Last season, there was a debate over who was better at playing LCM: Kai Havertz or Declan Rice? Then there was a discussion about whether Rice should play at number six or eight. After signing Mikel Merino in the summer, many believed Arteta saw Rice as #6, with the Spaniard set to take over at LCM.
This season, many anticipated that Mikel Arteta’s ideal midfield would feature Merino, Martin Odegaard, and Rice. With Merino’s injury, the midfield trio never saw action. Although last season we envisaged Rice, Partey and Odegaard.
Unfortunately, while waiting for Merino to recuperate and join Rice and Odegaard in Arteta’s engine room, Odegaard sustained an injury.
Following Odegaard’s injury, there have been calls for Mikel Arteta to replace him by Ethan Nwaneri, who has charmed the Gooners with flashes of brilliance whenever he is on the pitch. However, with Partey also playing up his to his best, and Mikel Arteta has yet to fully trust Nwaneri with a key role in his team.
That might change, and with Merino on the verge of returning from injury, he could provide Arteta with a solid basis to build on. Rice and Partey is quite defensive, and Merino is also fairly defensive; with their experience, the two may easily accommodate Nwaneri in the engine room.
With Nwaneri focused on pulling the strings in attack, as he did in his cameo appearance in Leicester’s 4-2 victory, and Rice and Merino focused on the defensive side of the game (though Merino will also want to contribute in attack), the Arsenal midfield might gel. This midfield combo could easily play some fantastic fluid football; it possesses the physicality, inventiveness, and aerial ability to overpower opponents.
That might be the ideal strategy for “unleashing” Nwaneri, and the best part is that Arteta can easily rotate him with Odegaard for the RCM role, ensuring his playmakers remain fresh.
Jack Anderson
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