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Arsenal set to target backup left back in the summer

Arsenal are set to target a backup left back in the summer as Kieran Tierney suffers another set back in his Arsenal career, according to David Ornstein from The Athletic.

With Ainsley Maitland-Niles and Sead Kolasinac joining West Bromwich Albion and Schalke respectively on loan until the end of the season, Mikel Arteta has limited options at left back for the next 6 months.

Against Aston Villa on Saturday, Cedric Soares was playing left back again for Arteta’s side and it was his mistake which led to Ollie Watkins netting against his boyhood club for the third time in two games this season.

Towards the end of the game at Villa Park, Bukayo Saka was made to play at left back as Cedric Soares left the field of play. This made the Gunners lose their cutting edge because of the threat Saka poses in attack.

Mikel Arteta and the Arsenal hierarchy always knew that there was a limit to the amount of business they could do in the January transfer window because of financial limitations due to the pandemic coupled with time constraints.

Arsenal’s technical director Edu Gaspar managed to seal permanent exits for Sokartis Papastathopoulos, Shkodran Mustafi, Mesut Ozil and Matt Macey. He also facilitated loan deals for Ainsley Maitland-Niles, Joe Willock and William Saliba.

Edu completed the loan signing of Mat Ryan from Brighton to support Bernd Leno until the end of the season. He also found an agreement with Real Madrid to bring Martin Odegaard to North London until the end of the season.

In the unprecedented times that we are living in, what Edu has managed to do in one window is nothing short of remarkable.

As a result of Ainsley Maitland-Niles leaving the Gunners on deadline day, the Gunners did not have time to sign another left back but they plan on revisiting this position when the window reopens at the end of this season.

Possible deals were looked into for Patrick van Aanholt and Ryan Bertrand, who both have 6 months left on their contracts, but that interest did not prevail as Mikel Arteta is keen on signing a younger player with bags of potential. It is understood that the club want to sign a player who will be a big part of their future but will not demand a starting position immediately.

Arsenal next face Leeds United at the Emirates Stadium in the Premier League followed by a trip abroad to play Benfica in the Europa League. If medical assessments are right, Kieran Tierney should be back before Arsenal’s home fixture against Manchester City just three days after their European clash against the Portuguese giants.

That is four major set backs and counting now for Kieran Tierney which indicates that Arteta is right to be looking at bringing someone in to help his side in the left back position considering how unlucky the Scotland international has been since joining Arsenal in the summer of 2019.

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