Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta faced the media ahead of his side’s Premier League clash against Leeds United on Sunday.
The Gunners need to bounce back after a terrible result against Aston Villa just before the break. Arsenal have already lost four games in the league, and another defeat would put Arteta under serious pressure.
The Spaniard was quizzed about many of his players who haven’t had regular game time this season. Arteta spoke about the likes of Joe Willock and Eddie Nketiah, but it looks like Cedric Soares is the one who has changed the most.
Cedric transformation
Arteta said: “I’ve seen a big change in Cedric in the last month or so. I think his performances in the Europa League have been much better. He needed some time to adapt to our way of playing and most importantly, he needed his fitness levels to be at the standard we need.
“That was impossible because he had some injuries when he came here. He had a really bad injury in his knee. After, he broke his nose and he had some difficulties, but again he’s a lad who’s trying really hard every day in training.
“He’s accepting the situation and he’s fighting against it to prove us wrong and we’ll try to provide him more opportunities.” (Arsenal.com)
Cedric joined Arsenal initially on loan from Southampton at the start of the year. The Portugal international came in injured and wasn’t ready to make his debut until July, when Arsenal hosted Norwich City in the Premier League.
The Gunners have signed Cedric on a permanent deal, but the former Saints star is nowhere near being a regular starter. Hector Bellerin has started the season really well, and the Portugal international will have to do something extraordinary to displace him in the team.
Cedric hasn’t played a single minute in the Premier League this season. He is unlikely to feature this weekend against Leeds, but he is expected to his get his chance when Arsenal face Molde in the Europa League on Thursday.
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