Arsenal mix and match side do the job v Luton. 3 points and onto the next one

 

Arsenal 2 Luton 0   
Premier League   
Tuesday 3rd April 2024  7.30pm    

It’s a game that won’t live too long in the memory, but even the Invincibles played the odd dull game. The only real question before kick-off was whether Arsenal would struggle with the four changes that Arteta made, as Kiwior, Rice, Jesus and Saka stepped down from Sundays starting line-up. Saka wasn’t even on the bench, but given he’s been nursing an injury for pretty much the whole season, it was no bad thing to give him a midweek off. It’s difficult to imagine he won’t be back for the Bayern first leg if not at Brighton on Saturday.

 

The changes meant rare starts for Emile Smith Rowe and Reiss Nelson, as well as two players recovering from injuries – Thomas Partey and Zinchenko. Luton themselves had endured a demoralising and exhausting defeat on Saturday at Spurs, so were hardly at their freshest. As it was the contest was effectively over by half time. The first goal was a nicely fashioned move in which Havertz played a pass for Odegaard to pick his spot from in front of the goal, whilst the second, just before the interval was an own goal with the defender under pressure from Reiss Nelson.

 

The players that came in did well with the arguable exception of Zinchenko. Even against a relatively toothless Luton side, his defensive work looked suspect and it’s difficult to imagine he will be picked against Bayern given the form Kiwior has displayed and the alternative option of playing Tomiyasu at left back. Next season Jurien Timber should be available once again, so you do get the feeling that if Zinchenko has a future at the club, it’s going to be in a midfield position, most likely from the bench. Yes, he can do some wonderful things when Arsenal have the ball (although he can be sloppy too, and was on occasion last night), but if he’d started against his old club last weekend, you’d have to say it was more likely Arteta’s team would have struggled to keep a clean sheet. 

 

Smith Rowe, Nelson and Partey did as well as could be expected given their inevitable ring rustiness, but inevitably, the fluidity of the regular eleven was missing. Fortunately it was the kind of match in which Arsenal didn’t need to think about upping the gears. There won’t be many more like this between now and the season’s end. Smith Rowe played 85 minutes of the game and looked fit. There were eyebrows raised when he didn’t even make the bench at the Etihad, but it is good to see he is still in Arteta’s thoughts. Even if it is from the bench, he might have a key contribution to make this season. The second half petered out with minimal excitement, although it was good to see Martinelli get some more minutes, and Eddie Nketiah was given a runout too. 

 

There were only five shots on target all game, and four of those were for Arsenal. Luton proved nothing like the determined team that faced Arsenal at Kenilworth Road before the turn of the year. Before the game, it really felt like an easy three points, and even with a weakened side, that’s how it turned out. In mitigation, Luton had eleven players on the injury list, although one of those, Sambi Lokonga, could not have played anyway, on loan from the Gunners for the season. 

 

So with Liverpool playing a day later, Arsenal went top of the table, although Manchester City showed what a good result it was on Sunday by trouncing Aston Villa 4-1. All Arteta’s players can do is keep going, keep picking up every point they can, and see what happens elsewhere. Can you see Sheffield United getting anything at Anfield? Neither can I, but football can throw up surprises, so we watch and wait.

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