Munich has restored their confidence and their trajectory. It might mean that the period of time off has cost sharpness whereas the Gunners are instead very much on it.
Jurrien Timber handed
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