Mikel Arteta has the challenge of revitalising his team once again after another disappointing drop of points this past weekend. He can do so outside the league however as Arsenal face Crystal Palace in the League Cup quarter-final.
It will be the first of two back-to-back meetings with Oliver Glasner’s south London side as the Gunners travel to Selhurst Park on the weekend for a league meeting. Here though with both Manchester City and Chelsea out of the competition is a chance to reach a semi-final for the first time in well over two years.
There are plenty of questions facing Arteta and Arsenal at the moment. As the club prepare for this quarter-final, football.london runs through three of the most prominent unanswered queries ahead of the game.
Prioritising the cups
Despite the obvious progress and impressive level that Arsenal have reached these past two-plus years in the league, Arteta has failed to see his side be equally as strong in the cups. While reaching the quarter-finals of the Champions League last season was a first in 14 years, the defeat to Bayern Munich still stung and felt like a missed opportunity.
As have back-to-back eliminations in the early rounds of the League Cup to West Ham and Brighton. Now facing Palace with a chance of another semi-final – the last being against Liverpool in early 2022 – there is a sense of opportunity here again for the Gunners to lift some silverware.
We will see just how strong Mikel Arteta will choose to be go Wednesday night. He has injuries to contend with and player welfare regarding fitness, but it could be intriguing just who gets the nod.
Kieran Tierney’s chance
One player who could finally make an appearance is Scottish international Kieran Tierney. Missing since the Community Shield win over Manchester City in 2023, the full-back has been on loan with Real Sociedad before then and was subsequently injured with a serious hamstring problem.
He has since returned and when asked, Arteta was very complimentary about the defender and it seemed as though an appearance was pending. Yet since then, he is still yet to play despite there being needs in the left-back role.
Should Tierney play no part on Wednesday, it would be quite the damning indictment of his situation. That said, it would not be entirely surprising, but it would answer many fans’ questions and spark more for the manager.
What’s going on with Sterling?
Similarly to Tierney, another player who has not got any minutes recently is Raheem Sterling. The Chelsea loanee has been sat on the bench for the last three league games and the last three Champions League games.
Many have questioned why Arteta has been so reluctant to use him when both Leandro Trossard and Gabriel Martinelli have not been particularly great themselves. Games like away at Fulham or at home to Everton when the Gunners needed a goal, defensive players like Jorginho and Thomas Partey for example have come on instead of the winger.
Should he play no part, like Tierney, here, it would certainly be cause for a question to be asked. Arteta has already said he would like him to play much more… I guess we will see.
