This could give the north London outfit a historic domestic-European double when they face Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League final on May 30th. Arsenal will be aiming to become the club’s first ever European champions in Budapest, but the caliber of their opponents and recent injury problems suggest that will not be easy.
Now, ahead of Monday’s league game against Burnley at the Emirates Stadium, we take a look at the two biggest storylines surrounding the Gunners.
Declan Rice faces sacrifice
Paul Scholes believes Rice should play as a right-back for the remainder of the season. Rice was used as a right-back in the first half of the game against West Ham following an injury to Ben White.
He eventually returned to his preferred central midfield role in the second half, as the Gunners began to lose their grip in midfield while playing elsewhere on the pitch.
But White’s MCL injury, which will keep him out until the end of the season, combined with persistent fitness concerns surrounding Julian Timber, leaves Arteta short on options at a crucial point in the season.
Manchester United legend Scholes believes Rice should put his team first by playing out of position for Arsenal’s remaining games, despite Cristian Mosquera being a more natural defender who can fill that role. Scholes also appears to question Rice’s creative contributions while expressing his views.
He said on The Good, The Bad and The Football podcast: “For me Declan Rice looks suited to play at right-back. He can play there. He’s not a big creator anyway.”
Podcast co-host and United legend Nicky Butt compared Rice’s adaptability to that of Roy Keane in his prime, saying: “Roy Keane played two-thirds of the season at right-back,” to which Scholes replied: “He played a lot there and was fantastic.”
Arsenal’s first transfer announced
Arsenal have announced the permanent transfer of Jakub Kivioglu to Porto. Kivior joined the Portuguese club on a season-long loan deal last year and was expected to make the move permanent this summer.
Porto announced last week that they had activated their option to sign the Polish defender on a four-year deal for a fee of £14m (which could rise to £19m). Arsenal then confirmed his departure in a relatively low-key manner through their weekly Loan Watch update.
Their post read: “Following last weekend’s Liga title win for Dragaos, Jakub Kivioglu’s move to Porto is now complete.” “The Polish defender did not feature in this weekend’s 3-1 loss against AFS, where the team was rotated.”
