Arsenal: 2 players who have to start vs AFC Wimbledon

Gabriel Martinelli Has to Start – And Ideally Finish

Watching the Burnley game and seeing Bukayo Saka and Emile Smith Rowe have poor afternoons by their standards, while Nicolas Pepe put in another superb defensive shift but struggled with his first touch and final pass, naturally eyes go towards the bench.

Few players will be consistent or fully fit throughout the entire season, not least young players, so what options there are within the squad ready to fill in become vital.

Making just 14 substitute minutes since the 2-0 loss to Chelsea, Gabriel Martinelli is one of the players that Arteta will need to call on when others are flagging or failing to impact Premier League matches.

In order for him to be as sharp as he can be when those opportunities come, whether from the start of late on in proceedings, getting minutes under his belt is paramount.

Martinelli has a very strong chance to start this match. In an ideal world he’ll play the full 90 and perhaps get to move to centre-forward late depending on other substitutions, and in either case this is a game he’ll be salivating at the thought of.

With all due respect to AFC Wimbledon, Arsenal can afford to lean heavily on youth and still have the quality needed to get the job done. In a campaign where Martinelli is set for more fleeting usage, Wednesday has to be given to him to play with.

Everyone knows his quality and the limp outing he put in against Brentford was him being off-colour. What better time to remind everyone who electric you are.