5 Arsenal Alternatives for Granit Xhaka & Hector Bellerin

Arsenal will be without Granit Xhaka and Hector Bellerin against Southampton.

Attentions all turn towards Wednesday for Arsenal, where in-form Southampton make the journey to the Emirates Stadium searching for their first league win away at the Gunners since 1987.

The odds are heavily stacked in the Saints’ favour, as with most of Arsenal’s opponents, as they take on Mikel Arteta’s side with a clean bill of health. As for the hosts, there were two further casualties from the squad for the midweek clash, as both Granit Xhaka and Hector Bellerin were ruled out with suspension.

Xhaka’s moment of madness will see him miss three Premier League matches, while the Spaniard need only sit out one fixture having picked up his fifth yellow card already this season.

In normal circumstances, the absence of two senior members of the squad would prompt widespread panic, yet these are two alterations that many supporters had been craving regardless, with neither player in good form or helping to resolve Arsenal’s ever growing list of problems.

Arteta has been guilty of fielding the same failing crop, a decision that is now out of his hands after the Burnley loss. With two spots up for grabs in the team, here is who could come in to replace them.

Ainsley Maitland-Niles – Right-Back

The Arsenal saviour when Bellerin suffered his cruciate ligament injury was Ainsley Maitland-Niles, who was tasked with filling in the full-back role at great length as Bellerin underwent an extended period on the sidelines.

He fulfilled his task as well as he could have given the unorthodox nature of the role to him, a player who’d always stated his preferred and most effective position was in the heart of midfield.

In the past few weeks it’s been a common call for Maitland-Niles to usurp Bellerin in the starting lineup, someone whose form has nose-dived after a promising start to the season.

Both offer pace in the position, although the Hale End graduate boasts greater versatility in the role, capable of playing as an inverted full-back depending on the shape of the opposition.

If Nicolas Pepe is the return to the lineup, the chemistry between Maitland-Niles and the Ivorian is the best Arsenal have down that right flank.