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Mikel Arteta is convinced that Arsenal's defensive competition will serve to "raise the level" of his team, as the London side continues to battle with Liverpool for the Premier League title.
The Gunners face Brighton in the Carabao Cup on Wednesday evening, while Liverpool takes on Crystal Palace. Arteta is set to provide opportunities for fringe players to maintain freshness, whilst also reaping additional rewards from squad rotation ahead of this weekend's game against Burnley - which could see Arsenal go ten points clear of Liverpool.
Arteta has maintained consistency in his defensive setup throughout this campaign, with David Raya, William Saliba, Gabriel Magalhaes, Riccardo Calafiori and Jurrien Timber forming his preferred back five. However, the Carabao Cup fixture and injury concerns following the hard-fought victory over Crystal Palace will prompt him to shuffle his pack for the midweek encounter.
Piero Hincapie has managed only two fleeting substitute outings for Arsenal since his summer arrival from Bayer Leverkusen.
The Ecuador international is poised to earn his maiden start against Brighton, with Arteta convinced the defender possesses the attributes to enhance those around him.
"He's a warrior; he's going to bring such intensity, physicality, and emotion to the team as well," said Arteta. "He's quality on the ball; he's a player who is super keen.
"He can play inside, he can play in wide positions, he's done it, as you said, in different ways, and now we need to get him up to speed because the moment that physically he's at his best, he's going to raise the level."
Hincapie arrived on loan with the deal set to become permanent for £45million next summer and can operate at left-back or centre-back.
Summer recruit Cristhian Mosquera has already made his mark when deputising at centre-back and both may be required, with Saliba ruled out after his withdrawal against Palace.
"He's out. We are assessing him, but he won't be involved in this match," Arteta confirmed. The Gunners have been outstanding defensively this campaign and possess the finest defensive record across Europe's top five leagues, conceding merely three times across all competitions.
Arteta added: "I think we discussed the other day about the very close relationship between keeping clean sheets and not conceding goals and winning major trophies and that's a foundation that we are building over the last three years and we need to continue to do that. Tomorrow, again, in competitions that you are either in or out, you know how crucial that is."
Kepa Arrizabalaga might be given an opportunity to feature, having been compelled to observe his fellow Spaniard David Raya secure shutout after shutout from the substitutes' bench since arriving from Chelsea.
"David [Raya] has been incredibly good for us in the last few years and Kepa knew that when he came in, but he's ready to compete," Arteta said.
"If I have to highlight behaviours in that dressing room and culture, probably I would mention him as number one, because again, he's come into a different environment after winning everything in football, almost, being in the national team, Chelsea, Real Madrid, big, big clubs and he comes here and every single day he's behaving like tomorrow's training session is the most important one in his life. He will have his chances to play, he's in a really good place, and if he plays tomorrow, I'm sure he will be really, really good."
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