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da bet7k： Unai Emery’s decision to play Granit Xhaka at centre-back for the visit of Tottenham on Wednesday certainly backfired, and it is a mistake that the Spaniard must not make again while in charge of the North London club.
On the chalkboard
All in all it has been a poor week for Arsenal after they were beaten by relegation threatened Southampton before losing 2-0 to their bitter local rivals in the quarter-final of the Carabao Cup.
In both of those games Emery has started Xhaka at centre-back, and the two results prove that the Tottenham game should be the last time he experiments with this.
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Xhaka was caught in no man’s land for the first goal on Wednesday evening as Heung-min Son broke the non-existent offside trap and got in behind to fire the visitors ahead.
The 26-year-old, who looked comfortable in Emery’s midfield at the start of the season, then failed to get close enough to Harry Kane in the second half, allowing the England captain to turn and play the ball over the top for Dele Alli to dink over Petr Cech.
Better options
Xhaka’s struggles were even more inexplicable as the experienced Laurent Koscielny was on the bench at the Emirates against Spurs.
The Frenchman has only just returned from a long-term injury, but he would surely have been a better option at the back than Xhaka.
The Swiss international has proven that he can be an asset in midfield for Emery, but the Gunners should look to invest in a natural centre-back in the January transfer window to avoid having to play him out of position in the future.