A major test for Mikel Arteta as he is exhausted Arsenal travels to Man City, Tottenham, and Atalanta in a seven-day period.

Although it might seem premature to discuss pivotal times thus early in the season, Arsenal's next encounters have that appearance because of the punishingly high standards established by Manchester City.

Arsenal might find themselves eight points behind the champions if they lose their next travels to Tottenham and City, which are scheduled to be live on Sky Sports on Sunday, September 15, and Sunday, September 22, respectively. Arsenal has previously been held to a draw by Brighton.

For supporters of the club, it is a worst-case scenario that scarcely merits consideration. However, there's also the minor issue of Thursday's Champions League away match against Atalanta, which means there will be less than a 72-hour turnaround before the match at the Etihad Stadium.

It is definitely not ideal, especially considering that City plays their Champions League opener the day before, at home against Inter Milan, after hosting Brentford in the Premier League, which saves them travel time and gives them an extra day to get ready.

As if Arsenal's schedule of three important away games in seven days weren't challenging enough, they are now dealing with a midfield manpower shortage.

Declan Rice is suspended for Spurs' match against Brighton due to his controversial red card. Mikel Arteta is already without Mikel Merino, who broke his shoulder in training shortly after joining from Real Sociedad.

To his problems has been added the international break. After he turned his ankle during a Norway match on Monday, a distressed Martin Odegaard needed assistance leaving the pitch. Arsenal will evaluate him, although he has been seen using crutches, which may indicate a protracted layoff.

In Friday's Nations League victory against France, Riccardo Calafiori also suffered an ankle injury during the break. Nevertheless, he has already returned to London and is training to be ready for Sunday's match.

Arsenal ends an eight-game losing streak against Spurs by visiting the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium with two victories under their belt. However, if Odegaard is added to the list of unavailable players, they will be missing what may be their starting midfield as a whole.

Arteta's headache in midfield

Even though Merino hasn't got an opportunity to prove himself at Arsenal yet, Rice and Odegaard are unquestionably important. In truth, Arsenal has only played 55 games since Rice joined from West Ham at the beginning of last season, and neither player has started.

In the Carabao Cup last season, they defeated Brentford 1-0 in the first of those three matches. However, they were defeated 3-1 by West Ham in the second game, and in the third, they drew 1-1 on the road against PSV Eindhoven in the Champions League group stage.

The last Premier League game in which Rice did not start was a 2-0 victory over Luton Town in April, when he was substituted by the late Emile Smith Rowe.

To find Odegaard's replacement, you have to go back even further—to November's 3-1 triumph over Burnley, when Kai Havertz was used as Arsenal's right-sided No 8.

Thomas Partey, who has started their first three games of the season at No. 6, is the only clear certainty when it comes to Arteta's midfield lineup this time around. Rice will play as the more advanced left-sided No. 8.

According to Opta, if Arteta wants to stick with the 4-3-3 formation he has employed in all 79 Premier League games since the 2022–2023 season begins, he will need to cover two No 8 positions, assuming Odegaard is also out due to injury.

One possibility is Leandro Trossard, who can be replaced on the left wing by Gabriel Martinelli and the recently acquired Raheem Sterling. Havertz is a more apparent choice, though, as he spent more than half of his Premier League minutes as a No 8 last season.

However, moving Havertz is made more difficult by a number of issues, the primary one being the significance of his initial contribution.

The 25-year-old striker for Arsenal has made 15 Premier League starts and has tallied 10 goals and seven assists. In April, he played in the role during their 3-2 victory at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, scoring one goal, setting up another, and serving as an efficient outlet for long passes with his aerial and hold-up ability. It was arguably his best performance to date.

An outlet like this can be very helpful when facing a team that presses as hard as Spurs, and Arsenal does not have another striker with Havertz's physical makeup.

Having traded Eddie Nketiah to Crystal Palace, their only other natural option in the No 9 spot is Gabriel Jesus, who has not featured in almost a month due to a groin injury.

Alternatively, Arteta can go with one of his academy grads: Miles Lewis-Skelly and Ethan Nwaneri both made the first team after strong preseason campaigns. However, it would be a big move to give a 17-year-old his complete debut in such a significant game.

Alternatively, he might modify his system. Could Arteta be tempted to convert from his preferred 4-3-3 formation to a 4-2-3-1 in centre midfield as a result of his absence from the game? Although it would be a significant change from his ideal structure, he might be obliged to make it.

He may then add Jorginho, his lone other available and experienced midfield option, in addition to Partey. However, Arteta has also discussed Jurrien Timber's capacity to operate as a midfield player. Considering that Oleksandr Zinchenko frequently represents Ukraine there, he might be another choice.

Whatever their lineup, one thing is for sure: Rice will be missed by Arsenal because of his exceptional athleticism and ball-winning skills. Odegaard would be an equally significant loss as the team's primary creative force and a serious goal threat in his own right.

Rotation difficulty

Rice's return will be appreciated by Arteta in the matchup with Atalanta. But he will also need to consider rotation in order to keep his team fresh for the journey to the Etihad Stadium.

Last season, Arteta relied largely on his regular starters; his unwillingness to stray from his chosen lineup was demonstrated by Arsenal making the second-fewest line-up changes in the Premier League during the season, with 63.

In Saliba, Rice, Odeagaard, Gabriel Magalhaes, Ben White and Saka, Arsenal had six players who played at least 2,900 minutes last season to City's one, in Rodri. The result was that Pep Guardiola's players stayed fresher for longer in the title race.

While Arsenal's most important players were overused, others, by contrast, did not get used enough, with nine squad members playing fewer than 800 Premier League minutes.

Arteta has allowed many of those players to leave, Smith Rowe, Fabio Vieira and Reiss Nelson included. But having a smaller squad, like Guardiola at City, depends on minutes being distributed more evenly. These games will test Arteta's willingness to do that.