There were a lot of poor performers against Arsenal, and DeAndre Yedlin was one of them.
Taking up his usual right wing-back position, the American seriously struggled at the Emirates. The way we played meant that we couldn’t use Yedlin’s strengths, but he didn’t help himself either.
Arsenal constantly attacked down the right side of our defence, particularly in the second half, getting in behind Yedlin time and time again. And when he was able to get on the ball, the 25-year-old was wasteful, just like most of his teammates.
It was a bad night for the Toon, and one that highlighted the limitations of this squad. If each player isn’t at 100%, then we’re not going to get anything, and this couldn’t be more true for Yedlin.
If Rafa Benitez signs a new deal and oversees the summer transfers, adding more competition to the right side of defence must be considered a priority.
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Yedlin has had next to no competition since he joined the club, which can lead to complacency.
While he shouldn’t be sold, we need to aim for a higher quality of player if we intend to move away from just being a team that battles relegation.
