Nine changes and the biggest away day of the autumn
Mikel Arteta has named a starting XI at Anfield with Christos Tzolis in it, and nine changes from the last league outing (2) (4). That is the story of this Arsenal week, because it tells you what he thinks of his squad: enough depth to rotate at the hardest ground in the country and still expect to win. Arsenal sit second on 21 points from eight games, with a goal difference of +8 and four wins in five (1). Liverpool at Anfield is the fixture that decides whether that record is real.
The attack is patched together. Bukayo Saka is out, Max Dowman is suspended, and Noni Madueke only became a live option after travelling with the squad following his ankle injury. Arteta was careful about it: "We'll have a training session [on Saturday]. [We'll] see if he can complete that full session and as I said, I will know whether he's available or not" (8). Madueke is in the XI. So is Tzolis, which is the kind of call a manager makes when he trusts the structure more than the personnel.
Declan Rice is the contract that matters
Arteta was asked about Declan Rice's new deal and did not hedge. "My feeling is that he's very happy here, in every conversation I have with him, and he wants to continue here for the long term. It will be a matter of time before we sort that" (11). That is a manager telling you the most important piece of his midfield is staying.
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Compare that with the noise around the captain. Reports put Martin Ødegaard open to a Bayern Munich move while his own contract talks run (15). Add the striker scouting, with two targets identified as possible replacements for Viktor Gyökeres (3), and you have a squad that is being planned in two directions at once. Signing Rice long term and losing Ødegaard in the same window would be a strange trade for a team built on the Norwegian's rhythm. Arsenal should not let a January of speculation become a summer of surgery.
The other Arsenal, and the same old problem
Arsenal 1–1 Aston Villa in the WSL on Sunday, Chastity Grant scoring on 25 minutes and Alessia Russo equalising late (7) (9) (12). A fourth straight WSL home draw, and one shot on target was enough for Villa to take the lead (12) (16). Renee Slegers did not hide from it: "We have to start better, like I said and the energy wasn't good enough today and I am responsible for it." She added the line that should worry the club more than any individual result: "We just said it feels like we're playing the same game over and over again" (7) (9).
That is a coach describing a pattern she cannot break. Arsenal are well adrift of third place in the WSL and the scrutiny on Slegers has grown with each draw (13). The first team's depth is buying Arteta time. Slegers has no such cushion.
What to watch
Anfield first, then Slavia Prague away on Wednesday, then Hull City at home on Saturday (1) (2). Three games in seven days with a rotated defence and a patched front line will show whether Tzolis and Madueke are rotation options or desperate measures. The Rice signature is the one that should land soonest.
