Last season Southampton played in the Championship having a huge aim of achieving promotion back to the Premier League. While several first team starters departed the club following the relegation, several regular starters stayed at the club to guide Southampton to achieving their promotion dream. One of them is 27-year-old fullback Kyle Walker-Peters, who rejected several tempting Premier League offers in favour of staying at Southampton and played a crucial role in the previous season as the Saints marched into the Premier League by winning the Championship playoffs.
The versatile fullback's future at the club was again subjected to transfer rumours and interest from Tottenham Hotspurs, West Ham and Newcastle United but Russell Martin's side convinced the England international to remain at the club. While Walker-Peters was expected to play on his preferred right-back spot, the arrival of Yukinari Sugawara meant that the former Tottenham academy talent had to start on the left side of the defence. However, manager Russell Martin took a surprising decision in the recent few weeks to play Charlie Taylor at left back instead of Walker-Peters which sparked rumours about the latter's deciding to depart the club on a free transfer next season.
Russell Martin should start all-round Southampton star in every Premier League match
However that isn't the case and Martin started Walker-Peters against Arsenal in a different role as a third centre-back in the defence. While the 27-year-old star is versatile, this was his first appearance as a central defender and what a stunning display it was on his return to the starting lineup. In the first half, Walker-Peters helped Ryan Manning to deal with Bukayo Saka on the right-wing and simultaneously switched centrally to make a number of important interceptions to avoid Arsenal from making more attempts on goal.
Alongside Jan Bednarek and Taylor Harwood-Bellis, Walker-Peters defended tirelessly and displayed an incredible work ethic while making huge blocks and then winning the ball possession. This sensational performance from the versatile defender highlighted his significance in the Southampton squad and manager Russell Martin should keep the all-round defender in the starting lineup regardless of the position. Further Kyle Walker-Peters has a lot of Premier League experience which makes him an invaluable asset for this Southampton team, who are aiming to avoid relegation this season.