Thomas Partey....

Odegaard coming back will easily come in this team.

Agree on Partey. He has been our best player for some games now. No matter in which position.

Merino surely had a very good game yesterday. He needs continue like this.

Of course Odegaard will! lol...that's never been a debate, also, Mikel will never drop Rice!

So the question was always about the "third wheel" so to speak...Merino or Partey?

And like i said, there was a general consensus it was about to be nailed on Merino...now? Not so much

Thought he was brilliant yesterday. I was also very nervous at the thought of Diaz running at him all game but he handled him brilliantly. As the OP has said, probably been one of our more consistent players this season and proved a lot of people wrong so far.

In terms of the midfield selection, its a great problem to have and it may well be a case of Arteta rotating/shifting personal depending on the opposition and game. Still think we will need to manage Partey's minutes at points this season so hopefully this can help keep him injury free and available.