Arsenal legend Martin Keown has highlighted where his old club may have an issue today.
The Gunners are back in Premier League action this afternoon when they face strugglers Newcastle United in the 2pm kick-off, fresh off the back of a 2-1 defeat to Villarreal in the Europa League on Thursday.
With European qualification no longer realistic in the league, the clash with the Magpies could serve as a crucial piece of preparation ahead of the semi-final second leg with the Yellow Submarine on Thursday.
And Keown believes there is one key lesson Mikel Arteta's men can learn from that first leg defeat with a 'key issue' lying in the left-back position.
"A key issue, which may well be highlighted against Newcastle, is at left back," Keown told the Daily Mail.
"Granit Xhaka does not deserve to be getting the blame. I feel for him. He’s a midfielder being told to play at left back by his manager in Kieran Tierney’s absence.
Keown wants Bukayo Saka at left-back rather than Xhaka. He played well there against Sheffield United, and Arsenal kept their first clean sheet for 13 games.
"But he has since been left exposed by higher-quality opponents, such as Richarlison for Everton and Samuel Chukwueze for Villarreal.
"He could now face Newcastle’s in-form Allan Saint-Maximin.
"Let’s not even go into how a club like Arsenal, whose owners wanted them in the closed-shop European Super League, finds itself without a back-up left back.
"Villarreal boss Unai Emery identified Xhaka at left back and Dani Ceballos on the left of a midfield two as the vulnerable area in Arteta’s side on Thursday.
"Emery showed his experience against a team he knew well, while Arteta showed his inexperience. If Tierney is fit, he walks into the team for that all-or-nothing second leg. If not, Saka must play at left back, a position where has excelled previously for club and country.
"If Arteta sticks with 4-2-3-1, Xhaka can then go back alongside Thomas Partey in midfield, where he has been much improved this season."
