Arsenal are back in action this evening, as the Gunners host Sevilla at the Emirates on match day four of the Champions League group stages.
Last time out in the competition, Mikel Arteta’s side were 2-1 victors in Seville against tonight’s opposition, in what was a hard-fought win as the north Londoners reclaimed the top spot in Group B.
After suffering a shock defeat on match day two of the group stage against RC Lens, Arteta will be hoping his side can widen the gap in the table and build some form after a poor week for the Spaniard’s squad.
Arsenal team news vs Sevilla
After ten Premier League games unbeaten, Arsenal’s code was broken in the league last week by Newcastle United, who were controversially 1-0 winners at St James’ Park in what was an overall poor display from the visitors.
Earlier that week, Arteta witnessed his side get dumped out of the Carabao Cup by West Ham United, losing 3-1 at the London Stadium to bring the Gunners back down to reality after a fast start to the 2023/24 campaign.
In his pre-match press conference, the manager confirmed that Gabriel Jesus will join Thomas Partey and long-term absentee, Jurrien Timber, as those out of contention for the battle against the Basque side.
Alarmingly, the boss also revealed that he is “uncertain” whether captain Martin Odegaard will be fit to feature, despite the Norwegian scoring on his return from injury against West Ham last week.
On top of the frustrating list of injuries within the favoured XI, Arsenal have been short of inspiration from their rotations over the past week, with some names failing to stand up during the week to show their worth in the squad.
One player who registered questionable performances over the previous two defeats, and this season, is Jorginho, who Arteta must consider dropping if he is to get the win over the LaLiga outfit this evening.
The stats that show that Arsenal must drop Jorginho
In the absence of Partey, the manager has been short on midfield options to replace the Ghanaian, with January acquisition, Jorginho, having to fill the gap.
The Italian, who was dubbed “not good enough” by former pro Curtis Shaw for his performance against the Irons, has failed to ‘wow’ those at the Emirates since his arrival from Chelsea earlier this year.
While Arteta is short of options, the 31-year-old, to some degree, cannot be trusted to act as the enforcer in Arsenal’s midfield, as highlighted by his display last time out for the Gunners, where he was dribbled past twice against Newcastle.
More alarmingly, last time out in the Champions League against tonight’s opposition was another howler for the midfielder, who recorded a match rating of just 6.6 in Spain, losing possession four times in the engine room as his weaknesses were exposed.
Against Sevilla’s well-marshalled midfield, Jorginho was restricted, as highlighted by his winning of just a single ground and aerial duel in the 90 minutes he played, as well as failing to register a shot or a key pass throughout the game, via Sofascore.
With extremely limited options in the middle of the park to consider, Arteta must now make the decision whether to take another risk in starting the £110k-per-week Italy international, or whether to seek other reinforcements to bridge the gap.