Arsenal were humiliated during their first game of the new Premier League season by Manchester City who thumped a brace past Unai Emery’s side.
Man City picked up where they left off last season and the same could also be said about Arsenal.
The Gunners visibly had no improvement from the previous seasons and were repeatedly carved open by Pep Guardiola’s side.
Unai Emery who was appointed the new manager during the summer has already faced a fair bit of criticism for his failure to bring in new signings during the transfer window but it seems that the Spaniard’s owes have just started.
The Emirates outfit will have no time to sulk over the defeat as they travel to Stamford Bridge to take on Chelsea next weekend. And by the looks of it, Unai Emery might have a serious selection crisis before the match.
Arsenal could very well enter the Chelsea game without a recognized left-back as both Maitland-Niles and Nacho Monreal struggle to make themselves fit.
Sead Kolasinac has been ruled out for two odd months and his immediate successor Nacho Monreal too has been suffering from an injury.
So with both of his recognized left-backs out, Unai Emery had to play Maitland-Niles in the left-back position against Man City despite him being a natural midfielder.
But Niles too picked up a knock during the game forcing him to be withdrawn and now multiple reports are claiming that he will also miss the Chelsea clash.
Nacho Monreal has returned to training but the latest reports are suggesting that his participation against the Blues remains a huge doubt.
Talking about Monreal, Unai Emery said: “Nacho started working with the group yesterday, maybe he can arrive for the next match.
“Every day is important to know how they are.”
If Nacho Monreal and Maitland-Niles cannot make themselves fit before the weekend then Unai Emery will have no other option but to play Stephan Lichtsteiner in the left-back position despite him being a right-back.
Emery did the same swap during the Manchester City game once Maitland-Niles was injured but that chance did not go too well for the 34-year-old as he was toyed with by Riyad Mahrez and Kyle Walker.
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