Not sure if it's to keep them match fit and sharp in preparation for the Newcastle fixture, but it was a bit surprising to me as well.
I also didn't expect Saliba to play the full 90.
The only thing I'll say is the subs didn't exert themselves too much and Saka especially wasn't putting in maximum effort compared to other games.
He was playing it simple and bringing others into the game more, as opposed to taking players on and cutting inside frequently.
Partey was a bit ropey at times, but generally speaking, the game was played at a pretty low intensity and Preston looked exhausted getting back to defend every time we bypassed their midfield. We were keeping the ball for fun (75% possession).
I don't like Havertz in midfield at all, but even he looked a class above in the middle of the park. The calibre of opposition wasn't great.
He'll need to start using the wider squad more now, though. No more games against lower league sides and the matches are coming thick and fast.
