Three questions for Arsenal for the next ‘block’

Another interlull is behind us but worry not, there will be another one along in just three and a half weeks! The first ‘block’ of the season was a challenging one for Arsenal with trips to Manchester United, Liverpool and Newcastle and a home game against Manchester City.

If Arsenal are serious about winning the league, this block, while tricky, has to be looked upon as an opportunity to quietly accumulate points, preferably in a manner that invites as little discussion as possible. A series of uneventful 2-0 and 3-0 wins would be very nice indeed but that feels unlikely. Here are three questions ahead of the next international break.

How do Arsenal replace Odegaard?

Arsenal will negotiate this block without their captain and, in fairness, they had to negotiate a good chunk of the previous block without him too. It has been a very frustrating time for Odegaard who, in his sporadic appearances, has looked much more like the Odegaard of 2021-2024 rather than the slightly spindly vintage of last season.

Odegaard is a difficult player to replace not just because of his undoubted quality but because he is very much a ‘two way’ player. In and out of possession he is elite and the options to replace him tend to be far more binary. On occasion, I am sure that Ebere Eze will step into that ‘right eight’ role.

Eze certainly has creativity and punch in the final third but is not as intense out of possession- which is probably true of Ethan Nwaneri too. The other option is Mikel Merino who certainly matches Odegaard’s out of possession intensity and work ethic- he tends to pop up with a goal or two as well- but is not especially creative.

I imagine we will see a simple formula emerge where Eze or Nwaneri will be preferred for home games and Merino will step into for some of those more physically taxing away games (not to mention Atletico Madrid at home). I think Odegaard’s absence is all the more problematic when Kai Havertz is also absent.

Not only do I think Havertz would have been an option in Odegaard’s position- as he was when the captain had an ankle injury last season- but he is also a ‘two way’ player whose on and off the ball application are something close to equal. Arsenal certainly have the depth and the options to deal with Odegaard’s absence but make no mistake, he will be missed.

The striker role

Kai Havertz’s absence is an issue for the midfield but it is a bigger issue upfront, especially with Gabriel Jesus not close to a return. It means that Viktor Gyokeres has had to play a lot of football and, just lately, he hasn’t really been scoring any goals. There have been good performances still, Mikel Arteta was effusive about his battering ram display at Newcastle.

However, even if his confidence is not damaged by his current barren run, his ankles, calves and hamstrings are probably showing some frayed edges. He can’t play every minute of every game across this block- even if we assume he will be rotated for the League Cup game against Brighton.

In a more important game, someone else is going to have to play upfront at some stage, even if only for sections of games. Mikel Merino is clearly the prime candidate here, not least because there is depth enough in midfield to deal with any reassignement for the free scoring Spaniard.

I suppose there isn’t a huge divergence in style between Merino and Gyokeres, but Merino, as we already know, is not going to run in behind and stretch a defence. It is entirely understandable that Arsenal look a little ‘stiff’ when Merino plays upfront but they do and they are going to have to negotiate that at some stage.

What is Hincapie’s role?

We haven’t seen much of Piero Hincapie since he signed from Bayer Leverkusen. I have to admit I was surprised by the signing of the Ecuadorean given the depth Arsenal already have in defence. I think Jakub Kiwior left, essentially, due to redundancy and I didn’t really believe that he needed replacing.

Calafiori and Mosquera can both play at left centre-half (I am sure Jurrien Timber could too) and Arsenal already have Calafiori and Lewis-Skelly at left-back. By all accounts Hincapie is much more of a traditional ‘overlapper’ from full-back, which potentially makes sense if you’re playing a more ‘interior’ winger like Eze on the left.

However, it does seem to add up to an embarrassment of riches. I think it is going to be really interesting to see how Hincapie’s role evolves. I am pretty certain it is going to lead to redundancy elsewhere and one of Arsenal’s current defenders will likely leave next summer for much the same reasons that Jakub Kiwior had to. I don’t really know yet what Hincapie was bought to do and I am intrigued to find out.