One Arsenal player is about to get left behind and it's not fair
Arsenal's squad is in an incredibly strong place at the moment, and it's only about to get better.
The Gunners' strength in depth has been on show in several of their recent matches, with the players introduced from the bench regularly changing games and influencing outcomes. Against Leeds, Bruno Guimaraes was brought on at the hour mark before scoring the winning goal. Against Lille, Martin Odegaard, Bukayo Saka and Kai Havertz came off the bench to turn a stale game into a fluid and exciting one.
Few teams boast this level of depth. Liverpool's response to falling behind against Manchester City at Anfield was to bring in Jeremie Frimpong, Joe Gomez and Federico Chiesa. Manchester United journalists are writing pieces about Arsenal's second-choice back four being better than the Red Devils' first, while Lisandro Martinez is publicly slandering his technical director for their poor squad-building.
Meanwhile, William Saliba is on the precipice of returning from a lengthy injury, and Martin Zubimendi, Piero Hincapie and Christos Tzolis are still to come back to bulk up Mikel Arteta's already-stacked squad. This will, however, force the Spaniard into making some uncomfortable decisions regarding matchday squads, and one star in particular looks set to be left behind.
Cristhian Mosquera could easily get left behind at Arsenal
Cristhian Mosquera could unfortunately be the main casualty of Arsenal's squad finally reaching full fitness.
The young defender had been enjoying an impressive start to the new season before he sustained a hamstring injury away at Aston Villa in late August. He subsequently missed almost six weeks of football, and now finds himself comfortably behind Ezri Konsa in the pecking order.
When Saliba returns in the next month or so, Mosquera is likely to find minutes hard to come by. The Spaniard was already left out of a matchday squad when fit, missing out on the 20-man ensemble for the visit of Leeds United last Saturday. When he has Konsa, Saliba and Gabriel Maglhaes to compete with, how is he going to get near a squad?
Mosquera is staring down the barrel of a very peripheral squad role. Minutes may only come in domestic cup competitions, with even an injury or two not guaranteeing him more meaningful time on the pitch.
For a player in his foundational years as a centre-back, spending so much time on the sidelines won't be beneficial for his development. It wouldn't be susprising if speculation of a loan move surfaced come January.
To rub salt in the wounds, this likely decline in prominence at the Emirates is very much not his fault. He was excellent for most of last season, with a slightly dubious run towards the end of the campaign, and a penalty give-away in the Champions League final, tainting the perception of his debut campaign in North London.
It's really not fair that he may be left behind, but it is the reality of a cutthroat business.
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