Fewer touches than Raya: Arteta must immediately drop 5/10 Arsenal ace after the NLD

It’s been a rocky few weeks for Arsenal.

First, they lost new signing Mikel Merino to a shoulder injury, then Declan Rice was sent off in a 1-1 draw with Brighton & Hove Albion, and then to top it all off, club captain and midfield maestro Martin Odegaard was ruled out for at least three weeks while on international duty.

However, Mikel Arteta has shown time and time again that he and his team can deal with adversity, and even with a second-string midfield, he oversaw a 1-0 victory away to Tottenham Hotspur yesterday afternoon.

It might not have been a vintage attacking performance, but the team put in a serious shift for the Spaniard. However, for the Champions League opener this week, Arteta should look to drop one of his starters who took fewer touches than David Raya.

Why Jorginho should be dropped

So, the player in question is Italian international Jorginho, and let it be said that while he wasn’t spectacular yesterday, he was selected to do a job, and given the circumstances, he did it reasonably well.

However, given his age and the fact that it was his first involvement this season, there were some understandable but impossible-to-ignore limitations to his game, limitations that could be costly against Atalanta.

For example, in his 95 minutes on the pitch, the former Chelsea ace only took 29 touches, 19 fewer than Raya in goal. On top of that, he lost five of eight duels, lost the ball eight times, and gave away two fouls, and he just looked utterly exhausted by full-time.

In fact, it is for reasons such as these that football.london’s Chief Arsenal writer Kaya Kaynak gave the 32-year-old a 5/10 on the day, writing that ‘his lack of mobility really showed at times’ and he was ‘turned very easily by Kulusevski on a few occasions.’

With all of that said, the midfield general fought for the team yesterday and showed that he can still be a valuable player in Arteta’s squad, but his fatigue and lack of mobility are impossible to ignore, so he should be dropped to the bench for Thursday’s clash.

The man to replace Jorginho

Okay, so this should come as no surprise, but knowing Arteta’s fondness for Jorginho, there is always a chance that he will start the Italian in Bergamo this week, even though he shouldn’t.

However, he should bring Rice back into the fold, and there are a couple of reasons why.

The first is a straightforward one: the Englishman is one of the most talented midfielders in the country and should, as such, start in big European games against a team that won the Europa League last season.

For example, despite playing much of the 23/24 campaign as a traditional six, the “phenomenal” 25-year-old, as dubbed by respected analyst EBL, scored seven goals and provided ten assists, highlighting his importance at both ends of the pitch.

The second reason the 25-year-old should start is related to the game against Manchester City at the weekend.

If he weren’t to play against Atalanta, then the Englishman’s first Arsenal game in over three weeks would be against the Champions, and that seems disadvantageous.

Now, that doesn’t mean the former West Ham United captain should play the entire match on Thursday either, but he needs to play some competitive football with the team again before Sunday’s monumental encounter.

Ultimately, Jorginho did a fine job yesterday afternoon – even if he was awarded a 5/10 – but due to Rice’s immense talent and the upcoming clash with City, it should be him who starts in the Champions League this week.