Arteta could give £16m ace and 'crazy' speedster their first Arsenal starts this season today - TBR View
Arsenal will hope to make it three Premier League wins in a row today.
The Gunners followed up their opening-day victory at Crystal Palace with a 4-2 thrashing of Leicester last week.
Up next for Arsenal is the trip to Bournemouth in a 5:30pm kickoff on the south coast.
Mikel Arteta has received a boost in the form of Emile Smith Rowe and Fabio Vieira being available for selection.
The two 22-year-olds both featured for Arsenal Under-21s in their Premier League Cup win over Swansea.
But while Arteta may be tempted to start one or both, the truth is there’s not much reason to do so.
Arsenal’s midfield and attack have been impressive against Palace and Leicester.
Besides, Smith Rowe and Vieira may still lack full match fitness, so there’s no need to rush them in.
So the likelihood is Arteta may bring one or both off the bench later on in the game.
However, there is certainly scope for Arsenal to make changes at the back.
This is partly to counter the height in Bournemouth’s attack, which could cause the Gunners problems.
Though Ben White has been superb at right-back, Takehiro Tomiyasu could do with getting his rhythm back.
In addition, the £16million man’s return could bring the best out of Bukayo Saka once again.
White doesn’t overlap as much as Tomiyasu, so that’s something Arteta will have to consider.
Likewise, Kieran Tierney – last season’s first-choice at left-back – has a good chance of returning.
Oleksandr Zinchenko has been superb, but Tierney could provide some additional defensive security.
No doubt the Scotland international will be raring to go – Albert Sambi Lokonga joked that he trains “crazy” hard.
Admittedly, it’s a dilemma for Arteta, who could just as well start Zinchenko and White and it’d be an equally popular decision.
But as far as dilemmas go, it’s the best kind to have.
Two players who were undisputed first-choices last season, now competing against equally talented players in their respective positions.
