Shaktar Donetsk preview: A chance to respond quickly

Morning.

After a difficult game on Saturday – and not for the first time this season either – is it too much to hope for something a bit more routine this evening when we take on Shaktar Donetsk in the Champions League? At the very least, keeping 11 men on the pitch for 90 minutes would make like a little easier!

In terms of the team news, it was reported that neither Bukayo Saka or Jurrien Timber were in training yesterday, but if caution for this fixture means they’ll be available for Liverpool on Sunday, then I’m all right with that. With all due respect to tonight’s opposition, it’s the kind of game we should be able to cope without them.

I suspect, having been sacrificed on Saturday after the red card, Raheem Sterling will be given another chance on the right in Saka’s absence. There were a couple of flashes from him at Bournemouth, but nobody really got going in the short period when we had the full complement on the pitch. It’d be good to see him deliver something this evening if he does start.

As I wrote yesterday, this is a game I’d love to see Ethan Nwaneri start, and Mikel Arteta was asked about it at his pre-game press conference. It was a classic Arteta answer, saying lots without giving too much away:

I think it’s identifying moments and understanding where he is, where the team is and where is the optimal moment to throw a player into that context. He’s already done a lot in a very short period of time, so let’s take it step by step and make sure those steps are consistent and can allow him to grow in the manner and form that we want him in the team.

I would ask if putting him on a 2-0 down away from home while down to 10 men is an optimal moment for him? Or when we’re drawing against Leicester? Or even in the final stages of a North London derby? What those appearances say to me is that the manager does have belief in his ability in difficult circumstances, so why not give him a chance to shine from the start when things are less complicated?

There are other potential changes too. It wouldn’t surprise me at all to see Oleksandr Zinchenko get a start against his compatriots. Not just for that reason, obviously, but Riccardo Calafiori has played a lot since his arrival, and with Liverpool at the weekend, it might be a chance to rest him ahead of that game and give Zinchenko some minutes for the first time since August. There’s also room for Gabriel Martinelli or even Gabriel Jesus to come into the side – the former would be keen to make up for that miss against Bournemouth, the latter really needs something to get him going again and end the goal drought that goes back to January.

Ideally, this is a game we can use to put Bournemouth behind us, and show we’re capable of responding quickly. You don’t take anything for granted, of course? How can we? We’ve already seen this season serve up some freaky shit, but hopefully it’s a performance where we display our quality as well as a measure of control – in which case I think we’ll have too much for tonight’s opposition.

As ever, you can follow along later with the live blog, and we’ll have all the post-game stuff on Arseblog News afterwards.

In the meantime, there’s a brand new Arsecast Extra for you below; Tim and Jamie have an Arsenal Women Arsecast poring over the 2-0 win over West Ham on Sunday; while over on Patreon I chat with Phil Costa about a pretty grim weekend of Premier League results in The 30.

For now, I’ll leave it there and I’ll catch you later for the game. Come on you reds!

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