Gary Neville has said that Arsenal should play Bukayo Saka on the left-wing in order to make room for Noni Madueke to play on the right.
Arsenal are coming back from the international break with a game against Nottingham Forest on Saturday, which will be former Tottenham manager Ange Postecoglou’s first game in charge of the Midlands-based club, following Nuno Espirito Santo’s sacking.
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The Gunners will be without star winger Bukayo Saka for the game, as he continues to recover from a hamstring injury that he suffered against Leeds United last month. He is expected to return against Manchester City next week for what will be a huge game at the Emirates.
Noni Madueke could be Saka’s replacement against Forest on Saturday, as he comes back from an international break where he was arguably England’s best player on the right-wing, sparking a controversial claim from pundit Gary Neville.
Neville says Arsenal should play Madueke on the right instead of Saka
Amid Madueke’s impressive performances since joining Arsenal, and for the National Team, the former Chelsea winger, has silenced a lot of doubters who said that the £52m transfer fee was an overspend for the 23-year-old.
Former England defender Gary Neville, said on the Stick to Football Podcast that Arsenal should consider playing Saka on the left wing to allow Madueke to take the spot on the right-hand-side.
Neville said: “He’s obviously a lot better on the right, and that was clear when obviously Saka went off the other week.
Could Saka play on the left? If you think about it, obviously, Martinelli’s just struggling a little bit on that left-hand side. Could Saka go back on the left?”
Furthermore, Arteta also has the issue of Eberechi Eze and where to play him, as the new signing from Crystal Palace will likely put in plenty of top quality performances to make his case for starting for the Gunners. It could become a nice problem to have for Arteta with several top performing wingers.
Click here to see Arsenal’s latest injury news ahead of their game against Forest this weekend.