Arsenal face Liverpool in the League Cup semi-final with the scores still level after securing an unlikely 0-0 draw at Anfield despite going down to ten men after Granit Xhaka was sent off for the second time this season.
Mikel Arteta changed the Arsenal formation and went to a back five with Calum Chambers and Kieran Tierney playing as full-backs. Takehiro Tomiyasu was unavailable due to injury and Cedric Soares came off early in the match due to a fitness issue of his own.
With uncertainty over who will be available for Arteta in tonight’s match, it is difficult to say for certain whether the coach will be forced to field some youth talent once again. Similar to why Charlie Patino started in the club’s 1-0 defeat to Nottingham Forest in the League Cup.
Mikel Arteta wanted to give nothing away as far as team news was concerned ahead of the match in his press conference.
“I can’t and I don’t want to because I don’t want to give anything away, I’m sorry. There are issues and those issues haven’t been resolved that’s why we couldn’t play the last game. But as you can understand we want to keep that internal,” Arteta said.
Whether Tomiyasu will be fit for the match remains uncertain at this stage and the Japanese international was a reason for the north London derby being postponed as an absentee.
Some Arsenal training images have surfaced ahead of the match and interestingly whilst Martin Odegaard was present, Tomiyasu was not immediately included in the photos that came through.
This does not mean he will not be available as the player simply may not have been photographed or published in any of the selected images.
However, it was interesting to see Ryan Alebiosu training with the first team. Alebiosu has been playing for Kevin Betsy’s impressive under-23 side this season.
He has amassed one goal and seven assists playing at both right wing-back and right-wing across his 14 appearances. An impressive return that has clearly caught the eye of Mikel Arteta.
Alebiosu was absent for the Arsenal under 23s 4-0 win over Bournemouth. Zak Swanson featured at right-back with alternative full-back Brooke Norton-Cuffy joining Lincoln City on loan. Another possible hint at his inclusion tonight.
Should Arteta be planning to stick to the back five system, the squad does not have a natural right wing-back style player. Tomiyasu and Chambers are both more disciplined with their game and Cedric, who could play there, is unlikely to be fit.
20-year-old Alebiosu would fit this position perfectly, but it would be a huge amount of pressure to place on a possible debut.
The option is there for Arteta and considering his faith in youth, it wouldn’t be as surprising as some may feel.
If Alebiosu is given the nod, having the likes of Ben White in the right centre-back position will be of huge support to the youngster. But dealing with Diogo Jota will be some trial by fire.
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