Arsenal‘s defensive woes shows no signs of subsiding with the club confirming Hector Bellerin is out for up to nine months after rupturing his cruciate ligament during their win over Chelsea last weekend.
He joins the likes of Rob Holding (ruptured anterior cruciate ligament) and Nacho Monreal (hamstring) on the treatment table and Unai Emery’s resources at the back are becoming somewhat stretched.
So who could fill in for Bellerin? Below you can see the options available to Emery following the nasty injury to his first choice right-back.
Ainsley Maitland-Niles
Maitland-Niles is a midfielder but the 21-year-old has been finding his feet as a full-back in the senior set-up.
He’s made 14 appearances in all competitions this season and managed to score a goal during Arsenal’s 5-1 defeat at Liverpool last month.
Maitland-Niles is a bit more athletic than his main rivals for the spot which could clinch it for him.
Stephan Lichtsteiner
But if Emery wants to go with experience then Lichtsteiner is your man.
He was signed last summer on a one-year deal after spending seven years at Italian giants Juventus.
Lichtsteiner is also a more natural right-back than Maitland-Niles and despite being 35-years-old, the Swiss captains his country and has 103 international caps.
Carl Jenkinson
Remember him? Jenkinson may not be highly regarded by the Arsenal boss but he is an option he can turn to.
The Londoner has been on loan three times since becoming a Gunner in 2011 – twice with West Ham and once with Birmingham.
Jenkinson has made five appearances for Arsenal this season but none of them have been in the Premier League so putting him in would be viewed as a last resort.
Change in formation
If Maitland-Niles, Lichtsteiner or even Jenkinson are not up to the job then Emery could always consider a formation switch.
A potential 3-5-2 with wing-backs could be a system Arsenal could adopt temporarily particularly, with Nacho Monreal’s ability to play centre-back, leaving Kolasinac at left-wing back and either Maitland-Niles or Lichtsteiner on the right.
Matteo Darmian
To make this clear, unsettled Manchester United full-back Matteo Darmian has not been linked with Arsenal.
However, despite reports suggesting the Italian is in “advanced talks” to sign for Juventus on loan, there’s no reason to suggest why the Gunners couldn’t hijack this move.
After all, Arsenal and United did business last January with the Henrikh Mkhitaryan/Alexis Sanchez swap deal and the north London club look like they could do with an experienced player at right-back.
Academy players: Harry Clarke or Jordi Osei-Tutu
But the shortages at right-back could spell an opportunity for some of Arsenal’s academy players including Harry Clarke and Jordi Osei-Tutu.
Clarke, 17, signed his pro contract with the Gunners in July 2017 and has represented England at Under-17 level.
Meanwhile, Osei-Tutu, 20, has a bit more experience with the first-team as he was part of the squad that travelled to Ukraine for their Europa League clash against Vorskla Poltava in Kiev.