Arsenal were unable to defend the FA Cup as Southampton knocked them out of the competition. It was a weird game with a lot to talk about. Many fans want to point the finger at Arteta for rotating the squad, while some correctly put the blame on the fringe players brought in to get the job done. All in all it wasn’t the best game but it was also not the worst.

The team selection was not weak and thats why I disagree with the rotation accusations on the manager. Take into account the number of minutes played by Saka, Smith Rowe, Lacazette and Aubameyang in the last five games and also consider that Partey just returned from injury and is still building his match fitness. In the starting 11, Arteta retained Leno, Cedric, Holding and Xhaka in a team full of regular and experienced first team players. Elneny, Willian, Pepe, Gabriel and Bellerin are all very much involved in the first team and should not be excused for putting in a shambolic performance. The only two players who have not played a lot of minutes lately were the two youngsters, Martinelli and Nketiah.

This game was important to highlight how far we are in terms of quality and reliability. We have been playing every 4 days for 5 games running there’s no way you can retain the entire 11 for every game. Just a few weeks ago Arteta named a mixed team in the FA Cup and Tierney and Mari got injured after playing a lot of minutes and everybody was calling for Arteta’s head. Resting players is not a crime, the idea to have a big squad is to be able to find a winning formula with the best balance. So far our first team is close to getting there but if we lose one or two main players from there we will be back to square one. But all this can be solved with the addition of a few players especially now that the Europa League is returning.

Arteta admitted that we are short in certain position and the club is working on bringing in players on loan to help fill those positions. A backup goalkeeper has already arrived at the club, a backup number 10 is very close from joining and the club is still working on getting a backup for Tierney in the left back position. But the main problems is in attack, and is purely because Pepe and Willian are not on form. So if Saka is not playing then it means we have a problem at right wing, I guess he don’t deserve a rest then..

Rating out of 10

Leno – 7
Holding – 6
Gabriel – 5
Cedric – 6
Bellerin – 5
Elneny – 5
Xhaka – 5
Willian – 4
Pepe – 5
Martinelli – 5
Nketiah – 5

Subs
Partey – 6
Saka – 6
Lacazette – 5