Arsenal are in the midst of an injury crisis in defence. Gabriel Magalhaes, Riccardo Calafiori, Oleksandr Zinchenko, Ben White and Takehiro Tomiyasu were all missing from the weekend’s squad and since then none have returned to training while Jurrien Timber and Thomas Partey, who has deputised at right-back, missed training on Tuesday.
Mikel Arteta said to the media ahead of the game with Monaco on Wednesday: “We have to manage a lot of the players. Some of them probably aren’t going to be fit.
“Some are still a doubt. We have 24 hours to make a decision, and hopefully, it’ll be the right ones.”
If not, Arteta is going to have to make some very interesting selection decisions in the full-back areas. With that in mind, football.london takes a look at the potential options Mikel Arteta has in the full-back roles that people are not expecting.
Kieran Tierney
It is no surprise that Kieran Tierney is being talked about here. He is a left-back after all but his inclusion here is not about how he plays on the left, with the three injuries on the right, it might be he is needed on the other side.
"Yeah, he's ready and training really well and he's going to have an opportunity for sure the way the team is looking at the moment,” Arteta said about whether he is ready to play. “He's going to do that for that reason and because he's earned it.
“The way he's behaved the way he's been with us and because he's willing to do it. When that happens, you have to give opportunities to those kinds of players.”
Tierney played five times for Scotland at right-back in 2017. It was a period where the Scots won four and drew one, leaving Tierney with an unbeaten record in the role.
Kai Havertz
What is definitely an unorthodox option at full-back is the current centre-forward Kai Havertz. Julian Nagelsmann decided to use Havertz at left-back against Turkey where he scored in a 3-2 loss in November last year.
"We have different formations depending on how high the opponent stands and defends - Kai won't always be in that position," Nagelsmann explained at the time.
"I have a lot of ideas for him because he is an exceptionally good footballer. It's a very good option. He won't always play as the classic left-back that you might know."
The issue here is that the idea of Havertz in these roles fills very few with any confidence and only reveals just how desperate Arsenal might be. This would be the very worst-case scenario.
William Saliba
William Saliba is the only Arsenal senior defender not to have suffered an injury this season. He did miss the clash with Liverpool but that was due to a suspension not any sort of fitness concern.
It might seem mad to therefore move him around but with the presence of Jakub Kiwior and maybe Declan Rice, it could be these two cover the middle while Saliba moves to the right. He does have experience in the role.
He played right-back for both Saint-Etienne and Marseille and did pretty well in role. He does not lack pace or technical ability and could be the better option for the position but it would leave the middle quite vulnerable.