Mikel Arteta, the manager of Arsenal, must make a difficult decision regarding two of his first-team players. The Gunners have won their first three Premier League games this season and currently lead the table.
Arteta has named an unchanged starting XI for all three games so far. It was the first time that had happened at Arsenal at the start of a season since the Invincibles campaign of 2003/04.
Onlookers will feel there is no reason to change a winning formula for this weekend’s match at home to Fulham. But two players, in particular, will be pushing for a start.
Takehiro Tomiyasu and Kieran Tierney are, in many people’s eyes, the first-choice full-backs at the club. They have both had their injury problems and missed the start of the season with issues.
Ben White and Oleksandr Zinchenko have filled in admirably for the pair, with the latter in particular impressing since his arrival from Manchester City. White’s natural position is at center-back, while Zinchenko would prefer to play in midfield.
The injuries to Tomiyasu and Tierney created an opening for White and Zinchenko, who may not have started the season if everyone was available. But Arteta will be wary of dropping two players who cost the club over £80m and have barely put a foot wrong so far this season.
White has seemingly become the third-choice central defender following William Saliba’s excellent start to life in north London. And Granit Xhaka’s good start to the season means Zinchenko may struggle to break into the midfield.
But it has been quite telling that Arteta has been keen on giving game time to both Tomiyasu and Tierney at any given opportunity. Tomiyasu played an under-21s game before coming on as a second-half substitute against both Leicester and Bournemouth.
Tierney, meanwhile, has come off the bench in all three league games. Arsenal needs competition for places and strength in depth, especially with the addition of Europa League football this season.
But Arteta is now left in a tricky situation with his two main full-backs. Tierney would provide a different option to Zinchenko, opting to stick out wide rather than drift into the midfield as the Ukrainian does.
Meanwhile, Tomiyasu is undoubtedly better in attacking areas than White. It is a good problem for Arteta to have in some ways.
But it is arguably one of his biggest tests as a manager so far. Not often has he had to keep players who are arguably in Arsenal’s best starting XI happy because they are not getting enough game time?
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