3 talking points ahead of Aston Villa vs Arsenal

  • Arsenal travel to Villa Park for their first away game of the new season
  • Gunners will be looking to avenge recent results
  • A positive run needs to be started
Arsenal beat Wolves in their season opener
Arsenal beat Wolves in their season opener / Eddie Keogh/GettyImages
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2. Another left back dilemma

Jurrien Timber, Oleksandr Zinchenko
Arteta has another left back dilemma on his hands / Catherine Ivill - AMA/GettyImages

Ahead of the opener against Wolves, Mikel Arteta had a dilemma regarding who to start at left back. The Spaniard decided to start Oleksandr Zinchenko and that did not end up being the right decision. As a result, he faces the same issue heading into the trip to Villa Park.

While Zinchenko performed well in attack against Wolves, he was slightly shaky in defence. He completed seven defensive actions but lost four out of five attempted ground duels. He also lost two out of five aerial duels and committed three fouls. Due to this, he is likely to be targeted as a defensive weak point by Aston Villa's attack, just as he was at the Emirates in April.

Jurrien Timber replaced Zinchenko on the left side of defence towards the end of the victory over Wolves and seems to be the more sensible option to face Villa. The Dutch defender is defensively solid and is also capable of helping out in attack, making him a more complete option at left back.

Riccardo Calafiori remains an option to start at left back but considering he is yet to make his competitive debut, it would be foolish to throw him in against tough opposition. Jurrien Timber should be the starting left back against Aston Villa.

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