It's no secret that this summer is going to be a big one for Arsenal. Having strengthened considerably with the summer purchases of Aaron Ramsdale, Takehiro Tomiyasu, Ben White, Nuno Tavares, Albert Sambi Lokonga and Martin Odegaard, the Gunners are on course to qualify for the Champions League for the first time in half a decade. Regardless of whether they make top four or not though, there is still so much more left to do.
Matt Turner is already due to arrive from New England Revolution this summer as Bernd Leno seeks to secure an exit ahead of the upcoming World Cup in Qatar, while it is expected that Edu will be on the hunt for a new midfielder too.
This is before we even begin to think about the centre forward position, where the expected departures of Alexandre Lacazette and Eddie Nketiah will force Arsenal into the market unless they want to play the whole of next season with Folarin Balogun as their only orthodox number nine. However, there is now one position where it appears they will no longer need to add this summer.
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Last summer the position of right-back appeared to be one of surplus for Arsenal, but things changed very quickly. Hector Bellerin 's loan move to Real Betis on summer deadline day and the subsequent departures of Ainsley Maitland-Niles and Calum Chambers in the January window saw numbers drop and as Cedric began to attract interest from Atletico Madrid, it appeared as though they may reduce further still.
The 30-year-old ended up staying, however, and since refocusing himself on Arsenal's objectives and recovering from a hip injury, his form has been terrific. Having failed to start a single game since August after the arrival of Tomiyasu, he could have been forgiven for looking a little rusty, but Cedric has surprised many with his form and was recently rewarded with a call up to Portugal's fiercely competitive national squad.
The former Southampton man has brought a new verve to the Gunners right side in the final third, putting in 1.3 crosses per 90 (more than anyone else in the squad) and combining well with Bukayo Saka and Martin Odegaard. This has often been to devastating effect and the Portuguese international was heavily involved in the build up to goals in vital wins against Watford and Leicester.
What has perhaps been most impressive though is how good he has been defensively. In the first part of the season as Arsenal's attack misfired, the platform provided by their backline was essential for claiming points in the race for the top four. Given that Cedric is most known for his attacking attributes their were some concerns over how he would fair coming in to such a tight unit after Tomiyasu was ruled out with injury in January.
With the 30-year-old in the backline though the Gunners have kept three clean sheets and individually he has managed to win an impressive 1.41 tackles per 90, while his ability to win the ball in the middle third (2.17 times per game) has been crucial to helping Mikel Arteta 's men operate further up the pitch recently. All this has created a question as to whether Tomiyasu is guaranteed his spot back in the starting spot now that he is close to a return from his latest calf problem.
"This is a question for Mikel," Cedric told Sky Sports when asked about the fight for a starting place at the Emirates. "I will do my job and Tomi will as well. He was fit in the last one or two weeks but the coach kept me on the team. So it's his call in the end. I'm not afraid of competition. If you look at my career, you can see the number of big names I had in front of me and sometimes I turned it around and sometimes I didn't.
"Now at Arsenal we have two or three options in every position. Normally, the team benefits from it. If you have two players fighting for one position, the level of improvement becomes higher for both. It's as simple as that. Me and Tomi are good friends. We try to help each other on the pitch. Before the game, I sometimes help him when I'm not playing. Sometimes he helps me.
"When he came, of course I knew he was going to have these opportunities [to start] - that's why he came in the first place! What's important is that me and Tomiyasu have a natural, positive relationship and we both want to help the team in every moment. He's a fantastic guy, he's young, so he has also a lot of room to keep improving. I'm there to help him and that's what I'm trying."
Tomiyasu is set to join in with the rest of the first team for training sessions this weekend at London Colney as Arsenal prepare for their visit to Crystal Palace on Monday, meaning that the competition is arguably about to reach it's nadir. This, though, is exactly what Arteta desires from his squad.
"It’s exactly what I want," the Spaniard said when asked about the battle between his two right backs. "That we have players that can play in the same role with different qualities that give us different options and you have the reassurance that they both can perform at the highest level. That's the case now."
Regardless of who he ends up picking, Cedric has defied expectations to such an extent that Arsenal fans now feel fully confident in their right back options. After looking like they would need to strengthen in the position come the summer, the Gunners now appear to have a depth in quality capable of helping them to return to their former heights.
