What Cedric Soares is doing ‘behind the scenes’ to impress Mikel Arteta at Arsenal

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Arsenal outcast Cedric Soares is now set to stay at the club, after a move away in the January transfer window failed to materialise.

The 32-year-old was in negotiations with Turkish side Galatasaray in the final days of the transfer window, but they opted to sign Serge Aurier instead.

It also recently emerged that Cedric turned down an offer from Benfica due to his high wage demands, and as a result, he is now set to run his contract down and stay until the end of the season.

He has made just two appearances all season, and looks highly unlikely to feature at all before he departs in the summer, but it now appears that Mikel Arteta can make some other use of him.

Cedric Soares impressing behind the scenes at Arsenal

Journalist Nizaar Kinsella has now confirmed on X that Cedric will remain at the club until the end of his deal, but did highlight that he has had a good impact off the pitch.

“He has been a positive influence behind the scenes despite his fringe role,” he stated.

Cedric joined Arsenal in January 2020 as one of Arteta’s first signings as a manager, arriving on an initial loan which was later made permanent on a four-year deal, despite him not appearing once during the loan period.

Cedric’s experience could be useful in Arsenal squad

Cedric is a European Championship winner with Portugal and has appeared for the likes of Southampton, Inter Milan and Sporting CP in his career.

Despite his underwhelming overall contributions on the pitch, it appears that he is a top professional off it, and has even made useful appearances in Academy sides in years gone by, helping pass on his experience to some of the rising stars within the club.

With Arsenal set to travel to Portugal to face Porto in the Champions League knockouts, he could be a useful player to have within the dressing room as his teammates face his former rivals.

Terminating his contract now, when he is serving a useful role off the pitch, and has featured on the bench given the absences of Takehiro Tomiyasu and Jurrien Timber, would be a pointless endeavour, and if his influence in the background helps Arsenal improve somewhat, then the final few months of his contract may not be a complete waste of time, despite the lack of action he will likely see on the pitch.