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#1 Defense
This is something that is out there for everyone to see. So much for all the tinkering of Unai Emery! The man changed defenders as if they were clothes, yet, all we saw was one shambolic display after another. The right-back position does not have another established option apart from Hector Bellerin.
But where has the Spaniard been all season? Ainsley Maitland-Niles seems to be doing a good job behind Hector’s back, but his propensity to get carded is a cause for alarm. Calum Chambers, on his part, creates more problems than help when he was deployed at that position.
The Arsenal board must be gnashing their teeth now when they remember the day they agreed to let Unai move Nacho Monreal on. They'd have realized the folly of that decision by now. There is not a single player in the current Arsenal squad who can man that position better than Monreal. The new signing, Kieran Tierney, only shows signs of becoming a great option at the position. Unfortunately, there is no older player from the same position to nurture him.
The centre-back positions have seen a lot of tinkering - the pairing of Sokratis and David Luis, Chambers and Luis, Shkodran Mustafi and Sokratis, and, of course, the pairing of Mustafi and Luiz - all to no avail. In fact, they keep displaying one terrible performance after another, such that it is very difficult to mention a single defensive pair that will work for the Gunners.
If they can dip into the transfer market and sign a centre-back to make a good pair with either of David Luiz or Sokratis Papastathopoulos - those two appear to be the best options for the Gunners in the centre-back position. A right-back or right wing-back to cover up for Bellerin and Niles and a good left-back that has English Premier League experience who can help nurture Tierney to his full potential.
