Lewis-Skelly unintentionally proved Mikel Arteta wrong after Arsenal performance stuns Monaco

There was a genuine sense of the unknown going into the clash with Monaco in the Champions League that Arsenal might face considerable restrictions when it came to their back four. This was indeed the case to a degree with a first European start for Myles Lewis-Skelly and Thomas Partey again at right back.

In the end, however, Arsenal were able to come out on top and win with an element of comfort albeit the scoreline did flatter the Gunners. Chances came and went for sure but there was something of a lack of reassurance as the French side were well in the game until a cataclysmic moment at the back gifted Bukayo Saka the chance to seal the win.

With another game in just three days, there was a sense that some players needed to be protected ahead of the weekend. There were plenty of positives though to take from the European victory.

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I’ll show you!

Well, I ,and by extension Mikel Arteta, appear to have been wrong. Myles Lewis-Skelly would perhaps have been a better choice last weekend as the Gunners fell to a 1-1 draw at Fulham.

We’ll never know just how much of an impact it would have made, but having Jurrien Timber on the right hand side and bringing Thomas Partey back into the midfield while having a left-footer in the natural left sided full back role would’ve made the team more comfortable and familiar. The question now is whether we get to see the aforementioned set up as Arsenal take on Everton at the weekend, it’d certainly be what I’d pick now.

Poor Kieran Tierney

After so much focus in the pre-match press conference and the answer provided by Mikel Arteta, it almost felt a guarantee that we would see the Scottish international play. The left back is still yet to play a single minute of football and sat through yet another game he might’ve had an opportunity to get some minutes.

At the end we saw Kai Havertz and Ethan Nwaneri enter the field. Even the questionable fit Jurrien Timber managed to get on the field despite not being part of the training session the media witnessed on Tuesday afternoon - leaving us with the lingering question of when we might see Tierney make his wildly unlikely return to the field.

And not a single corner was scored

Three goals, none of which came from a set piece, meant that Mikel Arteta probably entered his post-match press conference with a sense of confidence he would avoid the increasingly grating questions about corners and free-kicks. And that was indeed the case… instead he was asked about creating chances from open play. You can’t win them all.

The Gunners should have been free and clear much sooner than they eventually were courtesy of some Monegasque errors at the back. Three one-on-one situations were spurned and while frustrating these will hopefully showcase the danger that Arsenal do indeed possess and can replicate against the Toffees this weekend.