Arsenal striker Danny Welbeck proved more effective in key defensive area than maligned defender Nacho Monreal.
In the wake of Arsenal’s self-aggravating collapse against Anderlecht, the future of playing Nacho Monreal at centre-back is under even more scrutiny.
The Spanish defender gave away a penalty during his stand-in role in the heart of defence, as Arsenal let go a three goal advantage to draw 3-3.
There was however another statistic which really stands out regarding Monreal’s display, which is his lack of presence, highlighted by striker Danny Welbeck.
| Position | Match | Effective Clearances | Mins Played | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Danny Welbeck | FW | Arsenal vs Anderlecht | 4 | 82 |
| Nacho Monreal | DF | Arsenal vs Anderlecht | 2 | 90 |
Welbeck, a striker, made twice as many effective clearances than Monreal, despite only being in his own box when defending set pieces.
It illustrates that Monreal is far from the commanding centre-back Arsenal need him to be, with his figure looking worse in the context of Laurent Koscielny’s displays in the Champions League this season.
| Position | Effective Clearances per game | Mins Played | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Laurent Koscielny | DF | 5.5 | 180 |
Arsenal travel to Swansea at the weekend, and there is no word yet on whether Koscielny will be available to return, but experimenting by playing Calum Chambers at centre-back and Hector Bellerin on the right, has to be worthy of consideration.
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