Arsenal: 5 reasons everyone is wrong about Cedric Soares

4. Reliability

Let’s talk about Nacho Monreal again. When he was with the club, we knew exactly what he was going to give us. He would give us about a 6.0-7.0 outing every single match. It wasn’t exciting, though he did sometimes chip in with stellar performances. But it was reliable. Which was nice.

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Nowadays, we have a whole lot of unreliability. Hector Bellerin can’t stay healthy. Ainsley Maitland-Niles is still trying to settle into the defensive responsibilities, Sead Kolasinac is great but remains a bit of a wild card and Kieran Tierney has only played 299 Premier League minutes since arriving with the club.

There is a lot of talent in our fullbacks, but not a lot of reliability. Cedric Soares gives us that reliability. The dude has been on cruise control at Southampton for five years. He’s played approximately 10,000 Premier League minutes and he’s only 28-years old. That’s what we called seasoned with a sprinkle of long-term viability.

I would be incredibly surprised if this loan didn’t turn into a permanent move. What’s there to lose? Speaking of which, let’s talk No. 3.