Arsenal have been going through an awful run of form in the Premier League and next up they travel to the London Stadium in order to take on West Ham United.
The Hammers like their London rivals have failed to string together positive results and currently find themselves 16th on the league table which gives Freddie Ljungberg’s side a perfect opportunity to get back to winning ways.
And in order to do that, the Arsenal interim coach has hinted the senior players need to step up and take responsibility in such a time of crisis.
“I haven’t said I’m going to build the team against specific players but I felt I want to play the experienced players when it’s such a difficult situation like it is at the moment,” the Gunners interim manager said, via The Independent.
“[I decided not to] pick all the young players that are going to change the future of this club. I made a conscious choice to put down the older players to take the responsibility and change the games.
“We do[need to take responsibility]. We need to change this downward spiral. It is going to be a great occasion but maybe that is good for our players.
“They can relax a little bit and concentrate on the game and hopefully do what they did when we came out for the second half [against Brighton].
“I don’t think we should stop talking about the top four. But for us, it’s about concentrating on what we’re doing here now and not look up, down, sideways.
“We just need to work on our own game and our own confidence.”
The likes of Joe Willock and Martinelli have featured heavily this season but if we believe what Ljungberg has said then Arsenal could field one of their most experienced sides so far this season.
This means the likes of Mesut Ozil and Sead Kolasinac should keep their place in the starting XI on Monday and maybe even Nicolas Pepe will get a place in the starting XI.
