Against Southampton, with Kieran Tierney out injured, Mikel Arteta had 2 choices to play at left back. Cedric Soares or Ainsley Maitland-Niles.

Arteta opted to go for the Portuguese international, leaving the Hale End product on the bench.

Last summer Maitland-Niles was on the verge of signing for Wolves in a deal worth around £20million before Arsenal pulled the plug at the last minute.

At the time there were rumours that Hector Bellerin could be off to PSG, so it made sense for Arsenal to keep hold of Maitland-Niles; who would then compete with Cedric at right back.

There was also the conundrum at left back.

With Tierney’s injury and Sead Kolasinac looking for a move away, Edu and Arteta clearly made the decision to keep Maitland-Niles so that they would not be short of numbers.

Up until the victory against Newcastle in the Premier League, it had been Maitland-Niles coming in for Bellerin and Tierney when injured.

Against Newcastle, Cedric replaced Bellerin at right back, with Maitland-Niles not in the squad. Cedric making his first Premier League start of the season.

And against Southampton, Cedric replaced Tierney at left back with Maitland-Niles left on the bench.

The key factor for Arteta when deciding between Maitland-Niles or Cedric seems to be formation.

Of Ainsley Maitland-Niles 5 Premier League starts, only two have come as part of a back 4; with 3 of 5 coming when Arteta opted for 3 at the back.

Against Southampton and Newcastle, Arteta went for 4 at the back and Cedric started.

Moving forward, the feeling is that Arteta will stick with a back 4, which pushes Cedric ahead of Maitland-Niles in the pecking order.

With the club looking at a left footed left back as cover for Kieran Tierney (Ryan Bertrand would be a good option – a blog for another day), that would leave Maitland-Niles struggling for any game time.

His good form at the back end of last season resulted him in making the England squad and winning 3 caps. But he is at risk of missing out on a place at the upcoming Euro’s due to lack of playing time.

If an offer of £20million comes in for him over the next couple of days, it would be a deal that would interest both player and club.

Arsenal would bank some money, using a portion of it to buy a left back who is better in a back 4. Whilst Maitland-Niles would get the playing time he needs to keep his place in the England squad.

Keep an eye on this one over the next few days.

Keenos

Arsenal extended their unbeaten Premier League run in fine fashion against Southampton on Tuesday night, with a convincing win at St. Mary’s.

After falling behind to Stuart Armstrong’s early strike, the Gunners never looked back, levelling almost immediately through Nicolas Pepe before goals from Bukayo Saka and Alexandre Lacazette put the game to bed.

With captain Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang once again absent for personal reasons, Lacazette put in yet another accomplished performance up front. Read on below for our breakdown of why his upturn in form has been so important to Arsenal’s resurgence.

Prior to Christmas, Lacazette had only scored three times in 11 league games. Including his penalty in the 3-1 win at home to Chelsea on Boxing Day, he has netted five goals in six appearances. This has been, in no small part, thanks to a tactical tweak in the Frenchman’s positioning.

After Lacazette found success as a deep-lying forward throughout the course of the Europa League group stages, Mikel Arteta experimented with deploying him there domestically following the November international break. However, the added structure and solidity of Premier League defences meant Lacazette often struggled to get himself into dangerous shooting positions.

The introduction of Emile Smith-Rowe in attacking midfield was exactly what Arteta needed to do to get his side back amongst the goals. When Everton were 2-1 victors on 22 December, Arsenal hadn’t scored from open play in any of their last five away games in the league. Since then, they have managed eight goals in three away fixtures. Smith-Rowe’s ability to occupy the half spaces and draw out opposition defenders has allowed Lacazette to occupy more threatening areas around the six-yard box, thanks to starting in a more advanced role.

This was particularly evident in his finish against Southampton, where a perfectly weighted ball from Saka allowed Arsenal’s No.9 to poke the ball home with his left foot. When Lacazette is allowed to drift into those pockets of space between centre-backs, he is one of the most potent poachers in the league.

He also offers far more to Arsenal than tap-ins. Firing it in at the near post after killing the ball with his first touch has become somewhat of a trademark finish for Lacazette, as he demonstrated by scoring the winner at Brighton. For a striker, this is usually a sign of a good run of form. A clinical finish after closely controlling the ball takes some doing.

The centre-forward seems to have perfected this.

Lacazette’s return to form has resulted in Arteta’s men taking 16 points from the last 18 available and, after becoming the first Arsenal player to reach ten goals in all competitions, it is no coincidence.

Lacazette’s influence off the ball is just as integral to the way Arsenal play. When their pressing was muddled and disorientated in the autumn, Lacazette often led the line in attempting to win the ball back but failed to be supported by his team-mates. Against the Saints, he was ably and consistently backed up by the likes of Saka and Nicolas Pepe, who collectively hustled Southampton into making errors.

The absence of his striker partner and buddy Aubameyang will undoubtedly be a worry to Arsenal fans, just as the skipper seemed to be finding his own scoring boots again. The premature departures of Thomas Partey and Smith-Rowe were also a concern, as is the injury that forced Kieran Tierney out of action again.

A tricky upcoming fixture list sees Arsenal face both Manchester clubs, Wolves, Aston Villa, Leeds, and Leicester in the Premier League. This means the Gunners will have to be at their best to sustain this unbeaten run but, as long as Lacazette is fit and firing, they will fancy their chances against all of the above.

Zac Campbell

Follow @ZPRCampbell

Firstly let’s address the elephant in the room.

Last nights victory does not make up for limping out of the FA Cup in the manner we did on Saturday.

But our victory over Southampton was our best performance of the system.

The high press. The high energy. Attacking threat on both flanks and through the middle. Willing runners. And a 3-1 victory.

The 3-1 win over Southampton was our 5^th win in 6 Premier League games, starting with THAT win over Chelsea.

We have rocketed up the table, now in 8^th.

Just 4 points behind last years champions Liverpool, 5 points off a Champions League place.

It has been a tough old season but the recovery is happening.

Our January form of 3 wins, 1 draw is only bettered by West Ham (4 wins from 4) and Manchester City (5 wins from 5).

If anyone doubts the improvements made under Mikel Arteta since Unai Emery left, you only have to look at the league table 20 games in this year against last year:

It really highlights just how poor we were last season in comparison to this – despite our poor run of form under Mikel Arteta.

30 points from 20 games is still not good enough, and still a long way behind where we were at this stage in the 3 previous seasons prior to last. But the progress is clear.

What is impressive is that goals against column. Just 20 conceded.

Great teams are always built on a strong defence and Arsenal have the 4^th best defensive record in the Premier League.

We all know our problems are at the other end of the field, in attack.

14 goals in the last 6 games shows we are improving at that end of the pitch as well.

What sums up our improvement is the picture of Nicolas Pepe’s goal last night.

When the Ivorian slotted in, there were 3 players in the box that he could have squared to for a tap in. I have not seen Arsenal flood the box like this for some time.

We are seeing improvements on the pitch, and those improvements are translating into points on the table.

Whilst 4^th place would not make up for the way we exited the FA Cup, we would show the huge steps forward made under Arteta.

Taking into account that run of games where we could not win, even top 6would show solid improvement.

There is still a long way to go but for now, in the short term at least, it feels like we are moving forward.

Up next Manchester United…

Keenos