100% passes vs Bournemouth: Arteta must make brave decision by starting this Arsenal star on Tuesday – opinion | OneFootball

Arsenal succumbed to their first defeat of the campaign against Bournemouth on Saturday.

The Gunners started the Premier League game in slow fashion and the momentum completely shifted in Bournemouth’s favour after William Saliba’s sending-off in the 30th minute.

Gabriel Martinelli squandered a glorious chance to open the scoring in the 68th minute and his miss proved costly as the Cherries scored just moments later.

Bournemouth eventually doubled their lead from the penalty spot. Jakub Kiwior’s poor back pass gifted possession to Evanilson who was fouled by David Raya.

In our view, manager Mikel Arteta got it completely wrong with his selection on the day.

The Spanish tactician surprisingly went with three defensive midfielders in Thomas Partey, Declan Rice and Mikel Merino in his starting XI at the Vitality Stadium.

Merino played as the furthest forward in the number 10 role, but the Spaniard had a tough full debut with a pass accuracy of 68%. He lost possession on 16 occasions.

The Euro 2024 winner is a much better player than that and we believe he may need to be eased into the starting line-up after adapting to the league’s intensity.

Arteta needs to be more brave with his selection against Shakhtar in the Champions League on Tuesday.

Irrespective of whether Bukayo Saka is fit or not, we would like to see Ethan Nwaneri in the number 10 role with Martin Odegaard sidelined with an ankle injury.

The 17-year-old has been limited to short cameos in the league this term, but he has been superb with his ball control and a passing accuracy of around 94 percent.

The teenager has caught the eye with his quick feet, clever dribbling and desire to shoot on goal.

Of course, he has yet to make a goal contribution outside of the Carabao Cup, but Arteta won’t get a better opportunity to test the youngster than against Shakhtar.

Nwaneri played 14 minutes versus the Cherries where he completed 100% of his passes (8/8).

If Saka is deemed unfit for the game, Raheem Sterling should get the nod on the right wing.

Sterling was sacrificed to bring on Kiwior following Saliba’s red card yesterday, but he had a lively cameo with five touches in the opposition box – more than any other Arsenal player.

Martinelli should start ahead of Leandro Trossard on the left wing despite his big miss. The latter had an underwhelming display. His dreadful back pass contributed to Saliba’s sending-off.

Stats from Fotmob & Sofascore.com