Arblaster's pre-injury potential was mid-table Premier League as a minimum. We rushed him back as circumstances dictated that we were short of midfielders but as we've gone slightly mad and now have 6 central midfield senior pros on the books we should take the opportunity to give him a break away from the first team to get his sharpness back. It feels like we're trying to let him play himself into form but it's clearly not happening.
At the moment, the short passes which came so naturally to him aren't coming off, the decision making is slightly delayed and his 180deg turns - which were a true strenght - are laboured. All that is resulting in a player who is used to naturally maintaining possession and moving the team up the pitch not being able to do so.
In my mind, the midfield hierarchy is:
1: Riedewald
2= Peck, Phillips
4 Soumaré
5 Rothwell
6= Davies, Arblaster
The first four on that list all bring something slightly different. Davies would be higher if he could be relied on; Arblaster will be higher once he's back up to speed. That will happen but probably not for another 6-8 weeks.
Final thought: as it stands, I would expect our starting midfield next season to be Riedewald and Arblaster. If they're both on their game, that will be among the better midfield duos in the 2026/27 Championship.
