International break gives Mikel Arteta chance to solve issue
The international break appearing is not usually something that will come welcomed, especially when a football club has started to put together a string of positive results.
Indeed, Arsenal are such a side at the moment who will likely want to continue to be playing football as regularly as possible as they have managed to remain unbeaten in four games and have started to climb up the Premier League table.
Mikel Arteta’s side have started to look a lot better – although their match against Brighton & Hove Albion – ahead of the international break might suggest that they still have a bit of work ahead of them if they are to challenge for a spot within European football next season once again. There might be some who fancy them to achieve this, and those who do can head to Betway to get some great odds.
The game may have finished 0-0 and that may be a positive result given their previous history against the Seagulls in the league, but it was clear that they are going to miss an individual: Granit Xhaka.
The Switzerland international suffered a nasty leg injury in the demolition of Tottenham Hotspur in the north London derby and was perhaps the only blemish on the game. He is now expected to miss around three months of action, which could prove costly for the Gunners.
There is no doubt that his absence was felt against Brighton at the weekend as – despite the clear decisive nature he has amongst his own fans – Xhaka is a leader Arsenal can certainly benefit from on and off the pitch.
An international break might not be ideal in regards to continuing momentum around the squad or keeping everyone together due to commitments for their countries, however it will allow Arteta to assess the situation and work out how he can solve this potentially huge problem moving forward and ensure damage is limited, if any is incurred.
Albert Sambi Lokonga would have to be deemed the perfect solution for Arsenal to replace Xhaka and it would seem the new signing has already shown glimpses of the quality he can bring to the position and in the middle of the park for The Gunners.
The 21-year-old midfielder managed to grow in the game against Brighton and put in an assured performance. There is a feeling that if he gets an extended run, then the Belgian may just flourish in the way expected of him and make the position his own whilst he has the opportunity to do so.
However, he is also going to be on international duty with his country, so whether Arteta has enough time to ensure he is ready for the role is another thing altogether.
The next three months could be rather interesting at Arsenal.
