Arsenal vs Brighton: 4 most likely solutions to left-back dilemma

slap in the face</a>) for an Arsenal team which had been on a five-game winning streak away from home.</p> <p>Yet more troubling than the defeat itself was the <a href=https://paininthearsenal.com/2022/04/08/arsenal-4-left-back-options-ranked/2/"https://paininthearsenal.com/2022/04/05/arsenal-5-solutions-tierney-left-back/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">absence of Tierney</a>, whose solid presence was missed straight from the opening kick-off.</p> <p>Nuno Tavares started for the first time in months and looked completely out of sorts defensively, so much so that he was <a href=https://paininthearsenal.com/2022/04/08/arsenal-4-left-back-options-ranked/2/"https://paininthearsenal.com/2022/04/05/arsenal-arteta-huge-nuno-tavares-call/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">hooked at half-time</a>. While Arteta claimed this was a tactical switch as we were trailing 2-0, it certainly won’t help the Portuguese international’s confidence.</p> <h2>Arsenal vs Brighton: Mikel Arteta’s 4 most likely solutions to left-back dilemma after Kieran Tierney suffers season-ending injury</h2> <p>The change saw Granit Xhaka filled in at left-back in the second half, but this probably won’t be a viable solution going forward, particularly as Thomas Partey is also out with a thigh injury.</p> <p>Rather than further destabilize our entire midfield, I believe there are four more plausible alternatives which Arteta can choose from in the <a href=https://paininthearsenal.com/2022/04/08/arsenal-4-left-back-options-ranked/2/"https://www.90min.com/leagues/premier-league" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Premier League</a> this Saturday, and I’ve ranked them from least likely to most likely in terms of what I expect him to do.</p> <div id="attachment_124059" class="wp-caption aligncenter"> <img decoding="async" loading="lazy" class="size-large wp-image-124059" src=https://paininthearsenal.com/2022/04/08/arsenal-4-left-back-options-ranked/2/"https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/fetch/c_fill,g_auto,f_auto,h_389,w_590/https%3A%2F%2Fpaininthearsenal.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2Fgetty-images%2F2017%2F07%2F1370869500-850x560.jpeg" alt="Arsenal, Cedric" width="590" height="389"><div class="fs-center-img"> <p class="wp-caption-text" style="width:590px;">WOLVERHAMPTON, ENGLAND – FEBRUARY 10: Cedric Soares of Arsenal looks on during the Premier League match between Wolverhampton Wanderers and Arsenal at Molineux on February 10, 2022 in Wolverhampton, England. (Photo by James Gill – Danehouse/Getty Images)</p> </div> </div> <h2>1. Move Cedric to Left-Back</h2> <p>Cedric has been mostly solid at right-back over the past couple months as Takehiro Tomiyasu has battled a calf injury. At the very least, he is more defensively reliable than Tavares (though that isn’t saying much), so moving him to left-back shouldn’t be completely out of the question.</p> <p>It’s somewhere he featured in last season when this very same injury nightmare arose, round about the same time of the campaign, too.</p> <p>With Tomiyasu still out for at least a couple more weeks, Benjamin White could move out to right-back as he has done before, with Rob Holding coming into the XI. However, at this point I am not convinced that Arteta would tamper with his first-choice defensive partnership, which has been a bedrock of our success all season long.</p> <p>Furthermore, I don’t think he would want to pick a right-footed player to start at left-back, as this may upset the balance of our build-up play, hence why I see this as the least likely option.</p> <p><em>Continued on next page…</em></p> <div class="next-slide slider"> <a class="next-slide-btn" style="background: #c01f2f" data-track="shortcode" data-track-action="next-slide-shortcode" href=https://paininthearsenal.com/2022/04/08/arsenal-4-left-back-options-ranked/2/"#"> <span class="title">Next:</span> Arsenal's 3rd most likely left-back solution </a> </div><!—pageview_candidate—><hr id="pagebreak"><div id="attachment_123608" class="wp-caption aligncenter"> <img decoding="async" loading="lazy" class="size-large wp-image-123608" src=https://paininthearsenal.com/2022/04/08/arsenal-4-left-back-options-ranked/2/"https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/fetch/c_fill,g_auto,f_auto,h_389,w_590/https%3A%2F%2Fpaininthearsenal.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2Fgetty-images%2F2017%2F07%2F1238361714-850x560.jpeg" alt="Arsenal, Bob" width="590" height="389"><div class="fs-center-img"> <p class="wp-caption-text" style="width:590px;">WOLVERHAMPTON, ENGLAND – FEBRUARY 10: Rob Holding of Arsenal at full time of the Premier League match between Wolverhampton Wanderers and Arsenal at Molineux on February 10, 2022 in Wolverhampton, United Kingdom. (Photo by James Williamson – AMA/Getty Images)</p> </div> </div> <h2>2. Move to a 3-4-3 Formation</h2> <p>With only nine games left, changing our system now would be a bold move. Perhaps a foolish one.</p> <p>However, we have seen Arteta do this before with great success in the 2020 FA Cup run. In terms of personnel, it’s not too hard to see how this would play out; Saka is capable of playing either wing-back position, while Tavares and Cedric are both better suited to the attacking side of the game.</p> <p>Furthermore, it also gets Xhaka in alongside Sambi Lokonga in midfield, who might require the extra cover having barely featured in 2022.</p> <p>Still, we have come as far as we have this season by playing our preferred 4-3-3 shape. It wouldn’t make a great deal of sense to drastically alter our approach after just one awful game, especially in a home match against Brighton where we should be playing on the front foot. Moving to a back three now would likely just create more new questions than answers.</p> <p>Another point to consider is that we currently only have three senior center-backs in our first team squad, so starting them all together would probably not be the wisest decision.</p> <p><em>Continued on next page…</em></p> <div class="next-slide slider"> <a class="next-slide-btn" style="background: #c01f2f" data-track="shortcode" data-track-action="next-slide-shortcode" href=https://paininthearsenal.com/2022/04/08/arsenal-4-left-back-options-ranked/2/"#"> <span class="title">Next:</span> Arsenal's 2nd most likely left-back solution </a> </div><!—pageview_candidate—><hr id="pagebreak"><div id="attachment_124621" class="wp-caption aligncenter"> <img decoding="async" loading="lazy" class="size-large wp-image-124621" src=https://paininthearsenal.com/2022/04/08/arsenal-4-left-back-options-ranked/2/"https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/fetch/c_fill,g_auto,f_auto,h_389,w_590/https%3A%2F%2Fpaininthearsenal.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2Fgetty-images%2F2017%2F07%2F1381664812-850x560.jpeg" alt="Arsenal, B" width="590" height="389"><div class="fs-center-img"> <p class="wp-caption-text" style="width:590px;">WATFORD, ENGLAND – MARCH 06: Bukayo Saka of Arsenal during the Premier League match between Watford and Arsenal at Vicarage Road on March 06, 2022 in Watford, England. (Photo by Julian Finney/Getty Images)</p> </div> </div> <h2>3. Bukayo Saka Moving to Left-Back</h2> <p>This is clearly far from ideal as Bukayo Saka has been outstanding from the right-wing and leads the team with nine goals and five assists this season.</p> <p>Yet, he has also shown he can be a useful contributor from basically anywhere on the pitch, including from left-back, which is where he played during Arteta’s first few months in charge.</p> <p>Another positive here is that we do have options to replace Saka in attack, with Gabriel Martinelli and Nicolas Pepe both capable of filling in on the right wing. The Ivorian is due to return from illness in time for the weekend, and Brighton are a side he enjoys playing against with two goals against them in this fixture at the end of last season.</p> <p>It just comes down to whether Arteta is willing to move his best attacking player out of his most effective position, which is a huge dilemma no matter how versatile Saka may be.</p> <p>Saka at left-back fills a hole, but how great of a hole does it leave at right-winger?</p> <p><em>Continued on next page…</em></p> <div class="next-slide slider"> <a class="next-slide-btn" style="background: #c01f2f" data-track="shortcode" data-track-action="next-slide-shortcode" href=https://paininthearsenal.com/2022/04/08/arsenal-4-left-back-options-ranked/2/"#"> <span class="title">Next:</span> Arsenal's most likely left-back solution </a> </div><!—pageview_candidate—><hr id="pagebreak"><div id="attachment_121228" class="wp-caption aligncenter"> <img decoding="async" loading="lazy" class="size-large wp-image-121228" src=https://paininthearsenal.com/2022/04/08/arsenal-4-left-back-options-ranked/2/"https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/fetch/c_fill,g_auto,f_auto,h_389,w_590/https%3A%2F%2Fpaininthearsenal.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2Fgetty-images%2F2017%2F07%2F1355833780-850x560.jpeg" alt="Arsenal, Nuno" width="590" height="389"><div class="fs-center-img"> <p class="wp-caption-text" style="width:590px;">LONDON, ENGLAND – NOVEMBER 27: Gabriel Martinelli embraces Nuno Tavares of Arsenal after their sides victory in the Premier League match between Arsenal and Newcastle United at Emirates Stadium on November 27, 2021 in London, England. (Photo by Shaun Botterill/Getty Images)</p> </div> </div> <h2><strong>4. Stick With Nuno Tavares (For Now)</strong></h2> <p>While his last couple appearances have left a lot to be desired, I still feel that Tavares should be given the chance to start on Saturday. It’s a home game against a Brighton side in dreadful form, so it should theoretically be a more suitable game script where he can hopefully <a href=https://paininthearsenal.com/2022/04/08/arsenal-4-left-back-options-ranked/2/"https://paininthearsenal.com/2021/11/28/nuno-tavares-best-arsenal-trait-worst/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">regain some form</a> and confidence.</p> <p>He’s clearly not very good defensively, but Arteta can alleviate this by dropping Xhaka back deeper to cover for him as he drives into the final third, which we saw work effectively earlier in the season.</p> <p>If Tavares struggles again then I’d say it’s time to consider a different option. But for now, I’d prefer to give him a chance as he is the only natural replacement for Tierney and we wouldn’t have to shake up the entire XI to accommodate him.</p> <p>Not to be overly dramatic, but if Tavares isn’t in the starting lineup on Saturday, then I can’t really see him having much of a future at the club, as this would indicate Arteta has no confidence in him whatsoever.</p> <p>So there you have it, the four most likely solutions to the left-back problem. Clearly none of the options is perfect, so of course Arteta will undoubtedly be weighing the pros and cons of each ahead of the Brighton game. He has his work cut out for him as we enter the home stretch of the season, but that’s why he gets paid the big bucks.</p> <div class="fs-shortcode" data-type="StoryLink" data-theme="dark" data-text="Arsenal vs Brighton score prediction" data-url="https://paininthearsenal.com/2022/04/07/arsenal-brighton-premier-league-preview/" data-call-to-action="Next"> <div class="story-link-next"> <a class="story-link-next-btn" style="background: #c01f2f" data-track="shortcode" data-track-action="story-link-next-shortcode" href=https://paininthearsenal.com/2022/04/08/arsenal-4-left-back-options-ranked/2/"https://paininthearsenal.com/2022/04/07/arsenal-brighton-premier-league-preview/"> <span class="call_to_action">Next:</span> Arsenal vs Brighton score prediction </a> </div> </div> <p>Over to you, Mikel.</p><!—pageview_candidate—>">