Morning all.

I doubt there’s an Arsenal fan anywhere who is looking forward to seeing Jarred Gillet officiate an Arsenal match for the second time already this season. This is a man who thought it was kind of ok for Wolves defender Yerson Mosquera to grab Kai Havertz around the throat on the opening weekend of the season. Yes he booked the Wolves player but what he should have done is send him off. Will he have learned from that? Probably not.

Other than the fact that Gillet has already officiated an Arsenal match this season and that he’s an awful referee in my opinion, why on earth is an Australian born referee managing a game in which the manager of Totts is himself Australian? It’s ridiculous!

Thank goodness this international break is now over and the Arsenal players can get back to their club and Mikel Arteta, or rather Arsenal’s medical team can assess the damage. Riccardo Calafiori and Martin Odegaard have already returned of course and not good reasons as both suffered injury whilst away but we need the rest to be fit.

Oleksandr Zinchenko played 85 minutes for Ukraine, Bukayo Saka played just over an hour for England, Declan Rice played the full game, as did Kai Havertz for Germany in the 2-2 draw with Netherlands. Jurrien Timber came off the bench at halftime to replace Nathan Ake who was carried off on a stretcher.

Mikel Arteta is not known to mess about too much with his first team but now he’s forced to do so. Declan Rice is suspended for the NLD as we know and Marin Odegaard is a big doubt. But, this is where managers earn their money. Injuries are part of the game and it’s how Arteta deals with them which matters. Partey and Jorginho in midfield is likely to be partnership on Sunday but as many of us have written before, Timber, White and Kiwior are options too as I think I’m right in suggesting all three have played midfield at some stage in their career.

The big loss is Martin Odegaard. Who can come into the team and do the kind of things he does?

Short one today.

Catch up later…

 

 

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