CARDIFF, Wales -- Mikel Arteta revealed after the Community Shield that he has been fighting with the Premier League.
When asked about his decision to leave Gabriel Martinelli and Ethan Nwaneri out of the matchday squad, the Arsenal manager said it was a matter of logistics rather than ability. While teams can name up to 12 players on the bench in UEFA competitions, only nine are permitted domestically.
"It's really sad not to have the availability," Arteta told TNT Sports.
"I've been fighting with the Premier League to extend, to accommodate more players in the squad, because it's always tough."
"Hopefully we can change that rule, and players can enjoy on the pitch and be an option to play and contribute to the team as much as possible."
Despite the sincerity of his argument, it's hard not to read into their exclusions. Especially considering the fact that Arteta has used similar dressings to explain some of his controversial squad selections. Think back to 2023, when he played down the signing of David Raya as Aaron Ramsdale's replacement and suggested he would swap goalkeepers during matches.
Martinelli and Nwaneri traveled with the squad to Cardiff and served out their watching-brief, as the Gunners romped to a 3-0 win over Manchester City to underline their ambitions for the season ahead.
The duo did get on the pitch after the game, and there's a clip of them watching on from a distance as Martin Ødegaard and co. dance under the confetti during the trophy lift. It was a scene that drew parallels to the Squidward meme, where he forlornly looks out of his window at Patrick and Spongebob having fun.
Arteta had previously hinted at an exit for Nwaneri, and said the 19-year-old needs more game time to aid his development. Martinelli's case, however, is more intriguing.
The Brazil international has been an integral member of the Arteta project over the last five years. But his progress since his breakthrough campaign in 2022-23 where he scored 15 league goals has flatlined. Martinelli has fallen down the pecking order, and made just 11 starts and scored one goal in Arsenal's title-winning campaign last year. He was an asset off the bench in Europe, and scored six goals in their run to the Champions League final.
Sources told ESPN that Martinelli was the subject of a €45million ($51.8m) bid from Galatasaray, but he reportedly turned down the chance to join the Turkish giants. His future was uncertain going into the Community Shield on Sunday, and Christos Tzolis' performance only furthered that sense of flux.
So dazzling was Arsenal's pursuit of Vinícius Júnior that it's easy to forget they have already signed a left-winger this summer. Tzolis, a £34 million signing from Club Brugge, isn't a flashy winger by any means.
The word that came to mind while watching him in his competitive debut was tidy. His technical ability was quickly apparent, and he appeared on the same wavelength as the rest of the forward line. This adaptation has been helped by the fact that he started each of Arsenal's four preseason games, scoring once and assisting thrice.
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He picked up two more assists in Cardiff, with both disparate in nature. For Kai Havertz's goal in the first half, he raced in behind Abdukodir Khusanov to head a looping Ødegaard cross across the penalty box for the German to head home. The moment Ødegaard got on the ball, Tzolis was on his bike.
His second assist displayed his decisiveness. He received the ball on the left with Arsenal on the break, quickly darted towards the box and played a pass towards the penalty spot that Ødegaard finished with aplomb.
"I think he's coming to the team really organically; he's fitting, he's a really intelligent boy and he has a massive quality which is when he's in the last 20-30 metres," Arteta said of Tzolis.
"He's so composed to pick people out around the box or to finish actions, and he's shown that again two or three times and he was decisive."
The Arsenal captain's goal was their third of the game and effectively sealed the game by the 47th minute. The rest of the Community Shield played out like the glorified friendly it can often become, with both managers opting to rotate through their squad. The first-half, however, had a competitive edge and featured lineups you'd expect to see in a Premier League meeting between these sides.
In that context, it's worth noting that Tzolis had five touches in the City box in the first half. No Arsenal player managed more. The 24-year-old averaged 3.1 shots per game for Brugge last season, but despite being the only Arsenal forward to play the entire game, he had none against City. So, there's still a way to go.
"You put him in more and more situations so the volume is higher with the level of quality he has, the numbers will be higher," Arteta said.
"He's so eager to learn, to improve, to practise, and it's not a coincidence; he's a really consistent player in everything that he does. I'm really impressed with him."
In the immediate aftermath of the Champions League final defeat to Paris Saint-Germain, Arteta's comments about the "individual quality" of the French side felt like an admission of what his forward line still lacked. A thrifty signing from the Jupiter Pro League isn't what Arteta or the fanbase would have had in mind in terms of upgrading their attack.
Tzolis isn't the solution to unlocking Arsenal's goal threat. But, he could be one of them. It's still early days, but the Greece international has shown signs of following in his predecessor Leandro Trossard's footsteps in terms of impact and value for money.