According to Football.London, Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta dropped Cedric Soares from the squad against Burnley on Saturday afternoon.
It has been reported that the right-back was not injured, and that Arteta left him out of the squad due to rotation.
Calum Chambers started at right-back in the 1-1 draw with Burnley at Turf Moor in the Premier League, while Hector Bellerin was named among the substitutes.
Surprise decision?
Cedric – described as “fantastic” by Arsenal legend Gilberto Silva in January 2021 – started at right-back against Leicester City last weekend and played well.
The Portugal international linked up well with Nicolas Pepe on the right side, and his performance contributed to the Gunners’ win against the Foxes in the Premier League.
While Chambers did well at right-back against Burnley and was defensively solid, he was not a great force going forward.
Perhaps this is a way of Arsenal manager Arteta trying to keep his full-backs and defenders happy.
Another reason for Cedric not being in the squad could be that Arteta wants to keep him fresh and injury-free against Olympiakos in the Europa League on Thursday.
With the Gunners’ chances of finishing in the Premier League top four not looking great, the Europa League has become very important for them now.
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