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Arsenal do not have enough strength in depth for Unai Emery to make hostile changes to his side.
That’s the view of Gunners legend Martin Keown.
Arsenal were dealt a huge blow in the top four race after losing 3-2 to Crystal Palace on Sunday.
Emery made eight changes to his side, with both Granit Xhaka and Lucas Torreira sitting out at the Emirates.
Keown says Arsenal do not possess enough quality in their second string to rest top players.
“I can understand why Unai Emery would want to rest eight players for Sunday’s visit of Crystal Palace and trust in his squad,” said Keown writing in the Daily Mail.
Matteo Guendouzi reacts to dreadful defeat
“He clearly thought that an attacking trio of Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang , Alexandre Lacazette and Mesut Ozil would be enough firepower to blow Palace away.
“His plan backfired. The problem is that Arsenal do not boast anywhere near the same strength in depth as sides like Manchester City . The forwards simply did not have the support behind them to thrive.
“An inexperienced midfield combination of Matteo Guendouzi and Mohamed Elneny struggled to control the game. Behind them was a makeshift defence that included Konstantinos Mavropanos, starting only his second game of the season, and Carl Jenkinson, whose last appearance in an Arsenal shirt was almost two months ago.”
Emery’s side have fallen outside of the top four following the defeat. Trips to Wolves, Leicester and Burnely await. While they also welcome Brighton to the Emirates.
