Arsenal vs Brighton: 4 most likely solutions to left-back dilemma

4. Stick With Nuno Tavares (For Now)

While his last couple appearances have left a lot to be desired, I still feel that Tavares should be given the chance to start on Saturday. It’s a home game against a Brighton side in dreadful form, so it should theoretically be a more suitable game script where he can hopefully regain some form and confidence.

He’s clearly not very good defensively, but Arteta can alleviate this by dropping Xhaka back deeper to cover for him as he drives into the final third, which we saw work effectively earlier in the season.

If Tavares struggles again then I’d say it’s time to consider a different option. But for now, I’d prefer to give him a chance as he is the only natural replacement for Tierney and we wouldn’t have to shake up the entire XI to accommodate him.

Not to be overly dramatic, but if Tavares isn’t in the starting lineup on Saturday, then I can’t really see him having much of a future at the club, as this would indicate Arteta has no confidence in him whatsoever.

So there you have it, the four most likely solutions to the left-back problem. Clearly none of the options is perfect, so of course Arteta will undoubtedly be weighing the pros and cons of each ahead of the Brighton game. He has his work cut out for him as we enter the home stretch of the season, but that’s why he gets paid the big bucks.

Over to you, Mikel.