Potential Right Back options at Arsenal: who should be the right back after Bellerin’s departure?
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Arsenal have lost three out of three games in the English top-flight for the first time since a century. The team finds themselves in last place in the league table. The situation is the same after spending 150+ million in the summer transfer window. Despite splashing the cash, they are yet to figure out the right-back. In this article, we will look at the Right Back options at Arsenal.
Folowing the departure of Hector Bellerin on a loan deal, Gunners are left with four right-back options. The North London outfit was strict on their asking price of 23 million euros. So, the Spaniard pushed through a loan exit. The club statement of the Spanish outfit read:
Real Betis Balompié have incorporated right-back Héctor Bellerín. The footballer arrives on loan from Arsenal FC until June 30, 2022. In this way, the new Verdiblanco player becomes the Club's sixth addition for this season. The new Verdiblanco player has been international with the Spanish team in the U16, U17, U19 and U21 categories. He debuted with the senior team in 2016.
Arsenal have played 4-3-3, 4-2-3-1 and 3-5-2 more often under Mikel Arteta and we expect them to continue in the same pattern. Arteta has now a conundrum regarding the players. He has right back options in the form of Calum Chambers, Cedric Soares, Ainsley Maitland-Niles and the new signing from Italian outfit, Takehiro Tomiyasu.
For a right back, we have to look at two things. One is his attacking capability and his defensive capabilities. Also, discipline is much required for a player. However, in this analytical and number-crunching piece, we will look at the attack and defense numbers that would help us to find out the potential right-back for Gunners.
Right Back options at Arsenal: Who should be the starter for Arsenal?
Right back’s one of the most important duties is to put the final into the final third or carry the ball to the final third as that would help the winger/ the upfront player to put the ball into the path of the attackers. When we consider this statistic, Arsenal’s new signing Takehiro Tomiyasu stands out tall. He has averaged close to 4.6 final third passes per 90 in the last two seasons. On the other hand, players like Calum Chambers, Cedric Soares and Ainsley Maitland-Niles have struggled to rake up the number close to three.
In terms of Goals and Assists, Takehiro Tomiyasu has six whereas the likes of Calum Chambers has 4, Cedric Soares has 3 and Niles has two G/A to his name. However, this can be attributed to the number of games that players have featured in. The Japanese right-back has featured in 60 games whereas others have played less than 50 games.
Ainsley Maitland Niles gives tough competition to the player in terms of the passing percentage. He has close to 81% whereas the former Bologna player has 83.2%. Cedro Soares and Chambers have the least compared to the other right-back options at Arsenal.
Right Back options at Arsenal: The defense numbers
After having all the numbers in his favor, Takehiro Tomiyasu takes the front stage with all the numbers. When the number of blocks is considered, the crosses that were not allowed to be put into the box, Ainsley Maitland Niles has averaged 1.6075 blocks per 90 in the English top-flight for the last two seasons.
One of the key aspects of the right-back is to put the crosses into the opposition box. The right-back options at Arsenal have very close numbers but it is the experienced and 30-year-old, Cedric Soares who stands out tall. He has 0.41 crosses per 90 and it is the highest at the club.
Ainsley Maitland Niles once again tops the charts with his tackling abilities. He has won 1.65 tackles per game in the English top-flight whereas others have 1.46 (Cedric Soares), 0.98 (Tomiyasu) and Chambers (0.92).
In a nutshell, Mikel Arteta will have to decide the player based on the opposition and formation that he will be playing. If the manager is looking for someone who has to join the attack and put the ball properly into the path of the attackers, it should be the 22-year-old Tomiyasu. If he wants a defensively robust player, it is the out-of-favor 24-year-old Ainsley Maitland Niles.
(All stats from fbref.com)
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Varun Aithal
(480 Articles Published)