IT appears that Mikel Arteta’s tinkering days are far from over as the Arsenal boss continues to plan for the problems that come with only having a small squad at his disposal.

The idea of Arteta messing around with a side that sits just one point off the Premier League summit will rightfully make some Gooners very nervous. Past experiments have been far from successful, like playing Thomas Partey at right-back and the notion of having “rotating” goalkeepers that has seen fans’ favourite Aaron Ramsdale replaced between the sticks by the less-than-convincing David Raya.

Another area of the pitch concerning Arteta lies in the heart of Arsenal’s defence, and in particular what will happen if either William Saliba or Gabriel Magalhaes gets injured or suspended.

Well, on Tuesday night fans got a glimpse of one potential solution when Declan Rice was brought on with half an hour left to play in the Gunners’ final Champions League group game against PSV Eindhoven. The marauding midfielder was tasked with filling Saliba’s shoes at centre-back, and Arteta later deemed the move a success.

“We are very short at the back. I really wanted to try when something happens, how we are going to resolve that situation, and I think it was really good,” insisted the Spaniard. “He’s played there before and we have to try in case of an emergency. I will have to make sure that we can fill the gap in the right way.”

Meanwhile, Arsenal fans will eagerly be awaiting the draw for the last-16 of the Champions League, which takes place in Nyon, Switzerland, on Monday at 11am.

After seeing his charges seal top spot in Group B with a game to spare – making the midweek 1-1 draw at PSV the proverbial dead-rubber fixture – Arteta is convinced that Arsenal can compete at European football’s top table. But for now he says he’s done with the competition until February when the knockout stages get underway.

Reflecting on the Gunners’ Champions League campaign so far, he added: “What I’ve seen is that we can compete at this level and we came top of the group, which is very important. Especially the way we did it with a game in hand.

“I think overall, very, very positive. After six or seven years without being in the competition, with a team that doesn’t have a lot of experience there, I think we have competed very, very well.

“I really like the approach of the team in every single game – the way we try to play and dominate the opponents. We have some big results and big experiences as well.

“Overall, finishing first with a game to play we have to be really happy, and now we close that chapter, leave it until February and make sure in February when that chapter opens up again we are in the best possible place to compete against another top side.”