Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta has told Football.London that Cedric Soares could soon play for the Gunners.
Arteta has said that Cedric is not playing for Arsenal at the moment due to injury problems and competition for places.
The Arsenal boss, though, has said that the 31-year-old £75,000-a-week (Spotrac) Portugal international full-back could soon play for the Gunners.
Arteta made the comments about Cedric following Arsenal’s 1-0 win against PSV at the Emirates Stadium in the UEFA Europa League on Thursday evening.
Cedric was an unused substitute for the Gunners.
The Portuguese star is yet to make a competitive appearance for the North London club so far this season.
Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta on Cedric Soares
Arteta said about Cedric when asked if he has not played due to injury and whether it is hard to leave him out: “Well, obviously, yes. The competition is one thing.
“The second one is because he was injured for a while, and he had a recurring injury, but now he is fully fit, and he’s a player that deserves to play, and I want to give him the minutes because he deserves it.”
Squad player
In our view, Cedric Soares is nothing more than a squad player at Arsenal.
The Gunners are well stocked in the full-back department now, and we think that Cedric would find it extremely hard to get playing time in the coming weeks and months.
Ben White is playing at right-back now despite being a centre-back by trade.
Takehiro Tomiyasu is the natural first-choice right-back for Arsenal.
Kieran Tierney is one of the best left-backs in the Premier League, but Arteta has used Oleksandr Zinchenko in that role this season.
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