Arsenal: 4 talking points from West Brom Premier League win

Bukayo Saka at Left-Back a Missed Opportunity

With Kieran Tierney injured, the debate over who should play left-back to cover for his absence involved two players, neither of whom were Granit Xhaka.

Opting to utilise the Swiss in that position against Sheffield United and Slavia Prague worked well with teams not being able to work out the system, but it should have ended there. It was obvious Arsenal lacked the stability and physicality in central midfield without Xhaka – while Thomas Partey also struggled – and ready-made to assume that position was a player who’d pretty much started out in the Premier League playing there.

The argument for losing Saka’s influence in the final third was a valid one, but as seen against West Brom and every other time he plays left-back, that contribution in the final third doesn’t wane.

Acting as a wing-back with Arsenal slotting into a back three in possession, he added another dimension to the attack, even making Willian look effective down that side. We know this works, so why wasn’t it used in Europe? Arsenal needed goals and tempo, two things Xhaka doesn’t offer in defence and takes away from his qualities in the heart of the pitch.

Furthermore, it allows even more attacking players to occupy the front line, thus more threat. ‘It’s only West Brom’ doesn’t apply since he’s played this role against better sides and kept to a high standard. A missed opportunity.