In his pre-match interview, Arteta was asked about this approach to rotating the lineup for Arsenal’s clash with Olympiacos. While his answer left a lot for interpretation, many believe it is hinting at him continuing to play a very strong lineup instead of opting for a heavily rotated one to save legs for their third game of the week versus Everton.
Arteta said:
” We’ve had a break of 15 days and we’ve played just one game. So tomorrow I’m going to put out a team that I think is the best to play. Then the rest of the games will take care of themselves. You cannot control that sometimes you are thinking about resting somebody and in training he gets a little issue or he gets sick. So tomorrow we are going to put out the team that we think is the best to play Olympiacos and the rest of the teams and games will follow.”
With Arsenal’s announcement that Torreira (illness) and Ozil (likely to have his child be born) were not going to travel with the team, fans knew there would be at least one difference in the lineup to replace Mesut. However, this quote suggests that Arteta is taking the Europa League very serious and looking to back that up with a very strong line up.
There is little doubt in my mind that we will see Sokratis get the start against our Greek opponent, but who else will Arteta opt for and what will it mean for those not selected left looking in?
For a more detailed look ahead to Olympiacos check out a blog from earlier this week here
Gunner Thoughts 