Eze or Dowman: Arteta’s best Saka replacement is obvious

Arsenal are preparing to keep their quadruple hopes alive as they make the trip North to play Fleetwood Town in the Carabao Cup fourth round on Tuesday night. They beat Ipswich Town 4-2 in the third round, a game which saw 16-year-old Max Dowman score two goals and provide an assist.

Tuesday night's game against Fleetwood should provide Mikel Arteta with a good chance to rotate his squad, allowing some of his key players to rest ahead of the trip to Anfield at the weekend. It'll also give Arteta the chance to play some of his younger academy graduates, to get some valuable experience in the first team.

Dowman should be one of those younger players, as he should be given as many chances to shine in the first team as possible. Arteta has shown his confidence in Dowman this season, giving him four appearances so far, including two in the Premier League and one in the Champions League.

However, Dowman could be in line for more regular game time in the coming months, as Bukayo Saka suffered a hamstring injury, which could keep him out until December. He is currently being assessed, but is expected to miss a significant amount of time.

Should Arteta replace Saka with Dowman or Eze?

Replacing Saka with Dowman isn't a simple decision, as Arsenal also have Eberechi Eze. Since Christos Tzolis suffered his injury, Eze hasn't been able to replace the Greek winger on the left-hand side, and Noni Madueke has now taken that spot.

Madueke is naturally more comfortable on the right, so you would imagine that Arteta will slot the former Chelsea man in to be Saka's direct replacement on that side. That leaves Eze and Dowman now battling to play on the left-wing, which makes Arteta's choice much easier.

Eze has made 10 appearances so far this season, providing two goals and an assist in all competitions. He featured for the Gunners on the left wing at the weekend in the 2-0 win against Everton, earning a solid 7/10 rating from PainInTheArsenal.

Dowman came on for Eze in the 80th minute, but wasn't able to make much of an impact. It feels clear what Arteta should do. As much as Dowman is an exceptional talent, Arteta already has it figured out, start Madueke on the right, Eze on the left, and then use Dowman as an impact sub.

Eze has been struggling for form at times this season, though, so if he continues to struggle, Dowman will be breathing down his neck, and Arteta could move Madueke to the left to accommodate Dowman in his preferred spot on the right-hand side. Eze is the obvious choice, but he'll need to perform.

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