Arsenal’s game against Aston Villa is an intriguing one this evening, with both sides showing that they can be devastating in attack but inconsistency has started to set in after a strong start.
Mikel Arteta has tended to play a heavily rotated side in the Europa League so some of those players will be hoping to get a chance in the Premier League if they do well, but plenty of changes were expected from the team which played on Thursday night.
The team news has just been announced, and this is how Arsenal will line up this evening:
? The team news is in…
And we're unchanged from Old Trafford ?#ARSAVL
— Arsenal (@Arsenal) November 8, 2020
In the end it was only Leno and Willian who managed to maintain their starting spot, so Arteta has taken the chance to reward the players who helped deliver the victory over Man United.
One of the more interesting storylines around Arsenal this season has been Nicolas Pepe, because he’s rarely getting to start in the Premier League and his contributions in the Europa League aren’t getting noticed either.
It’s not a great look for your club record signing, and these fans have been quick to question Arteta for leaving him out:
Pepe should leave. We dont deserve someone that good.
— Mike_AFC14 – SzoSzn (@RealHarrowPele) November 8, 2020
What exactly does Pepe have to do to start
— Mo?? (@MoHusseinEleven) November 8, 2020
You’re not going to get consistent performances out of Pepe without giving him consistent starts ????? https://t.co/Tr0qhXm6HE
— Tyler Tekac (@TjTekac) November 8, 2020
What does Pepe have to do to start ahead of Willian? Please someone tell me
— ??Sinatra??© (@YoungSinatra199) November 8, 2020
Seems like y’all don’t learn from the Pépé situation. Pépé puts in good shifts but never gets rewarded with back to back starts.
Willock dropped a dime and y’all expected him to start? Not how Arsenal FC works.
— ? (@afcslim) November 8, 2020
I feel sorry for Pepe. I still think there’s a player in him – Arteta won’t be the guy who’s gonna unleash his potential https://t.co/PJk53YCeLz
— ? ?????? ? (@_Ibzino) November 8, 2020
It must be frustrating for the Ivorian because he will start to wonder what he needs to do to get into the team, but even his good performances in the Europa League have been up and down.
It’s obvious that Arteta doesn’t trust him in the biggest games yet, so it will be interesting to see what it will take to change that.