Arsenal have interesting Martinelli & Smith Rowe decision to make

Martinelli Deserves West Ham Start – But Smith Rowe Has Goal Threat

If you’re picking the three players you want to have play behind the striker, regardless of who that is, Smith Rowe, Martin Odegaard and Bukayo Saka are that trio.

Odegaard is in his richest vein of form since joining the club with three goals in his last three outings complementing the sharpness and vision he’s bringing in central areas. No longer sitting deeper as a No. 8 all match, he has the license to drift into his favoured right pocket as well as instigate the counter-press.

Starting to show his class, there is no way he drops out.

Saka was another player to shine against Southampton, and is someone who even on his weaker days is an integral cog in the machine down that right side. It’s the toughest role to play in Arteta’s system as he is so often isolated in the final third. Nobody else can hold that flank like him.

Being so gloriously two-footed adds to his threat and as he picks up some form after an early season wobble the decision on whether he doesn’t play is one that frankly doesn’t exist.

But Smith Rowe is a goal threat. A ball carrier and an intricate mover into space. Him not being in the team when fit is an unheard of scenario. However, given how Martinelli has played in the opportunities he’s had and factoring how much Smith Rowe has played in general this season, the question is whether there is any great rush to bring him back from his groin strain.

A brilliant option to have off the bench, he’s still only 21 years old and this is the point in the season where squad depth is so crucial. Unless Martinelli is feeling fatigued, for the time being it might be wise to let him build on his performances.

On the flip side, this is a huge Premier League game. When you’ve got your best players available, surely you play them: Smith Rowe is fit, rested and one of few legitimate goal threats in the team. Arteta will be balancing those arguments in his head, with the addition of the striker situation influencing his selections.

On the basis that Aubameyang doesn’t start and Lacazette does, then the direct running and pace of Martinelli on the left makes for a more symmetrical forward line.

It’s an interesting call to make. Whomever is chosen down that left flank won’t be ‘winning their place’ over the other though – as much as the pre-match lineup meltdowns onlin would suggest – and is instead all part of strategy best designed to win the match and protect the players.

Most importantly of all, it’s another one of those headaches with multiple pain killers available.