Arsenal are allowing Gabriel Paulista to join Valencia in a £10 Million deal supposedly, but are lacking options at present.
The Gunners fielded a back three of Sead Kolasinac, Nacho Monreal and Rob Holding last Friday, and conceded three goals in a 4-3 thrilling opening match victory.
The win would have been much the more comfortable had our defence NOT allowed so many goals to be scored obviously, but that has not deterred us from trying to offload Gabriel.
Laurent Koscielny is currently banned, serving the third of his three-match ban this coming weekend, although Shkodran Mustafi should be fit to feature soon following a late return to training after international duty.
When fit, we do have a number of options, with Kosc, Mustafi, Chambers, Monreal, Holding, Debuchy, Kolasinac and Gabriel at present, although two or three of those are linked with the exit door at present.
It could well leave us short of options if all of those exit-linked stars were to go, and we may well have to find a replacement for Gabriel prior to allowing him to return to La Liga.
The Brazilian has failed to have the impact expected when he was signed from Villarreal back in January 2015, but did show glimpses of ability in our new back three that could have given him a chance to play.
Does Gabriel have a role to play in our squad? Does he need to be replaced should he depart? Would Paulista’s exit mean Chambers must stay?
Pat J