Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta should hand full debuts to two Gunners players in Wednesday's Champions League clash with Girona, expert Charles Watts has told Sports Mole.
Thanks to last weekend's 3-0 success over Dinamo Zagreb, Arsenal need just a point to be sure of a top-eight finish and place in the last 16, but Arteta's men can likely afford to lose and still avoid a two-legged playoff.
As a result, the Gunners boss will be expected to chop and change before Sunday's crunch Premier League clash with Manchester City, and one unheralded player Watts wants to see in action is young striker Nathan Butler-Oyedeji.
The 22-year-old made his senior debut as a late substitute against Dinamo Zagreb, and after Kai Havertz's exhausting exertions in Saturday's 1-0 Premier League win over Wolverhampton Wanderers, Watts believes that now is the perfect time to give Butler-Oyedeji his first start.
"The amount of times I've turned up to games thinking Mikel is going to rotate and not show a strong hand," Watts told Sports Mole. "He will rotate, he has to rotate. He'll still want to win this game, and where you finish in the table does play a part in who you're going to get after the playoff games.
"There is still something on it for Arsenal. But when you've got Man City coming up this weekend, and then the cup semi-final. Havertz should not be playing in this game. Have him on the bench. Nathan Butler-Oyedeji made his debut the other day [against Dinamo Zagreb], he's the only other striker Arsenal have right now but what better chance to give him his full debut?
Watts: 'Give Butler-Oyedeji his chance'
"Probably before he leaves in the summer when he's out of contract, but give him his chance. He's been at the club for a long, long time, let him have a start in the Champions League and just give the time off for Kai Havertz. It's the perfect opportunity to do that."
Fringe players such as Jorginho, Jakub Kiwior and Raheem Sterling may also be given chances to impress, and there is also scope for Bournemouth loanee Neto to finally make his debut in goal.
The experienced Brazilian is ineligible for the EFL Cup and was overlooked for the FA Cup third-round loss to Manchester United - where David Raya held his place - but the Spaniard is also due a rest in midweek alongside Jurrien Timber, Watts feels.
"I would not be letting Jurrien Timber anywhere near this game either, he needs to have a bit of a break, he got kicked all over the place against Wolves and has had to play so many minutes recently because of the lack of other right-back options," Watts added.
"Those two especially. Sterling, get him somewhere in the team. Merino, Jakub Kiwior, those sort of players, Tierney, it's a real opportunity. Even Neto, we haven't seen him make his debut yet in goal. This is a real opportunity to let David Raya sit on the bench for 90 minutes."
As is customary before Champions League matches, Arsenal opened up the first 15 minutes of their training session to the media on Tuesday morning, where Martin Odegaard and Mikel Merino were both involved after missing the Wolves win due to illness and a knock respectively.
Arsenal set for new injury boost after double return?
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However, Gabriel Jesus (ACL), Bukayo Saka (hamstring), Takehiro Tomiyasu (knee) and Ben White (knee) are still missing, but the latter is expected to be the next cab off the rank in terms of Arsenal's long-term victims.
Arteta recently confirmed that the right-back is "very close" to rejoining team training, which Watts hoped might have happened on Tuesday, but the trip to Girona will come a little bit too soon for him.
"Odegaard's back," Watts added. "He travelled up with the squad but was sent home on the day of the game because he was really ill. Anyone who's had a kid will know that there is biological warfare in your house when you have a new baby.
"He's certainly suffering from that because he's gone down with illness twice in a matter of weeks now. But he was back today, which is good. Merino, he was back training. That's a boost, the fact that Havertz, Odegaard and Merino are all trained.
"There was no Ben White and no Tomiyasu though. I was hoping Ben White might be there because he's very close from what I understand. Very, very close to joining in with the squad again.
"It's obviously come a little bit too soon for him. But I don't think we'll have to wait too long, barring any very late setbacks, which touch wood don't happen with Ben White. He'll be back in with the squad and that'd be a massive boost."
On the way over to Spain, Arsenal learned that Myles Lewis-Skelly's red card against Wolves and subsequent three-game ban had been overturned on appeal, and Watts also questioned whether Michael Oliver should referee another Gunners game for the remainder of the season following the highly controversial incident.
Ben Knapton
