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The early weeks of any campaign are spent fixating on new players, no matter the team, but for Arsenal, the fresh faces are well and truly the point of intrigue. The Gunners are years into a habit of spending big to create a deep squad that allows manager Mikel Arteta the flexibility to mix things up. Imagine the surprise, then, when he made just one change to a perceived-rotated side that faced Nottingham Forest on Saturday for Tuesday's UEFA Champions League opener at Athletic Club – and left a new-look attack locked into starting spots.

For the second game in a row, Arteta called upon three of his new signings – Viktor Gyokeres, Noni Madueke and Eberechi Eze – to lead the Gunners' attack, a reward for their showing in a 3-0 win against Forest over the weekend. It would be hard to argue they did not earn it, with Eze notching an assist to Gyokeres' goal on Saturday and Madueke endearing himself with the Arsenal faithful with an energetic showing on the right flank, a role usually earmarked for the currently injured Bukayo Saka. The trio earned the right to try things out for the second time in three days, though the results were a bit more complicated on Tuesday.

Arsenal went scoreless for 72 minutes at Bilbao's San Mames Stadium, a length of time that covers the entire 65-minute stretch when the new attacking trio shared the pitch against Athletic Club. They had eight shots by the time Eze came off for Gabriel Martinelli, seven of them split almost evenly between Gyokeres with four and Madueke with three. The Gunners were trying to make amends for a tepid first half at that point, though, the glimmers of hope provided by Madueke and Eze's dynamism not exactly translating into end product. Arsenal had just four shots, one on target and only 0.31 expected goals to speak of by the break, coming up with their lowest first-half shot total since an EFL Cup win over Crystal Palace last December.

Eze left the match without taking a single shot, and though Gyokeres racked up four by the end, he was wasteful with a free header in the second half, and before that, he squandered an opportunity to give his side an early lead. The Sweden international had broken away from Athletic Club's defense and had space to leave the opposition players in his wake, but between two poor touches and a mistimed run, Gyokeres could not get the job done.

"There is no way [the defenders] should catch him if [Gyokeres] takes care of the ball properly. He's going to have two chances to do it. He won't do it," Thierry Henry said on UEFA Champions League Today. "That first touch is not going to be good … Away from home, that has to be a goal and Martinelli made it a goal and he didn't have the space that [Gyokeres] had."

The quickness with which Arsenal's fate changed when Martinelli came on for Eze accentuated the contrasts on Tuesday. Martinelli – who is competing for the same spot in the lineup as Eze – scored just 36 seconds after being introduced, offering an instant example in what neither Eze nor Gyokeres could manage in an hour-plus in Spain. As Henry noted, Martinelli had only a little bit of breathing room as fellow substitute Leandro Trossard sent the ball his way but the Brazil international seized his opportunity with a clinical finish from inside the box.

Just 15 minutes later, Martinelli repaid the favor to Trossard by sending the ball his way in a crowded penalty area and paving the way for the game's second goal in the 87th minute.

The substitutes' showing may not have reflected well on Eze or Gyokeres, who came off for Trossard in the 65th minute, but it was also an example of Arsenal's depth-focused plan at work. The collection of five players that made up the starters and the impactful substitutes is an upgrade on the Gunners' go-to options last season, which included Raheem Sterling, who had just one goal and five assists in 28 games during a season-long loan from Chelsea. Few attackers deliver the goods in every match they play and it is good news for the Gunners if they can get this type of end product off the bench.

The combination of performances, though, means there are some question marks in Arsenal's attack as they target their first piece of major silverware in roughly two decades. This uber-deep version of the Gunners seems to still be in audition mode, which is not necessarily unreasonable just five games into the season. The results of Tuesday's experiment were conclusive enough, with Martinelli and Trossard demonstrating they can challenge for bigger roles in Arteta's team rather than just serving as upgraded options off the bench.

How Arteta balances test runs with the pressures of winning major silverware is the biggest query of all, though, with Sunday's clash against Manchester City a chance for the manager to define his strategy for the season, not only as an exercise in depth but in settling on his starters.