I'm for youngsters getting a chance, but the only one that is currently good enough is getting, many complain, too many minutes and shouldering too much responsibility. Willock is the next most trusted and he has done very little in the PL starts he has recently gotten. Nektiah has been really poor all season in the league, whether starting or coming on. Nelson has done well in the Europa, but is currently more the style of player we are missing rather than looking like the quality of player we need - it is good to see him FINALLY looking a bit more serious and aggressive though. Smith Rowe has been solid in the Europa the past few games, but the kid is not pulling up any trees, even against Dundalk and Rapid Vienna. Balogun is very talented, but starting in the PL as our Number 9 would be a move of desperation, and waaay too much of an ask for the kid. Maitland-Niles is a bit of a joke footballer in my opinion - he plays when he wants, is a cocky, lazy good for nothing most of the time, and it has even cost us against the absolute trash we have faced in the Europa.
Bellerin, Xhaka, Elneny, Willian, Lacazette - I detest watching them play, but alternative options, in my opinion, aren't there. Even one of Mustafi, Luiz or Holding have to play every week. Ceballos and Pépé have been eye-wateringly bad this season too - maybe with these two it's Arteta and his system, and I think that's a debate worth having because we know they have talent, but the rest are what they are.
The squad needs to be broken up, it has been needed
as far back as Wenger's final years. We all know it. The club didn't do it prior to a global pandemic decimating the transfer market because they were fucking arrogant and fucking incompetent. I don't blame Edu and Arteta for not managing to sell 10 players this summer. I'm not particularly confident that Edu has the brains and vision to oversee a total rebuild, but I am still quite confident that Arteta does, even with the current problems.
I like that Arteta is taking it to this group of players - fuck them. Seriously. We all know this club has been one big holiday camp for far too long. And a few FA cups doesn't change that. If Arteta is trying to drag us back to behaving like a top club from the top down, and we sit low down in the table for a season whilst the overpaid pretenders that make up 90% of our squad are kicked out of the club then so be it. This is necessary and it was never going to be painless. These guys do not matter, and if they do because they outlast Arteta, then we're fucked anyway.
What Arteta has to do now is act fast in January and use all his powers of persuasion to sign the players he wants to build the team he wants. I just hope the club don't fold like cowards and sack him before we get there because I don't trust the rest of them to do anything right.
