Mikel Arteta says he wants to give Cedric Soares more game time at Arsenal

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Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta claimed last night that he wants to give Cedric Soares more game time even though he’s well down the pecking order at the club.

The Portugal international joined the Gunners from Southampton initially on loan in January 2020. That deal was made permanent in the following summer, but he has never quite been the first choice at the club.

This season, he has further been pushed down.

Mikel Arteta says he wants to give Cedric Soares more game time at Arsenal

Cedric was Arsenal’s second-choice right-back last season. He also filled in on the opposite side on a few occasions, but he hasn’t kicked a ball this campaign.

The Portugal international last played for the Gunners back in May – against Everton in the final game of the 2021/22 season.

After Arsenal beat PSV in the Europa League yesterday, Arteta was asked why Cedric has not been given an opportunity yet this term. The Gunners boss claimed that he wants to give him a chance soon.

He said, as per Arsenal.com: “The competition is one (reason), the second one is because he was injured for a while and he had a recurring injury.

“Now he’s fit, and he’s a player who deserves to play. I want to give him the minutes because he deserves that.”

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Arteta clearly wants to give Cedric more game time, but we can’t see how that will happen, especially in the Premier League.

Ben White has become Arsenal’s first-choice right-back this season, and he has been sensational. Takehiro Tomiyasu is his backup in that role, and the Japan international is on a much higher level than Cedric as well.

That makes it very difficult for the ‘fantastic‘ Portuguese defender to get into the side, but with Arsenal needing just one point from their final two Europa League games to top the group, an opportunity could present itself for Cedric against FC Zurich next month.

It will be interesting to see what will happen with Cedric in 2023. He clearly has no future at Arsenal, which makes a move away very likely in one of the next two transfer windows.