Arsenal Invincible Jeremie Aliadiere believes Ethan Nwaneri HAS to start at striker against PSV | OneFootball

Arsenal Invincible Jeremie Aliadiere has said Ethan Nwaneri must to start at striker against PSV in the first-leg of the Champions League last 16 game.

In an interview with bettingtools.com, Aliadiere spoke about Arsenal’s Champions League chances and playing the youngster up front: “I would like to see Ethan as a number nine. What I’ve seen from him on the counter-attack, he’s so quick that he could play this position.

“It’s a cup game, so it’s home and away. And there’s no points now, there’s no table, so you just take every game in the Champions League like it starts square and 50-50. I think the fact that you can play home and away means you can calculate a little bit more.

“I think a cup game is more suited for Arsenal, but saying that, you’ve still got to perform on the day. You’ve got to be competitive and deliver. I think realistically now the Premier League is pretty difficult for us to get back. So all focus on the Champions League.

“Mikel will put the strongest team out there with the choices he’s got and try to make sure that we come back home from PSV with a good result, at least not a mountain to climb. Because after, playing at the Emirates for the second game with our fans, it will obviously be easier for us.”

The return-leg is next week and Arteta will know the next eight days could well be defining for the Gunners’ season.

Aliadiere also emphasised the importance of not overlooking the challenge ahead: “We’ve got to get through PSV. That’s the biggest thing. I’ve heard too many people already (saying we will) get through PSV no problem and looking at Real Madrid. And I think that’s a big mistake. You’ve got to take PSV very serious because if you don’t, we’ll probably end up going out. It’s just a very, very big game.

“Focus on that (game) before focusing on the next opponent. But I think you’ve got to believe it. The players do believe it. Hopefully Saka and Martinelli will be back in time if we can get through that PSV team, and get back in time for later on in the competition.”

If Arsenal are to get past the Dutch side, and face either Atletico Madrid or Real Madrid, they will certainly need a few of their injured stars back.