Before Leeds. Just take it Ezzze!

This week, full of emotional ups and downs, culminates in a home game against a newly promoted side.

What on earth is actually going on?

Mid-week, and Wednesday in particular, brought with it three absolute bombshells:

• Trossard’s salary increase without any extension to his contract length (what?!?)

• Havertz is out for ages with a knee injury (again??)

• Arsenal are signing Eze, who was apparently already on his way to our biggest rivals (whaaaat???)

Let’s unpack these events then. First of all, it was very hard to believe that Havertz's injury was the catalyst for the Eze transfer. Their positions aren't necessarily similar, and to trigger Eze’s release clause, which is close to £70 million, would suggest Havertz would be sidelined for most of the season.

That turned out to be "fake news", and several reliable sources have now shared that the Eze deal was actually agreed with Palace on Sunday evening. The club kept it very quiet, and it probably only leaked on the back of Havertz’s injury, so there was no hiding from the "Ornstein bomb". That turn of events actually makes far more sense.

Now, Havertz is out for around 2-3 months, which is a reasonable estimation for a knee injury that doesn’t require major surgery. And it increasingly looks like the Trossard contract news was triggered precisely by that injury. Most likely, Leo had a few offers on the table from rival clubs, so to keep him, a salary bump was required. 

But was it, though? Or was it a panic move? If we look at our squad and add Eze into the mix, we would have 12 outfield players vying for only 8 bench spots, as I covered in one of my previous posts. Moreover, in each of our front five positions, even without Trossard, we would have three potential options:

• #9: Gyokeres / Martinelli / Merino

• LW: Martinelli / Eze / Madueke

• RW: Saka / Madueke / Dowman / Nwaneri

• #10: Odegaard / Eze / Nwaneri

• #8: Rice / Eze / Merino

Some players are versatile across positions, but the bottom line is that for each position, we have at least three potential options, with at least two senior players. It very much looks like a complete set. So why on Earth did we increase Trossard’s salary if he already had offers on the table?

I have only one answer that won't cause complete frustration in the club's decisions. We have a hefty, concrete offer for Martinelli. If the club wanted to sell either Trossard or Martinelli and decided to sign Eze, it was logical to keep the older player at the club with an increased salary that would cost an extra £10 million, and cash in on a much younger player. I honestly love Gabi, I don’t want him to leave, but at least I can understand the club’s logic in this case. I don’t know, however, who, apart from Saudi clubs, would be able to write us a fat cheque. I know that he would be a great addition to any counter-attacking team, such as Atléti Madrid, but would they splash a lot of cash on Martinelli? Gabi is a passionate, hard-working young player, and he doesn’t deserve to play in Saudi, to be fair. If he leaves, I wish him well and hope he develops further into an amazing player, and Saudi Arabia doesn’t sound like an appropriate ground for that.

If Martinelli stays, however, the Trossard pay rise sounds like a big mistake. If he had offers from elsewhere, we should have let him leave. I would much rather prefer to see all the minutes he could have claimed passed to Dowman and Nwaneri, where sky is still the limit.

Minutes for youngsters under threat?

Ethan's camp might well feel betrayed. It's now public knowledge that he considered a move to Borussia Dortmund this summer, despite a good many deluded fans insisting he was "100% signing for us". It's hard to blame him, really. Arteta clearly showed last spring that he doesn't fully trust Ethan, and with all the stories of young English talents heading to Germany to become stars and land lucrative contracts, like Bellingham or Sancho, it seems a perfectly logical step. I'm convinced there were talks about guaranteed minutes, especially with the prospect of another attacking midfielder arriving – someone like .. Eberechi Eze, for example.

It's glaringly obvious that if the current squad remains as it is, Ethan and Dowman combined will see very limited minutes, mostly against weaker opposition. And that, frankly, is the wrong approach. Ethan needs Premier League minutes to truly develop. He (and Dowman) are already good enough to tear up Championship teams, but their careers will stall if they don't get consistent exposure against stronger sides. Premier League teams boast a far higher quality of player than the Championship, so only regular minutes in the PL and Champions League can genuinely help a player grow. And if Max, at his age, can afford to wait another year, Ethan would simply be wasting his time.

There's an absolutely valid question Ethan can ask himself: if Arteta didn't trust him when he only had 15 senior players, why on earth would he suddenly start trusting him now that he has 22? And I believe the message for Nwaneri tomorrow should be crystal clear – if he gets at least 15 minutes on the pitch, then there's a hope for decent minutes. If he's benched again, or even worse, left out of the matchday squad altogether, then perhaps a loan move is what he really needs.

We now have 12 players (including those two) vying for 8 bench spots – 11 while Kai is out. Some players simply won't find themselves in the matchday squad regularly, and we actually look overstaffed. A well-balanced team, in my opinion, consists of 20 outfield players, representing a mix of:

• World-class players who elevate the team's level and are undroppable when in good form, such as Rice, Saliba, or Saka.

• Solid, experienced players who guarantee a certain level of performance, like Kiwior, Norgaard, or Merino. This group is essential for navigating tough times, but they'll never reach world-class status.

• Youngsters with very high potential, but not necessarily consistent performances. This group allows for a gamble on a truly talented player who could become world-class (Hey, Bukayo!).

In our case, most youngsters, with the exception of Myles, fall outside those twenty, and that feels more like hoarding than genuine squad planning. Man City won a treble with 22 players playing over 90 minutes. And the least used player was Kelvin Phillips who unlikely contributed to their success. We already have 24 (25 if you count Zinchenko), so some players are simply not getting minutes.

Unless, of course, the club knows that two senior ones are on their way out. Kiwior and Martinelli? Mustafi and David Luiz? Karl Hein and Runar Runarrson?

Welcome home, Eberechi

Eberechi Eze is an incredibly exciting signing, a type of player we clearly lacked last season. He’s excellent in transitions, can curl one in from distance, and has that delicate pass to find a runner in space.

He’s a player who would be a pleasure to watch regardless. One of those lads who, when introduced from the bench with goals needed, is guaranteed to pull off a couple of brilliant chances. He’s not afraid to take a few risks either (so far, anyway). And it's a lovely narrative, a player who left Arsenal ten years ago, now back where he belongs.

Eze positions over the years. Truly flexible?

The burning question, though: where does he fit in? Number 10, absolutely, but I just can’t see Arteta dropping his poopsikens Odegaard. Left eight, perhaps? Not really, as the Rice/Zubi partnership seems to be the main plan. Although, I can envisage him slotting in there when we're up against an organised low block.

On the left wing? Possibly, but Eze isn’t exactly a speed demon, so he’s at his most effective gliding through the middle of the pitch. But then, who provides the width? Crystal Palace played a 3-4-3 for the last couple of seasons, and Eze, while operating as a left attacking midfielder, was complemented by a left wing-back constantly on "overlapping duty." We don’t really play like that, and do we even have the player to do it? Calafiori maybe, but he’s not a sprinter either. Kiwior? Myles? Martinelli? It’s all a bit of a mystery, which makes it incredibly exciting to see what the actual plan is. I can't believe Arteta would ask for splashing this kind of cash on a player he didn’t know how to integrate.

Our game against Leeds, however, will most likely be without Eze, so I’m expecting to see the familiar formation. Leeds won their opening game of the season in dominant fashion. Can they replicate that performance at the Emirates? Will they try to get stuck into us from minute one?

I reckon they’ll try, but they just don’t have the player quality to capitalise on it. We, on the other hand, boast quality players, but they seem to be a bit out of form yet. That said, with our truckload of talent, we can actually pick the ones who are ready to hit the ground running.

I don’t think it’s going to be an easy game, and Leeds might even nick a goal, but I believe we’ll be pushing until the very end, especially inspired by our new signing.

That said I have a list of burning questions that will be important in shaping our season:

• Is Martinelli starting?

• Will Nwaneri get some minutes?

• Who will miss out on the squad for gameweek 2?

• Will Saka and Madueke switch wings?

• Will Gyokeres finally manage to control the ball in the box?

What answers would you predict?