Mikel Arteta’s got a real problem on his hands now that William Saliba has returned from injury. He’s got too many bloody good centre-backs, the poor lad. But the solution is simple folks – axe the one with the “attitude” problem.

The Gunners extended their lead at the top of the Premier League to five points with a 1-0 victory over Hull City ahead of the international break, as captain Martin Odegaard’s goal was enough to secure their ninth victory in ten games so far this season.

It was their seventh clean sheet of the campaign and three of the five goals they’ve conceded came in one game against second-placed Brighton.

The defence on which the title was was won last season has remained just as solid this term despite the injury to Saliba thanks to the seamless integration of £55m summer signing Ezri Konsa into the back four.

The former Aston Villa star has earned rave reviews reviews for his displays, not least from Man Utd hero Ferdinand, who now sees Konsa as an “immovable object” set to give Arteta quite the headache when Saliba returns to fitness.

“Mikel Arteta has got a problem, he’s got a huge problem now,” Ferdinand said on his YouTube channel.

“What is he going to do when William Saliba is fit? Ezri Konsa has come into that back-four and he looks like he’s been there for ten years.

“He looks like an immovable object in that team. That’s what it feels like because he’s just slid in there and taken that place. He looks dominant, aggressive and accustomed to wearing the Arsenal shirt.

“He looks like he belongs there. But let’s not forget about Saliba and what he was doing when he was in the team. It’s a problem but it’s a problem that I hope Mikel Arteta will enjoy because he’s got two top centre-backs vying to be in the team.

“It’s a good position to be in. I think we will see Konsa sometimes playing right-back.”

Jurrien Timber and Ben White are quite the barrier to Konsa switching roles though. Fortunately former Tottenham, Aston Villa and Everton scout Bryan King believes the “attitude” of Gabriel Magalhaes grants Arteta an easy way out of the conundrum.

“You’re going to have to work. No place in football as it was in my day. You’re not guaranteed,” King told Football Insider.

“There’s always somebody that could take your place. Now at Arsenal, you’ve got international players challenging for one position. Or different positions on the pitch.

“You’ve got Gabriel, who again is a very fine defensive player. There are question marks about him, about his attitude at times.

“Which again, has been something that for me has been brought into the game. Play-acting about injuries.”

A couple of points, Bryan. Firstly, Gabriel has arguably been Arsenal’s most-important player for the last two seasons or more, along with Declan Rice. Secondly, we refuse to believe that Arteta doesn’t actively encourage the “play-acting” which is the basis of this axe-worthy “attitude” problem.

Might there just be an ulterior motive for someone with strong links to Tottenham pushing for Gabriel’s exile from the Arsenal XI? Can’t fault the guy for trying.