Arsenal are in the mix for a title challenge again, but they will want to avoid the same mistakes they made last season as they collapsed towards the end of the campaign.
An injury to William Saliba was a huge blow, and Arsenal never quite recovered from the defender’s absence as Rob Holding did not prove to be adequate depth for the Frenchman.
Arsenal find themselves in a defensive injury crisis now, as Takehiro Tomiyasu, Jurrien Timber and Thomas Partey, who started the season at right-back, are all injured.
The departures of Holding and Kieran Tierney means that there is even less depth in the back line than last season, and Mikel Arteta may be one defensive injury to Saliba or Ben White away from disaster. However, he has now developed a contingency plan.
Mikel Arteta explains defensive emergency option
Arsenal’s draw at PSV Eindhoven in the Champions League saw Arteta rotate his squad, but there was bewilderment amongst the fans as Ben White and Declan Rice came on as substitutes.
With talented youngsters on the bench, and both players crucial to Arsenal, fans have argued that Arteta took an unnecessary risk. However, he did it with this reason in mind.
Rice replaced Saliba, and the midfielder surprisingly slotted in at centre-back, where he coped very well. Speaking after the game, Arteta claimed that he was testing Rice in the role, should he be needed in an emergency scenario.
“Well 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,” he stated.
Can Declan Rice solve Arsenal’s defensive problem?
If Saliba or White pick up an injury now, there is little to no cover for them, as Jakub Kiwior and Cedric Soares are the only backup senior defenders available.
Whilst Rice has played at centre-back in his early West Ham days, and could replace Saliba’s ability to progress the ball from the position, using him in an emergency scenario creates another problem.
Right now, Rice is an irreplaceable figure in the Arsenal midfield, both at the base of the trio as well as further forward. Taking him out of the midfield to start him in defence, creates an additional problem, that Arteta will need to replace him in the middle of the park.
Should Saliba pick up an injury now, Kiwior should be the first pick to replace him, but beyond that, it appears that Rice will have to fill in if necessary.
Arteta will hope he can get to the January transfer injury with no more absences, and will hope that he does not face a defensive crisis like he did last season, which ultimately cost Arsenal the title.
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