Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal continue to fight on two fronts after losing the Carabao Cup final to Manchester City and crashing out of the FA Cup at the hands of Championship promotion hopefuls Southampton at the weekend.
It’s been nothing short of a sobering couple of weeks for the Gunners. Losing at Wembley was tricky enough but that combined with a number of international withdrawals and losing in the FA Cup topped things off.
Looking ahead, Arteta will be keen to re-shift the focus back to the competitions they remain in. Up next, the Londoners travel to Lisbon to face Sporting CP.
Read More: Arsenal have one huge positive to take from Southampton FA Cup defeat and it’s not Max Dowman
Facing Viktor Gyokeres’ former employers will be a far-from-easy task – and Alan Shearer has since claimed that Arsenal will find it ‘incredibly tough’ to get back to winning ways and to fend off the competition from City.
Marco Materazzi urges Arteta to make defensive shake-up ahead of Sporting CP clash
For much of this season, it’s been Arsenal forward line that has been questioned. Defensively, they’ve been rather sound from start to finish – but Italy legend Marco Materazzi believes that Arteta could make a slight tweak.
He’s put forward a case that his compatriot Riccardo Calafiori should be starting ahead of William Saliba.
“I think Riccardo Calafiori is one of the best Italian defenders right now. He grew very fast when he was at Bologna. Now Arsenal must believe in him. The best way for Arsenal is for Calafiori to be allowed to play his best football,” he told Hajper, per Football365.
“For me, Calafiori is best at centre-back. Arsenal should play Calafiori with Gabriel instead of William Saliba. He has a very good left foot.”
Although the 23-year-old can play at centre-back, Arteta has primarily used him on the left-hand side – with all but one of his 22 Premier League appearances this season coming in the middle of the defence.
Adding to that, he believes that Gabriel could win the Ballon d’Or. “I think right now in football you never know who will win the Ballon d’Or because if Lionel Messi wins the World Cup then he’ll score so many goals in Miami too.
“MLS is not the best league in the world but if he scores 40 goals in a season and wins the World Cup, I think he has the best chance to win the Ballon d’Or.
“It’s not easy for one defender to win the Ballon d’Or. Fabio Cannavaro was the last to do it but you never know in football. If Gabriel keeps scoring goals and wins some trophies for Arsenal too then why not?”
Should Arteta drop Saliba in favour of Calafiori?
To keep it short and succinct, there is no world where Saliba should not be dropped. Arsenal are now in a tricky period – and the Frenchman’s absence against Southampton was clear for everyone to see.
Not only is Saliba viewed as indispensable (when fit!) at the heart of the back line but Calafiori is also Arteta’s best option at left-back.
Sure, Piero Hincapie and Myles Lewis-Skelly are both dependable enough but the wavy-haired Italian is by far the best choice.
| Competition | Matches | Minutes | Goals + Assists | Yellow + Red Cards |
| Premier League | 22 | 1456 | 1 + 2 | 5 + 0 |
| Champions League | 4 | 184 | 0 + 1 | 1 + 0 |
| FA Cup | 2 | 106 | 0 + 0 | 1 + 0 |
| Carabao Cup | 2 | 115 | 0 + 0 | 0 + 0 |
And you know what they say… if it isn’t broke, don’t fix it. Saliba and Gabriel have formed the most formidable centre-back partnership in world football without a doubt and their trip to Wembley was simply an off day.
If Arteta wishes to win the Premier League – and potentially the Champions League – keeping Saliba at the back will be paramount. In fact, Materazzi’s advice holds very little weight given the influence of the France international.
