Injury solution, Gyokeres masterplan and Eze integration - Mikel Arteta's Arsenal to-do list

The international break is here, and it gives Mikel Arteta plenty of time to reflect on the start of the season. As many as seven senior players are staying behind; six of them are recovering from injury problems, and the seventh, Kepa Arrizabalaga, will be doing sessions individually and with the youth teams.

This means Arteta's focus can turn to the matches after the players' return with three more tough games to come. With six points from nine, the games against Nottingham Forest, Manchester City and Newcastle give the chance to make it 15 from 18 and shut down early title concerns.

However, many things need to improve to do that. With that in mind, football.london takes a look at the manager’s to-do list for this week off.

The Eberechi Eze decision

Having made his debut against Liverpool and looked better in his short cameo than Gabriel Martinelli did in the 70-ish minutes that he played, there are decisions to make. Eze was seen internally as more of a central player, but his Anfield display has opened the eyes of more to this potential.

When the players return for the game with Forest, getting Eze into a role on the left will be important for Arteta, as he begins to construct a front four that can incorporate Bukayo Saka into it, too, when he returns. There is so much potential to this attack that Arteta needs to learn how to unlock.

The striker problem

One big aspect of that lies in his new striker, Viktor Gyokeres. He struck an isolated figure against Manchester United and Liverpool, limited in how many touches on the ball he got and it led to suggestions that the game would have better suited Kai Havertz.

Gyokeres' goalscoring potential is clear. We saw that in the last two seasons for Sporting CP and against Leeds United, but Arteta needs to work out a way to get the most from the Swede quickly.

Look within to solve the problem

Injuries have already plagued the start of the season and have continued the trend that saw 27 separate problems suffered in the previous campaign. Asked by football.london whether the club do look within first for solutions, Arteta admitted this is always the first thing they do.

"No, first of all, we have to analyse what we do," he said. "That's for sure.

"I think in the previous season we were there. We had the best record in the Premier League.

"The following season we had one of the worst as well because the extent, not the amount, but the extent of the injuries of certain players, especially Tomiyasu, Gabi Jesus, the long-term injuries we have with the hamstring injuries. So, yeah, we have looked at everything.

"We are continually monitoring and evolving the needs of the players and the schedule. But unfortunately, we picked very diverse injuries again. Probably some of them were very unexpected."

If there is a way to mitigate these issues while the players are away from the club and while some are recovering in London Colney, this is a great time to assess methods. If the club can curb these persistent problems, it will be in a very strong position for the title.

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