It is not difficult to see that the goal that coach Mikel Arteta and Director Edu Gaspar set in the final weeks of the summer transfer period is to thoroughly purify Arsenal’s squad. First team stars such as Matt Turner, Rob Holding and Folarin Balogun were all sold off by the Gunners, while Albert Sambi Lokonga, Nuno Tavares, and Kieran Tierney also temporarily left the Emirates through contracts for borrow.
After the Premier League transfer window ended, Arsenal continued to strive and successfully get rid of Nicolas Pepe. Although unable to collect any transfer fee from the Ivory Coast star, removing Pepe from the salary budget is considered a success for the Emirates Stadium team. Currently, it can be said that the summer transfer window has truly ended for Arsenal, and it can be said that one of the biggest surprises at the Emirates is that Cedric Soares was not liquidated.
Arteta still retains Soares.
In the second half of last season, Soares moved to Fulham on loan, and this move was also said to be the premise for the Portuguese star to leave the Emirates long-term. Entering the pre-season, the prospect of leaving Arsenal became even more real for Soares, when he was removed from the list of players participating in the US Tour by Arteta. Therefore, Soares is also expected to soon walk through the door to leave the Emirates.
However, up to now, Soares is still on Arsenal’s payroll, and perhaps Arteta has also decided to “turn around” on this defender. Last week, Arsenal’s 25-player Champions League squad was announced, and instead of giving a spot on “List A” to a youth team talent, Arteta decided to give Soares a chance. Clearly, even though he is no longer in use, it can be said that the 32-year-old defender is still in the Spanish strategist’s plans.
Soares is still of use to the Gunners.
Obviously, Arteta’s change of stance towards Soares was a completely correct decision, in the context that Jurrien Timber has suffered a long-term injury and Thomas Partey – who was “planned” by Arteta for the right-back position, is also having physical problems. Meanwhile, the talent in the youth team still lacks experience to be able to compete in a big arena like the Champions League. So, Soares is really a reasonable backup plan.
In fact, the possibility of Soares playing in the Champions League is still very low, unless Arsenal continues to face a few injuries at the full-back position. But if that scenario becomes reality, the Gunners will certainly need Soares when the “injury storm” sweeps through the Emirates. At the same time, Arteta can also use this star in some less important matches in the FA Cup or Carabao Cup to help the pillars preserve their physical strength.
Huynh Phong | 23:18 September 18, 2023
