The international break came at the perfect time for Arsenal, as, following four Premier League games without a win, it felt an awful lot like the wheels were beginning to come off.
Fortunately, the North Londoners’ first game back over the weekend brought a much-needed win, as Martin Odegaard and Bukayo Saka reminded the rest of the league just how devastatingly effective they can be.
However, there’s no time to celebrate for Mikel Arteta and Co, as they have the small task of Sporting CP away in the Champions League later tonight.
Nottingham Forest
3-0 (W)
Chelsea
1-1 (D)
Newcastle (A)
1-0 (L)
Liverpool (H)
2-2 (D)
Bournemouth (A)
2-0 (L)
The Portuguese giants tore Manchester City asunder last time out, so the Gunners will have to be at their best to come away with three points, and to help with that, Arteta must start his answer to the ridiculously dangerous Viktor Gyokeres.
Viktor Gyokeres' sensational form
While Sporting are a brilliant team from front to back, the biggest threat to Arsenal tonight is undoubtedly Gyokeres.
The Swedish marksman has played like a man possessed since making his £20m move to Lisbon last year, scoring 43 goals and providing 15 assists in just 50 appearances.
Amazingly, the former Coventry City ace has somehow taken another step forward this season and, in just 19 appearances, has already racked up a frankly absurd tally of 24 goals and four assists, meaning he’s currently averaging 1.47 goal involvements every game.
Moreover, the Stockholm-born machine has shown this sensational ability at the very highest level as well, scoring five goals in the Champions League, including a hat trick against City.
Now, the sad truth for Arsenal is that they do not have a player capable of being this prolific in their squad.
However, they do have a talented centre-forward who can be their answer to Gyokeres, and Arteta must make a change to his starting lineup and play him from the first whistle tonight.
Arsenal's very own Gyokeres
Now, it’s certainly true that as a team, Arsenal looked back to somewhere close to their best on Saturday afternoon, but unfortunately, Gabriel Jesus did not.
The Brazilian wasn’t dreadful, but with a 6/10 match rating from the Standard’s Simon Collings and zero shots on target in 95 minutes, it would be fair to say that he showed just why he’s not been starting many games over the last nine months or so.
Moreover, the few times he did get into dangerous positions, he either fluffed his lines or passed the ball to someone else, and in a tough away fixture in Europe, that won’t do.
So, with that said, instead of handing the former City ace back-to-back starts, Arteta must turn to Kai Havertz.
The German is not the most prolific centre-forward in England, let alone Europe, but over the last year or so, he has proven he has what it takes to lead the line.
For example, in 17 appearances this season, the “magnificent” poacher, as dubbed by talent scout Jacek Kulig, has scored seven goals and provided one assist, which is made all the more impressive when you consider the fact he’s already played against the defences of Manchester City, Liverpool, Aston Villa, Paris Saint-Germain, Atalanta, Inter Milan and several other top sides.
Moreover, in three of his 11 league appearances this season, he’s had to adopt a more cautious playstyle due to the sending-off of one of his teammates.
Lastly, while the former Bayer Leverkusen monster’s tally does not hold a candle to Gyokeres’, the reality of the situation is that he remains the club’s best option up top, and by a country mile at that, as Jesus has scored just one goal and provided one assist in 16 appearances this season.
Ultimately, the Gunners are in for a serious test away from home tonight, and while nothing can guarantee a victory, they’ll have a far better chance of collecting all three points with Havertz up top as the answer to the free-scoring Swede.
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