Steve Cooper could lose the dressing room if he doesn’t revert one glaring issue against Arsenal.
Leicester City are set to face a difficult task as they are set to come up against last season’s 2nd placed Premier League side Arsenal.
Arsenal have got off to a brilliant start in the 2024/25 Premier League campaign, and it will likely be too much to ask of Steve Cooper to rally the troops and come away from the Emirates Stadium with any points.
Whilst Leicester City will likely struggle against the Champions League outfit, it is still a crucial game for Cooper, who is seemingly under pressure to improve his side’s performances after not being able to notch a Premier League win so far this season.
There are some key decisions that Cooper will need to make in order to ensure that his side are fully prepared for the difficult task, but also to maximise the likelihood that he can maintain any support within the dressing room, and one decision stands out that could make or break his chances of staying at the club for the foreseeable future.
Steve Cooper must utilise one forgotten player against Arsenal
There have been several questions raised over Cooper’s tactics up until this point, as well as queries over his current team selection.
One player that appears to surprisingly be low down in the pecking order is Ricardo Pereira, who has been a main-stay at the club for several years, and played a pivotal role in the promotion of the 2023/24 campaign under Enzo Maresca, tallying 39 appearances in total in the league.
This season under Cooper has seen him handed two starts, however they were both in the EFL Cup, and he is yet to tally a single minute of action in Leicester City’s current winless Premier League campaign.
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Ricardo Pereira situation could contribute to Steve Cooper losing the dressing room
There is no doubt that Pereira will hold a significant amount of influence in the current Leicester City dressing room, something that can almost be assumed as a result of him entering his seventh year at the club.
Cooper has without a doubt made quite a bold call in not playing the Portuguese international full-back, and up to this point it is yet to pay off with James Justin struggling at time during the season so far.
At this point, the Arsenal game should pose as an opportunity to get Pereira back up to speed with the Premier League and have him fully ready for action in the coming games, as he simply isn’t a player worthy of being fully dropped from action.
Cooper’s start to the season has been unsatisfactory up to this point, and he has every right to look towards the current personnel and switch it up, with Pereira undoubtedly being an obvious contender to be brought back into the side.