Mikel Arteta hints January Arsenal signing could make debut against Man City
Mikel Arteta says Cedric Soares could make his first appearance for Arsenal when they host Man City
Mikel Arteta has revealed that Cedric Soares could make his debut for Arsenal in their Premier League clash with Manchester City at The Emirates on Wednesday night.
The defender has been getting used to life at the north London club after having signed for the Gunners from Southampton on a six-month loan deal in the January transfer window.
Soares has been sidelined with knee and hamstring problems in recent games and he is yet to play for the first-team since his move to The Emirates.
The 28-year-old returned to training last week and Gunners boss Arteta has now revealed that the defender is in contention to feature against the Citizens this week.
Speaking in an interview quoted by the Evening Standard, Arteta said: “I think they [Soares and Shkodran Mustafi] will be available to play.
“Hopefully everybody will be available to train tomorrow [Tuesday] and we’ll pick the squad with the best players we can.”
Arteta also refused to rule out the possibility of midfielder Lucas Torreira playing again for Arsenal this season.
The Uruguay midfielder fractured his ankle during the 2-0 win over Portsmouth in the FA Cup last week.
Arteta continued: “Well, I wouldn’t like to rule him out. Lucas is really keen and wanting to play again this season,”
“Whether that is realistic or not, we’ll know again in the next two or three weeks.
“It depends on how the bone is healing, how he’s doing in his rehab and at the moment we don’t know anything for sure.”
A win for Arsenal against Manchester City on Wednesday night would leave them five points behind fourth-placed Chelsea FC in the race for a top-four finish this season.
The Gunners have won their last three games in the Premier League under Arteta.
