The Gunners battered Real Madrid 5-1 over two legs and have deservedly qualified for the semi-finals of Europe’s most prestigious club competition.
Mikel Arteta has already beaten PSG this season in the league phase of the Champions League, but the French giants look a completely different team now.
Arsenal will have to be at their best to beat the Parisiens, but Arteta will have to do without one of his best players in the first leg of the tie.
Alan Shearer on who will replace Thomas Partey in Arsenal vs PSG
Thomas Partey needlessly got himself booked against Real Madrid at the Santiago Bernabeu.
The Ghana international knew that he was a yellow card away from getting suspended, but in an attempt to stand up for his teammates, he went into the book.
Losing Partey is a big concern for Arsenal, but Arteta will know that he can’t sit and sulk about it. He will need to find a solution, and luckily for him, there are a few options.
Myles Lewis-Skelly can play in midfield as Riccardo Calafiori is expected to return to the side from his injury and can play at left-back.
That is what most Arsenal fans would go for, but Alan Shearer believes Arteta will go down a different route to solve the Partey problem.
He said on the Rest is Football podcast: “That’s what he’ll probably play, Merino, in the first leg against Paris Saint-Germain because obviously Partey is suspended, isn’t he?
“I guess that’s where he will play him and Trossard will be up top.”
Which Arsenal player should replace Thomas Partey vs PSG?
Mikel Merino playing as an eight is not a bad option for Arsenal as Declan Rice can then return to a defensive midfield role that he has always been comfortable in.
But, we think that would weaken Arteta’s side.
That’s because Rice in a box-to-box role brings so much running power to Arsenal’s midfield. The way he drives forward with the ball makes him a problem for any team.
Merino is brilliant in many ways, but he is not known for his driving runs, and the fact that the Spaniard is not the quickest either means it would be a risk to play him in the middle of the park against the likes of Joao Neves and Vitinha.
The best option would be to keep Merino up top, where he has been brilliant. Lewis-Skelly as a six and Rice as an eight is the way to go, in our opinion.
0 Comments