Arsenal

“He had 4/10 rating against PSV. Whoever bought him into this club needs to be sacked immediately. Enough is enough”- Arsenal owner Stan Kroenke has told Mikel that Arsenal player who lost 100% duels against PSV must never play for Arsenal again

“He had 4/10 rating against PSV. Whoever bought him into this club needs to be sacked immediately. Enough is enough”- Arsenal owner Stan Kroenke has told Mikel that Arsenal player who lost 100% duels against PSV must never play for Arsenal again

4/10 star who lost 100% of his duels must never play for Arsenal again

The experienced full-back has had his time in the red and white of Arsenal.

It hasn’t been the best of weeks for Arsenal, as the Gunners followed up their 1-0 away loss to Aston Villa in the Premier League with an uninspiring 1-1 draw away to PSV Eindhoven in their final Champions League group game of the season.

Mikel Arteta’s men were already guaranteed to go through top of their group heading into the game, and the Spaniard made changes to his side reflecting that, but the performance was still well below par.

The north Londoners actually took the lead through Eddie Nketiah in the first half, but they were second-best for much of the game, with the fullbacks Jakub Kiwior and Cedric Soares looking particularly average – at best.

The Portuguese right-back was making his first start in over a year, and despite not putting in a truly woeful performance, it really is time that he moved on and never pulls on the red and white of Arsenal again.

Cedric Soraes’s game in numbers

The former Southampton man was chosen to start ahead of Ben White on Tuesday night to give the Englishman some much-needed rest ahead of a compact and intense Christmas schedule that’ll see the Gunners take on Liverpool twice, Brighton & Hove Albion, West Ham United and Fulham.

Unfortunately for the former Seagulls’ defender, he was called into action in the 62nd minute as his team looked for a winner while putting in quite the shift to keep the Dutch side from doing the same

Soares certainly wasn’t abysmal on the night, getting a 6/10 for his performance from the Evening Standard’s Simon Collings, but he did nothing notable or worthy of another start in the team.

If anything, 4/10 could be generous, as he managed to lose 100% of his duels on the night, which is unforgivable for a defender, regardless of how attacking-oriented they are.

In fact, he was poor in that regard as well, registering 0.14 expected assists and a passing accuracy of just 69%.

Ultimately, the “defensive liability”, as described by journalist Mike White, did little to disprove this tag as PSV’s equalising goal actually came from his side, proving it’s time to take him out of the team for good.

Ben White must play at right-back going forward

There are two players in the Arsenal squad – three if you include Jurrien Timber – that could and should come in to replace Soares, but considering Takehiro Tomiyasu is injured, White is the best man for the job, and his body of work from last season proves that.

Furthermore, when PSV made the trip to north London for the first game of the Champions League, the Englishman was the Gunners’ starting right-back, and he had an exceptional game.

The “underrated” defender, as described by Micheal Owen, played the full 90, registering 0.57 expected assists, making four clearances, losing possession just four times, and even succeeding in 100% of his dribbles.

At the end of the day, the Gunners are blessed with an array of immensely talented full-backs – when fit, that is – and there just isn’t a place for Soares in the team anymore, so it is time to say goodbye and sell him in the Winter.

With rumours that he could be shown the door in January – with just six months left on his existing deal – an exit seemingly lies in store.

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