Prior to the Southampton defeat, the Brighton game was a catastrophe in team selection. Mikel Arteta got it all wrong and left Albert Sambi Lokonga exposed by putting Granit Xhaka at left-back.
The reaction to the decision in his pre-match press conference was to double down on his decision instead of admitting the error. The Arsenal manager claimed that the record with Xhaka at left-back was good. In fact, he went as far as to say: “Then you can discuss whether Granit can play there, just look at the stats when the team has played with Granit as a left-back. They don't get much better than that.”
However, with some digging, it transpires that just a 50%-win rate has occurred with the Swiss international in his unorthodox role. Nuno Tavares though did return for the game against Southampton and looked sprightly. Arsenal did not look particularly vulnerable down their left flank and conceded with an amateurish piece of defending from their right instead. Mikel Arteta decided to make some changes in the second half which ultimately would cost them their chance creation.
