I'm a bit worried about Viktor Gyökeres. Not because he hasn't scored enough goals - I'm not one of those people, the goals will come - but because with Kai Havertz and Gabriel Jesus injured, he is playing nearly every minute of every game. It can only be a matter of time before he's injured himself.
It's good to see Gabriel Martinelli finally getting back on form. I remember him playing very well as a central striker in his first season at the club, and he could provide cover for Gyökeres - giving him an occasional rest - but so far Mikel Arteta has chosen not to use him in that position so far. I think that might be because Martinelli is a different type of striker. He relies on his pace to get past defenders and he isn't great at holding the ball up, and that seems to be a prerequisite to play as a striker for Arteta, so it seems he won't get his chance.
I think it is sometimes useful to have a different option up front, but it's hard to criticise Arteta. The signings this summer - which we have to assume he had a big hand in - have been exceptional. And we're in a great place in the league. We've had a very difficult start to the season - we've played Newcastle, Man City, Forest (who admittedly have struggled this season but were one of the top teams last season), Liverpool and Man Utd, and we're currently second in the league, only two points behind Liverpool in first, who have had an easier start. And we've done this while suffering from a long list of injuries to some of our best players and having to bed in a lot of new players.
In theory, we now have a much easier run until we play Spurs on 23 November. There are of course no easy matches in the Premier League, but these are matches we should be winning. If we can beat West Ham and Ashburton Grove this weekend, we will be in a very strong position going into the international break.
COYG!
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