It is going to be hard for Pablo Mari and Cedric Soares to nail down a first-team spot with Arsenal.
Arsenal made two signings in the last transfer window and both players were defenders signed to help the defence that has been plagued by injuries and poor form this season.
Pablo Mari and Cedric Soares joined Arsenal with hopes of getting the Gunners to defend better.
However, both players haven’t featured for Arsenal yet and the Gunners seem to have sorted their defensive issues.
Mari was signed to help Arsenal “expand” the field since he is a left-footed centre back, but the results have gotten better without the need for someone to make the pitch bigger.
Credit to Arteta for his man-management skills that most of our defenders who have been underperforming are now looking like top stars.
Shkodran Mustafi looked to be on his way out of Arsenal at the end of last season and he was frozen out at the start of this campaign, however, he has become ever so reliable under Arteta.
I suspect that Mikel Arteta will try Mari in the next FA Cup game if he has seen enough of the Spaniard in training.
If he gets that chance, he would have to grab it with both hands and make a solid first impression to ever get a sniff of more first-team football.
Soares is still struggling with an injury and when he returns he will also struggle to get a starting spot except if injury strikes.
I wish both of them the best of luck, but I think it could be very hard for either of them to break into this team if the current crop of defenders continue to perform as they are.