Rotation needs to be now doesn’t it?

Morning guys.

It’s been a perfect start to the season with three wins out of three for The Arsenal.

One game a week has meant rotation has been kind of irrelevant but that now changes as from tomorrow, Arsenal play four fixtures in a ten day period before an international break. Our October fixtures are just as busy with five match in a fourteen day period but that’s the name of the game for a club involved in European football and the League Cup.

William Saliba is in the Champions League squads so he must be expected to return this year. Jurrien Timber and Cristhian Mosquera are expected to return imminently and despite not getting minutes on Sunday, Bruno Guimaraes was on the bench so he must be good to go.

Arsenal’s Achilles heel over the years has been injuries, we all know that. Without them I think Mikel Arteta would have at least one more Premier League trophy to his name. We cannot rewrite history but we can learn from it. Rotation is key and when one looks at our squad, it should be the easiest of seasons for Arteta to keep his players as fit as possible so that come May, they are not running on empty. There is strength and depth in every department. One might look at our left side and see a weakness but Ebe Eze and Noni Madueke should be enough to fill the void when Christos Tzolis needs resting. Plus we have Max Dowman waiting in the wings too. Literally. Our defence and midfield is as strong as it’s been for years and it will only get stronger when William Saliba returns.

Our bench is full of what I’d call first team players. There is no weakness, well, I’m not convinced by our backup keepers, certainly not Kepa but as far as outfield players go, changes are unlikely to mean weakness. I know Victor Gyokeres seems to be Mr Marmite these days but I think he looked rusty on Sunday but once he hits his rhythm, I’m sure he’ll start scoring goals. I hope so anyway because Kai Havertz cannot play every game even if Arteta wants him too.  If he’s to be Arsenal’s main man up front this season, Arteta cannot afford to run him into the ground before Christmas. Same goes for Martin Odegaard, Ben White and Bukayo Saka who all missed chunks of last season through injury. Riccardo Calafiori is another player who has had more than his fair share of injuries.

In my mere humble opinion, rotation needs to begin tomorrow. Piero Hincapie, Eze, Madueke, Mikel Merino, Guimaraes, Gyokeres and Martin Zubimendi all need more minutes under their belt. Not for one minute am I suggesting so many changes at one time but should the game allow it, why not get the subs on earlier than the 60 minute mark, especially those who have not played much football in the last three weeks. Keeping the squad fit, and I mean match fit, will make the next eight months a lot easier to get through than if players are rusty from lack of minutes, or knackered because they’ve played too many.

Catch up in the comments.