Arteta must get rid of Arsenal’s star player who was more dominant than Gokeres

It wasn’t a pretty game, but Arsenal got back to winning ways last night away.

The Gunners won 1-0 against Everton and secured top spot in the Premier League on Christmas in the process.

This match was also important for Victor Gokeres, who was on the back foot. Although he still left something to be desired, he sank the all-important penalty and ended his goalscoring drought.

But with Tuesday’s League Cup quarter-final against Crystal Palace coming up, Mikel Arteta has been forced to make some changes, including removing a starter who was even less impressive than Gokeres against Everton.

Changes Arteta could bring to Crystal Palace

Starting between the sticks, David Raya has been excellent this season, while it makes sense to see Kepa Arrizabalaga return to the team after starting the last two rounds.

On defense, things get a little more interesting. Due to injuries or availability, managers may be forced to start several players who were originally supposed to be absent.

However, one player who desperately needs to be in the squad is Miles Lewis-Skelly, who contributed to one of the goals in the final match.

Moving to the center of the park, it almost goes without saying that Martin Zvimendi and Declan Rice should be rested for this game.

The two internationals are vital to the club and with Mikel Merino and Christian Norgaard ready to take their place, what’s the point in risking them ahead of a packed Christmas schedule?

It’s a similar story on the wing, with Noni Maduke the perfect replacement for Bukayo Saka in this game, and Gabriel Martinelli potentially replacing Leandro Trossard.

Finally, perhaps the most interesting choice Arteta will have to make in this game is who will lead the line.

Gabriel Jesus, on the other hand, has generally impressed off the bench in recent weeks and has been able to play in game time.

On the other hand, Gokeres finally scored a goal against the Toffees, so it could be good for him to maintain his place and build on that.

Having said that, no matter what the manager does up top, there is one more player who should be removed from the side. This is a player who was blown away on Saturday night.

Arsenal star Arteta should leave

It’s no surprise that the player in question is Martin Odegaard, as most members of the team are already covered.

Now, before the pitchforks and torches came along, the captain didn’t do badly against Everton and is often scapegoated by fans, but he wasn’t particularly good either.

In fact, the Norwegian international was probably the most underwhelming of Arsenal’s starters, including Gokeres.

For example, the former Real Madrid treasure only had 0.16 expected assists in 88 minutes, and although he made one cross, he was unable to create any big chances, dribbled past one, failed to take a shot, and lost 100% of his duels.

All in all, this was just an expression of frustration for the 26-year-old, as fans know how good he can be when he’s on form.

So given his lackluster performance and the need to protect him, Arteta will likely leave him out of Tuesday night’s game.

Fortunately, the Spaniard has two excellent players who can replace him.

If he wants more experience, he could choose Eberechi Eze, who has already scored against his former club this season.

However, if the manager wants to inject more energy and unpredictability into the team, he could bring in Ethan Nwaneri, who will need more playing time this year.

At the end of the day, Arsenal are still on track for a great season, but Odegaard needs to do a little more in his games.