Thursday 17 September 2015 11:23, UK
Arsenal's Champions League campaign got off to the worst possible start as Olivier Giroud was sent off in a 2-1 defeat to Dinamo Zagreb.
Sky Sports pundit Paul Merson said he was "very shocked" by Arsene Wenger's decision to make six changes to his starting line-up in the build-up to the game, and Giroud wasn't the only player who failed to take his opportunity to impress.
Here, Nick Wright takes a look at the performances of Arsenal's second-choice starters - including Giroud, Mikel Arteta and Mathieu Debuchy...
Olivier Giroud
This was a terrible night for Giroud. Having lost his place to Theo Walcott in the Premier League and been booed by his own fans on international duty, things went from bad to worse for the Frenchman in the Croatian capital.
It started going downhill after his early header from Santi Cazorla's corner was saved by Dinamo goalkeeper Eduardo. A clumsy touch in the box denied him an excellent shooting chance in the 16th minute, and shortly afterwards he failed to score from three yards out after his deflected effort came back off the post.
The frustration was building, and Giroud's first booking came for a petulant reaction to a decision going against him. Referee Ovidiu Hategan then brandished the red when he needlessly kicked Dinamo's Ivo Pinto shortly before the break. Arsene Wenger reacted furiously to the decision on the touchline, but Giroud only had himself to blame.
In the Sky Sports News HQ studio, Charlie Nicholas was distinctly unimpressed. "Giroud's red card was silly," he said. "The second yellow card was a soft one, but he was arguing with the referee after the first one. You're away from home, walk away.
"You've bundles of experience. Why do you want to get involved in this little mish-mash with a referee? Because he isn't going to listen or pay attention to you. He finds that you're being childish, so stop it."
The sight of Theo Walcott neatly finishing Arsenal's goal compounded matters for Giroud, who is likely to find himself back on the bench against Chelsea on Saturday.
Mikel Arteta
Arsenal badly missed Francis Coquelin's energy and bite in front of the back four. This was Arteta's first start since November 2014 - and it showed. The Spaniard simply couldn't handle Dinamo's rapid counter-attacking.
Arteta was routinely bypassed by the home side's speedy attackers, and Sky Sports pundit Nicholas noted a lack of leadership from the Gunners skipper after Dinamo's opening goal. "None of the players look as if they have responded since the moment they went 1-0 down," he said. "Where is the spirit in the group [Wenger] has so much faith in?"
It was no coincidence that Arsenal improved after Arteta was replaced by Coquelin midway through the second half. Indeed, it was the 24-year-old who won possession to launch the attack for Walcott's goal. Barring an injury, it's difficult to see Arteta winning back his place in the team anytime soon.
Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain
Oxlade-Chamberlain is another player on the periphery of Arsenal's first-choice XI. But having only started two of their opening five Premier League games, he did little to convince Wenger he deserves more game-time.
A fine run and cross for Giroud in the 18th minute was a rare bright spot, but the England international completely switched off for Dinamo's opening goal. Debuchy's positioning was far from perfect, but Oxlade-Chamberlain was punished for failing to track Pivaric's run from left-back as he bundled the ball into his own net.
At the other end, he failed to make much of an impact. And at the time of his substitution in the 64th minute, the stats showed he had lost possession 17 times - more than any of his team-mates.
Mathieu Debuchy
Debuchy was unfortunate with injuries last season, but Hector Bellerin will be confident of keeping his place at right-back after this rare starting chance for the France international.
Debuchy will not enjoy replays of Dinamo's opening goal. The former Newcastle man was positioned too close to centre-back Gabriel Paulista and - like Oxlade-Chamberlian - he was oblivious to Pivaric's run.
He saw a lot of the ball down Arsenal's right-hand side, getting more touches (101) than any of his team-mates, but his lack of match sharpness showed with some sloppiness in possession.
Debuchy's pass accuracy of 77.6 per cent was the second-lowest of their outfield starters, and he also lost the ball 19 times in total.
Kieran Gibbs
In contrast to Debuchy, Gibbs was rather more efficient in possession, only losing the ball on six occasions and posting a pass completion rate of 93.9 per cent.
One well-timed tackle launched a dangerous Arsenal attack in the first half, but there were question marks over his role in Dinamo's second goal.
When the corner came over from Arsenal's right, it was Gibbs who failed to clear the ball at the near post, allowing Junior Fernandes to steal ahead of Laurent Koscielny and head home.
Like Arteta and Oxlade-Chamberlain, he was substituted midway through the second period. Nacho Monreal should return to the side when Premier League action returns.
David Ospina
Ospina's inclusion was perhaps the biggest surprise on Arsenal's team-sheet as £10m summer signing Petr Cech was rested ahead of his return to Stamford Bridge.
Ospina was unfortunate with the opening goal as he saved Pivaric's effort only to see the ball ricochet into the net off the onrushing Oxlade-Chamberlain, and there wasn't a great deal he could have done about the second.
The Colombian 'keeper was fortunate to avoid disaster when he wandered out of his goal near the end of the game, but he did make one excellent save following a stoppage time error from Gabriel.
