Arsenal fans ready to tip into rage over early team news for Club Brugge clash
Mikel Arteta needs to sacrifice Wednesday’s Champions League clash with Club Brugge, as much as it will hurt him.
Arsenal were beaten 2-1 by Aston Villa on Saturday, with the home side enjoying the ascendancy for much of the match.
Matty Cash found the breakthrough before half-time, before Emi Buendia‘s 95th-minute winner sent Villa Park into raptures.
Arsenal are the favourites to win the Premier League, but have gradually tailed off in the last week.
Arsenal fans demand huge changes vs Club Brugge
The last couple of months seem to have brought issue after issue for Arsenal. Key defender Gabriel was injured while on international duty with Brazil, and several other players have been suffering from problems.
Viktor Gyokeres, Leandro Trossard, Martin Odegaard and William Saliba are among the players to have spent time out with various issues, and the Gunners’ defence has been hit hard.
| Arsenal injuries | Expected return |
| Gabriel | December/January |
| Cristhian Mosquera | January |
| William Saliba | December |
| Kai Havertz | December/January |
Cristhian Mosquera was forced off against Brentford, with Arteta later confirming that the Spaniard is set to spend at least a month on the injury table after suffering an ankle injury.
The 21-year-old’s absence saw Jurrien Timber moved into centre-back against Villa alongside Piero Hincapie – Arsenal’s sixth different partnership already this season.
With Wednesday’s trip to Club Brugge set to ultimately prove meaningless in the Champions League group stage, fans have called on Arteta to make mass changes – with one even suggesting the manager can play himself.
“Change the whole team and let the first team rest,” another demanded. There was also some calls from fans to “send in the Under 21s”.
One Arsenal fan voiced his frustration, saying that he will “lose it” if he sees Bukayo Saka or Declan Rice in the starting line-up.
Mikel Arteta caught in bind vs Club Brugge
Momentum is incredibly important in football – a fact Arteta will be well aware of. In Arsenal’s situation, however, fitness appears far more crucial.
While the Spaniard will be keen to get his team back to winning ways before Saturday’s clash with Wolves, it is far more important that the Gunners go into that game with a rested team.
Save for a 15-minute period after half-time, Arsenal looked exhausted against Villa. Sloppy passes and failure to track runners exhibited a team coming off the back of a difficult fixture run.
If Arteta wants to prove that Saturday’s game was just a blip, he must prioritise his team’s ability to increase their tempo.