What changed?

You had Xhaka back

I do feel like there were moments when the camera panned to Arteta and there were some looks of realisation that he could and should have been using ESR more in the PL this season, at least I hope so.

Bit of extra time off coupled with new impetus from Gabi and the other youngsters

comment by You Can't Buy Class - IDHT2EU (U12019)
posted 5 minutes ago

Nobody should be fooled by Xhaka's goal, it was a great free kick but we get maybe one of those per season from him, yeah we're going to need him until the end of the season but he'll be dropped for Partey asap I'm sure.
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One can only hope...

comment by You Can't Buy Class - IDHT2EU (U12019)
posted 6 minutes ago
I do feel like there were moments when the camera panned to Arteta and there were some looks of realisation that he could and should have been using ESR more in the PL this season, at least I hope so.
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He was injured for most of it.

comment by Pidier Pogba (U11414)
posted 5 minutes ago
You had Xhaka back
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You say that as if it's a good thing!

comment by D'Jeezus Mackaroni (U1137)
posted 1 hour, 4 minutes ago
comment by You Can't Buy Class - IDHT2EU (U12019)
posted 6 minutes ago
I do feel like there were moments when the camera panned to Arteta and there were some looks of realisation that he could and should have been using ESR more in the PL this season, at least I hope so.
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He was injured for most of it.
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Hmm true, well maybe it was just a realisation of how much better we look without Willian on the pitch

ESR got some Europa League minutes and our last group game was 17 days ago so he could have been brought into the PL team earlier asfaic but I suppose Arteta would say he didn't want to risk him getting injured as the PL is obviously much more intense than playing Dundalk.

Overall I think the major difference is having two real threats on the pitch now with Martinelli back, before it was mainly Saka and teams would double or triple up on him requiring him to beat several players, much more difficult to contain two players who can make things happen at any point.

We definitely shouldn't get carried away but so long as we have Martinelli, Saka & ESR fit for the upcoming games I'm fairly confident we'll pick up some more wins, especially given that teams we are playing soon like Palace & Newcastle are struggling. I think we'll start to look a lot better when we can add Partey & Gabriel back into the 1st XI too.

Still feels like we are walking a tightrope though, if any of those youngsters get injured or Leno we may be struggling again. Tierney also deserves a mention and would be missed if unavailable too.

We only beat Manchester United and Chelsea because they were both rubbish against us.

We are still in a relegation battle.
69 points to play for
We need 27

27 more, that would give us 44. We need about 18 more points "to stay up".
The bottom 4 have 5 wins between them, no way will the safety mark be beyond 34 points.

I think the changes were forced on Arteta. Is Luiz Gabriel and Willian are fit, I bet they all start in a 343. Luiz, Gabriel and Tierney at the back, Bellerin, Elneny, Xhaka and Saka in midfield, Willian, Lacazette and Martinelli up top.

The only way I will believe Arteta has learned anything is if he lines up with the same front 4 (maybe Auba for Laca). He also should pair Mari with Gabriel instead of playing Holding.

But I bet he changes it up for the worse.
Mind you, I seriously think Saka needs a break.