107 touches, 65 passes, 6 duels won: £44m Arsenal star delivers 8/10 performance on Int'l duty, could start vs Spurs

Ecuador continued their World Cup preparation last night with a 2-0 win over New Zealand in an international friendly.

Arsenal defender Piero Hincapie started as a left-back and had an impressive outing with 107 touches and 65 successful passes.

The 23-year-old also won six ground and aerial duels with three recoveries and three blocked shots.

Hincapie ended up with an 8/10 rating from Sofascore, and could be in line for his maiden Premier League start on Sunday.

The Ecuadorian is primarily a centre-back by trade, but he has played back-to-back games as a left-back for his country this month.

It will be interesting to see where he could feature against Tottenham Hotspur this weekend.

With Gabriel Magalhaes out with a thigh injury, Hincapie could slot in as the left centre-back, thus partnering William Saliba.

Hincapie has qualities similar to Gabriel’s, with his strong aerial and physical presence, and has shone with his ball-playing ability too.

Manager Mikel Arteta could be tempted to pick Hincapie over Cristhian Mosquera as he is left-footed and more experienced in the role.

The other wildcard solution could be to start Riccardo Calafiori alongside Saliba, with Hincapie slotting in at left-back for his full league debut.

Myles Lewis-Skelly was considered the regular deputy to Calafiori at left-back, but that is no longer the case after Hincapie’s start at Slavia Prague.

The Ecuadorian made his first Champions League start earlier this month. He was impressive with 100 percent duels (8/8) and tackles won (2/2).

In our view, the £44 million-rated star could start at either centre-back or left-back in the upcoming north London derby at the Emirates Stadium.

Stats from Transfermarkt.com & Sofascore.com

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