Arteta must flop Arsenal

After their defeat in the Premier League at the weekend, what Arsenal really needed in Wednesday night’s Champions League was a head-to-head win.

Thankfully, Mikel Arteta’s side got just that, beating Belgian side Club Brugge 3-0 with relative ease.

The Gunners were at their best in the final third, scoring two excellent goals thanks in particular to Gabriel Martinelli and Noni Madueke.

The squad has changed significantly in midweek, with Arteta opting to rotate and many players in the red and white taking a gamble on more regular minutes.

Arsenal’s outstanding players against Club Brugge

It was a great night for the Arsenal winger. With Leandro Trossard injured and Bukayo Saka on the bench, Martinelli and Maduke started on the left and right flank respectively.

Both players have been plagued by injuries this season, but Martinelli in particular has made an impact every time he plays.

The Brazilian scored the visitors’ third and final goal on Wednesday from the edge of the area.

This coincidentally was his fifth goal in his last five Champions League appearances, making him the first player in Arsenal’s history to achieve such a feat.

That being said, my colleagues on the opposite wing were even better. It was his best day ever in Arsenal colors.

Both Man and Dog, who signed from Chelsea in the summer, seemed to be wondering why on earth Andrea Berta and his wife brought Maduke to the Emirates Stadium. Well, it’s safe to say he proved everyone wrong.

The Englishman scored his first goal for the club against Bayern Munich a few weeks ago and added two more this week.

His first shot was a powerful one from long range. The Arsenal winger burst from his marker and fired a furious shot into the box, which hit the bar and into the net.

In contrast, his second goal was very simple. Maduke headed Martin Zvimendi’s cross from the left just a few yards out.

There were a lot of real positives for Arsenal. It was great to see Gabriel Jesus back on the pitch for the first time after suffering an anterior cruciate ligament injury in January.

Emergency centre-half Christian Norgaard also stood out at the back and was part of the backline that kept a clean sheet.

With Gabriel Magalhães, William Saliba, Cristian Mosquera and Julian Timber all out with injuries, it meant a rare opportunity for the Dane, who took it calmly, even if he was playing out of position.

That said, it wasn’t the best night for another summer signing at Arsenal.

Arsenal’s worst performance against Club Brugge

This was a night when people on the margins staked their rights. Madueke, Martinelli and Norgaard all took advantage of their chances.

Victor Gokeres, on the other hand, did not. The question that arose after this game was when would we start worrying about the Swede?

When Berta first arrived in north London, his priority was to find a new striker and a striker capable of scoring goals.

Well, it looked like he had access to Europe’s finest. He is a player who scored 54 times in 52 games for Sporting CP last season, but has so far failed to translate that form to English football.

To be fair to him, he was almost starving for service. Arsenal have struggled to create clear chances for him to score, and it was no different this week against Brugge.

Gökeres’ only chance of note in the first half was a half-chance at best, with several bodies going for the same ball and heading it straight into the goalkeeper’s arms.

Gökeres did leave the field with three shots, but none of them were all that noteworthy. This seems to be a well-known trend from my time in north London to the present.

Having said that, the Swedish players need to work harder. Even though he has just returned from injury, his 45-minute cameo against Aston Villa at the weekend and over 60 minutes on Wednesday were not enough.

He had just 12 touches on the ball in Belgium, 25 fewer than goalkeeper David Raya. Furthermore, he completed just five passes.

Since signing with Sporting, there is a sense that Gokeres has greatly improved his hold-up play and ability to connect things in Arsenal’s first team. However, he was brought to London to score goals, which he no longer does regularly.

It’s only December. Don’t completely write off a big-money attacker before a full season. However, things aren’t looking very good right now.

Arsenal look the better team with Mikel Merino in the No. 9 role, and we will expect him to start in that role ahead of Joe Keles against Wolves on Saturday night.