Morning all.

A few bits and pieces for you today, as we wait for updates on potential injuries to Gabriel Magalhaes and Jurrien Timber after the 2-2 draw with Liverpool on Sunday. I have more concern about the former than the latter, but Mikel Arteta meets the press today ahead of the EFL Cup game against Preston North End tomorrow evening, so we might get some information out of him.

Whatever about those two, it feels like that game will be one where young players are drafted in, with the manager having to find the balance between a side that can win the game, and not risking any more important senior players before we play Newcastle, Inter, and Chelsea away inside 8 days. Tough one.

I wonder will there be a question today about Oleksandr Zinchenko, who has been on the bench for the last three games but overlooked in the last two for Miles Lewis-Skelly. I’m fascinated to know if this is simply a fitness issue, or whether we’re seeing a real change in the pecking order here. Against Shaktar and Liverpool you’d have thought Zinchenko’s experience would give him the nod over an 18 year old who is still learning the left-back position, but the manager thought otherwise. And for someone who has been accused of being overly reticent to use young players, it’s certainly an interesting talking point.

It also makes me wonder what we’ll see tomorrow night. Given it’s an EFL Cup game, and Lewis-Skelly started the win over Bolton, you’d expect him to start again in this one. But if Arteta needs to use the full depth of his squad, he’s likely going to have to include Zinchenko, and if it is a fitness thing with him, he’s not going to get any better unless he plays. The competitive minutes for the younger man are important for his development, so it’d be a bad idea to overlook this opportunity for him, but where does that leave the Ukrainian international? Does Arteta choose him and Lewis-Skelly, and if so, who plays where?

Question: Which Mikel said this?

Injuries are part of the game and they cannot be an excuse for results. Injuries have pros and cons – one of the pros is that we are seeing young players make their debuts and be involved. As a club, you want to bring young players through from the academy, give them opportunities and you can see this is a club where everyone is able to do a really good job even though we don’t have important players like Martin available.

Sounds very Arteta, but it’s 100% Merino. It’s clear that Arteta’s mindset about injuries is echoed by the players. A zero excuse culture. No doubt privately the manager must at least give in to some mild demonstration of despair. Who would blame him when you look at the casualty list and the quality of players we’re currently missing? But publicly, the message is defiant, and it’s easy to understand why.

He will not, for one second, allow his players any kind of get out because we’re not at full-strength. The injuries make our job much more challenging, but it’d be even more difficult if the players we do have didn’t have the belief in themselves and their teammates who are available. And as Merino says, there is an opportunity element, which perhaps we’re seeing in the case of Lewis-Skelly, but maybe not quite enough with Ethan Nwaneri. He’ll have a chance to start and impress again tomorrow though.

Elsewhere, it was very sad to Man Utd sack Erik ten Hag after their 2-1 defeat to West Ham on Sunday. Was it a surprise? Absolutely not, but still a shame they got rid this personality vacuum who has made them so mediocre in the Premier League despite winning a couple of cups. It’s a funny one, because there’s a genuine discussion to be had about Mikel Arteta and silverware, but would Arsenal fans be genuinely happy with an FA Cup win if we were floundering around in mid-table?

I think we’d obviously enjoy the win and the day out at Wembley, but generally speaking I think there’d be a lot of disquiet about the consistency – or lack of it when you scratch a few good results here and there amid a lot of garbage football from bang average players and a manager who is about as convincing as small child with chocolate all over his face when he tells you he most definitely hasn’t eaten all the biscuits.

It’s obvious United should have fired him in the summer, but instead undermined him, then gave him a contract extension which makes it more expensive to pay him off. It’s almost as if this INEOS crowd aren’t as smart as they like to think they are. The stories linking them to Ruben Amorim will excite their fans, he seems a decent young coach, but there’s a lot for him to do. Also, £90m on Antony, hahahaha. That will never not be funny, and apparently it works out at £3m per twirl.

Right, let’s leave it there for today. Over on Patreon we have our Premier League round-up show, The 30, available right now, and the Arsecast Extra is below if you haven’t yet had a chance to listen.

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