Opinion

‘Unbelievable’ Arsenal player has to start vs Newcastle after Arteta reveals triple injury blow

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Arsenal take on Newcastle United in what will be a difficult game at St James’ Park.

The Gunners were held to a 2-2 draw at home by Liverpool in their previous Premier League fixture. It was a frustrating result as Mikel Arteta’s men deserved to win that game.

After a successful EFL Cup trip to Preston North End, the focus is on Newcastle, but Arsenal have a few injury issues going into the game.

That could open the door for one Arsenal player to make his full Premier League debut at St James’ Park on Saturday.

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Myles Lewis-Skelly should start vs Newcastle after triple Arsenal injury blow

Injuries have been very cruel to Arsenal this season.

The Gunners have been without one player or another in every single game since the start of the campaign. That has caused a lot of problems for Arteta.

Things seemed to be getting better recently, but Arsenal suffered a further blow. That has left them in a difficult position.

In his injury update, Arteta confirmed that Riccardo Calafiori and Takehiro Tomiyasu are both ruled out of Arsenal’s game against Newcastle United.

Ben White is also a big doubt for the game – he hasn’t been able to train yet and starting him would be a big risk after just one session.

Thomas Partey has done a good job at right-back, but he is expected to come up against Anthony Gordon on that side of the pitch. That will be difficult for him.

So, we think Arteta should deploy Jurrien Timber at right-back, which will allow Partey to go back to his usual midfield role.

That leaves just Jakub Kiwior and Oleksandr Zinchenko on the opposite side. Even though both of them did well against Preston, there are flaws in their game.

That’s why we think Arteta should give Myles Lewis-Skelly his first-ever start in the Premier League against Newcastle United on Saturday.

Arsenal v Bolton Wanderers - Carabao Cup Third Round
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Why Lewis-Skelly deserves to start ahead of Kiwior and Zinchenko

Zinchenko and Kiwior are both really solid players and are more than capable of doing a job if given a chance on Saturday.

However, the Ukrainian’s defensive frailties are known to everyone, while Kiwior is not quite as effective while inverting as Zinchenko or Calafiori are.

Lewis-Skelly, who was hailed by Arteta for his ‘unbelievable’ willingness to learn in training, is solid defensively, is brilliant when he inverts and he has proven that he has the composure and the physicality to do a good job at left-back.

The 18-year-old has done well whenever he has had an opportunity this season. He now deserves a start to show what he’s got, and we are convinced that he will do a good job.