Arsenal: David Luiz injury prompts defensive reshuffle vs Villarreal

On an afternoon that felt more like a training session than a top-flight encounter, Arsenal cantered to a 2-0 win over Newcastle courtesy of goals from Mohamed Elneny and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, a fixture that was marred by David Luiz’s injury.

Remove the hamstring pull the Brazilian suffered and it would have been the ideal preparation for Thursday’s crunch clash: a dominating performance, a clean sheet, goals for those who needed them and lively displays from important players.

Factor in Luiz’s injury, one which initially signals the end of his season, and the outlook alters entirely.

Him being back in the side was a considerable bonus, both for his qualities on the ball and his leadership off it. Some of his distribution was excellent and the immediate thought is ‘how could this help the side on Thursday?’, thus tumbling to the ground after a punt upfield, Mikel Arteta needs a rethink.

Arsenal vs Newcastle: David Luiz injury prompts defensive reshuffle vs Villarreal as Calum Chambers should move to centre-back

In his stead Calum Chambers entered the field, not Rob Holding. That could be to rest Holding for Thursday or with an eye on the partnership Chambers could have at right centre-back with Hector Bellerin.

A tidy afternoon from the Spaniard where he continued to provide an option beyond, Arteta is left with big decisions to make in his backline. One good performance against a considerably average Premier League side does not grant Bellerin any divine right, and Chambers was one of the better performers in Spain, but because Arteta needs someone good on the ball in central defence alterations are desired.

Working on the basis he will stick with Granit Xhaka at left-back – a ploy that needs abandoning – it would be wise to put Chambers in the heart of defence, ideally with Pablo Mari since the two have actually played together, and keep Bellerin at right-back.

Chambers has better distribution than Holding and can carry the ball more effectively, while Arsenal will need to add pace in that full-back area to match the speed of Villarreal’s left-back Pervis Estupiñán.

Then there is also Gabriel, who kept Callum Wilson and Allan Saint-Maximin at bay on Sunday, to consider instead of Mari, who did not have a pleasant evening at Estadio de la Ceramica. With the Spaniard having called for ‘regularity’ at the back, Arteta may see otherwise.

However, getting Chambers inside and pace at right-back is the route to take on Thursday.