Former Arsenal defender Tony Adams has revealed that Cedric Soares ‘scares the life out of him’ despite the fullback playing 151 games in the Premier League.
The Gunners beat Manchester United 3-1 on Saturday afternoon and have regained the advantage in the race for the coveted fourth spot in the table after North London rivals Tottenham drew 0-0 with Brentford later that day. Goals from Nuno Tavares, Bukayo Saka and Granit Xhaka ensured that Arsenal they crushed United’s hopes of playing Champions League football next season.
Mikel Arteta’s side were strong in all departments and looked comfortable throughout, even when out of possession when United were pushing for an equaliser at 2-1. However, Adams believes that the return of Takehiro Tomiyasu comes at a vital time for the Gunners as he does not trust Cedrid, who Arteta signed from Southampton in 2020.
Speaking to Premier League Productions, the former Gunners captain said: “‘It could be a north London shootout now. Spurs have got Liverpool away and Arsenal coming up, those are going to be the two pivotal games I think in the top-four race.
“It’s been a great comeback for Arsenal after those three defeats. We’ve had a few injuries too. Tomi (Tomiyasu) came back right at the end there which is great because I’m still scared about Cedric. He scares the life out of me so it’s good to see Tomi back in action.
“If we can get him back and get solid defensively, I think we’ve got fourth.” Tomiyasu has been out of action since late January, last featuring against Liverpool in the Carabao Cup, but came on as a 90th-minute substitute for Cedric and played a few minutes of football – with his main impact being drawing a foul from Cristiano Ronaldo late on which saw the forward received a yellow card.
But prior to his injury, the Japanese defender had impressed at the Emirates Stadium and his willingness to be a presence at both ends of the pitch had proved a real asset for Arteta. Also, with Ben White being a more forward-thinking centre back, having Tomiyasu available means that the former Brighton defender will be able to return to making those driving runs forward.
Cedric Soares has filled in well for Tomiyasu at times, though he has failed to meet the mark on other occasions and forced Arteta to have a tactical rejig at times. White has been deployed as a right-back at times instead, and when Cedric has started he is often one of the stars to make way for a substitute in the second half.
Arteta was full of praise for his side at full time at the Emirates Stadium, especially considering how important the game was for their season overall. The Spaniard said: “A big performance in a game I think had everything. Moments where we showed real quality, a game where we had to suffer, a game where there were moments where we were a bit lost and lacking energy, a game where we were really efficient in the boxes, a game where we had luck when we needed it. Overall I am extremely happy."
