Arsenal's final game of the 2022/23 season is almost upon us as they welcome Wolves to the Emirates Stadium on Sunday afternoon.
Once viewed as a fixture where the Gunners could be crowned Premier League champions, the match now has very little riding on it with Manchester City lifting the trophy last weekend as a result of Mikel Arteta's side falling to a 1-0 defeat against Nottingham Forest away from home.
So with a top-two finish already guaranteed, the Arsenal manager's team selection will be rather intriguing as he might be tempted to freshen things up where possible or go with his strongest available line-up to ensure his side ends the season on a positive note following back-to-back defeats.
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Whilst Arteta mulls over who to select for the final game of the season, football.london has taken a look at what changes the Spanish tactician could be contemplating from the side that started the 1-0 loss at the City Ground, especially as it could be an opportunity for some to bid farewell.
Tierney recall
By all accounts, last week's experiment against Forest backfired. On one hand, Arteta reverted to type by reuniting the Benjamin White and Gabriel Magalhaes in a central defensive pairing, but opting for Thomas Partey and Jakub Kiwior as the full-backs is what didn't quite work despite him praising the Ghana international.
"We had a lot of issues during the week with players that haven’t been able to train," he told reporters in the post-match press conference. "Some could only train half an hour yesterday. We could have done it. I think Thomas played a really good game in that position. But again, of course when you lose, I should have done something different."
If Arteta was pleased with Partey's performance at right-back then his decision to withdraw Kiwior in the second half against Forest might be an indication that he got that decision wrong and can easily rectify the mistake by handing a recall to Kieran Tierney at left-back.
Walters debut
Although, if the plan is to go with an orthodox right-back in the starting line-up, of course, the obvious option is White with Kiwior moving inside to partner Gabriel. But another option is to hand talented youngster Reuell Walters a senior debut as he will most likely be named in the matchday squad given the injuries to William Saliba, Takehiro Tomiyasu and Oleksandr Zinchenko.
The teenager has made the bench for eight first-team games so far this season - including the last two in the league - but is yet to be called upon. With Sunday's fixture effectively a dead-rubber, maybe it will be ninth time lucky for Walters who can also operate at left-back and as a central defender.
Smith Rowe starts
"We've depended on Martinelli and Saka for most of the season. To give them a rest now and again, they could have given Emile a bit more air time for me. He could have subbed Martinelli and let him play off the left-hand side." These were the words of Arsenal legend Tony Adams with regard to Emile Smith Rowe.
It was somewhat of a shock that the Gunners' No.10, who got into double figures for goals last season, wasn't used in any capacity against Forest last weekend especially with the visitors chasing an equaliser in a bid to stop Man City from being crowned champions without kicking a ball.
But in truth, it's been a frustrating campaign for Smith Rowe as he missed three months of it after undergoing surgery to fix a groin problem and just hasn't been able to force his way back into Arteta's plans since returning. So much so that he's not started a single game across all competitions thus far.
That could all change on Sunday afternoon, though, as there's a spot to be filled on the left side of Arsenal's attack in the absence of Gabriel Martinelli. Taking into account Leandro Trossard wasn't great against Forest - and Arteta hinted at a bit of an injury issue in his pre-match press conference - perhaps this opens the door for Smith Rowe to finally get a chance to prove what he can do from the start.
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