Cedric Soares has handed Mikel Arteta an unexpected fitness boost ahead of Arsenal's Europa League clash against Bodo/Glimt and it could have an impact on Takehiro Tomiyasu.
The Portuguese defender missed the North London Derby win over Tottenham Hotspur at the weekend after picking up a knock in training. This was the latest setback in what has been a rather frustrating start to the season for the 31-year-old as he had only just recovered from an injury that kept him out of the FC Zurich and Brentford games before the international break.
But the good news for Cedric is that he has made a full recovery ahead of schedule and football.london understands that he is now in line to get his first senior minutes of the campaign as early as Thursday night when Arsenal host Bodo/Glimt at the Emirates Stadium.
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With the Gunners facing Liverpool on Sunday, Arteta will no doubt welcome the opportunity to rest several key players. As a result, the fit-again Cedric can replace Ben White at right-back which means Takehiro Takehiro could be in line to replace Gabriel Magalhaes in central defence.
Whilst the Japan international has predominately operated as a full-back ever since joining from Bologna last summer, Arsenal's 3-0 win over Brentford last month effectively 'confirmed' he is considered a left-sided central defensive option as he was told to warm up instead of Rob Holding when Gabriel suffered an injury scare.
And though the potential of playing at the heart of defence would be something new for Tomiyasu at Arsenal, it is his role for the national team and he recently impressed in this position against the USA as the Japan defence stood strong by not allowing a single shot on target over the 90 minutes.
It's no secret that Arteta prefers a left-footer in this role and following the decision to let Pablo Mari join Monza on loan in the summer transfer window, it appeared there was no natural competition for the Arsenal no.6 which may explain his ever-present record so far this season.
But there's a chance Gabriel could drop out of the starting line-up for the first time this season as Arteta has already talked up the 23-year-old as his back-up: "[Tomiyasu] can play central defender as well. Tomi has been playing left centre-back for the Japan national team, when you look at his games, he is great," the Spaniard said during his pre-Brentford press conference.
"He can play as a left-back because you could not tell if he’s a right or left-footed player. So, we have the options there and we have to utilise them in the best possible way, especially with the number of minutes we’re going to have in the next few weeks. It’s great that players are comfortable in more than one position."
Tomiyasu's two-footedness and experience of playing as the left-sided central defender for his national team already made him the perfect option to replace Gabriel who will need a breather at some point during this hectic run of fixtures and he could get this chance on Thursday thanks to the early return of Cedric.
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