Cedric Soares has just given Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta food for thought

Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta rang the changes as the Gunners took on Sunderland in the Carabao Cup quarter-finals.

Takehiro Tomiyasu was suffering a knock, so Arteta opted to replace him with Cedric Soares at right-back.

The 30-year-old joined Arsenal in 2020, initially on loan from Southampton in January.

Arsenal then signed him permanently in the summer.

However, Cedric has struggled for game time under Arteta, with just 36 competitive appearances under his belt.

This season, the Portugal international has made just seven appearances in all competitions.

In November, Cedric told ESPN that he is a player eager to “fight and win” a place in the team.

And against Sunderland, he certainly gave Arteta some food for thought.

The full-back helped set up Arsenal’s opener and created two chances for Folarin Balogun in the first half.

Cedric then delivered a smart cut-back for Nicolas Pepe to make it 2-0.

His stats from the game (Whoscored) make for decent reading.

Cedric took 98 touches of the ball and passed 72 times – including five key passes – with an accuracy of 86.1 percent.

In addition, the £75,000-a-week man delivered five accurate crosses, one accurate long ball, and made two dribbles.

Cedric also weighed in with five defensive contributions – admittedly, he was out of position on a few occasion.

That said, while Cedric is currently a back-up in the Arsenal setup, he’s certainly got plenty of fight and eagerness to impress Arteta.

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