Arsenal went with a midfield three of Declan Rice, Mikel Merino and Thomas Partey for Saturday’s defeat to Bournemouth - which was their first loss of the season. The Gunners are back in action against Shakhtar Donetsk on Tuesday night, hosting the Ukrainian side in the Champions League, and Arteta thinks the new midfield needs time to gel.

Arsenal have, so far, coped relatively well without their injured captain Martin Odegaard. Arteta has switched from a 4-3-3 formation to a more traditional 4-4-2, with Kai Havertz and Leandro Trossard spearheading the attack.

Mikel Arteta is not looking to put more attention than he feels is necessary on Arsenal’s red card record since he took charge. William Saliba’s dismissal against Bournemouth on Saturday was Arsenal’s 18th red card in the period since December 26,