So it’s clear that Arsenal are in a bit of a sticky situation. We’re without Champions League football for another season, we have a tiny transfer budget and a lot of players with stupidly high and unjust wages. As for turning that around, it’s going to take some very smart business from Unai and Raul Sanllehi. We’ve seen what Liverpool have done by bringing in an £8m left back from Hull City, stealing Mane and Van Dijk from Southampton and giving academy players opportunities and it can be done on a smaller scale by Arsenal this summer. Although our season expectations may be different from Liverpool’s, a top 4 challenge and cup success would be seen as an improvement on our previous.
Here I look at how we can replicate their smart business and what positions Arsenal need to make a priority this window:
Centre Back
For anyone who has watched Arenal in recent seasons, it’s clear that our defence is one of our weakest areas. Mustafi never really lived up to his initial form, and most feel that he simply isn’t good enough to carry on at Arsenal. Laurent Koscielny is linked with a move away from London and probably wants to play in a less intense league considering his age and with him only having a year left on his contract it seems likely he will leave. Injuries for Bellerin and Holding didn’t help last season but is by no means a valid excuse, however they are likely to improve our defence drastically when they return. Sokratis has been a good addition despite his habit of making rash decisions – like that of the second yellow against Rennes. It all just seems a bit messy and has done for a while.
Hence, I would love to see at least one new centre back at Arsenal, which I actually feel will happen at some point. The gunners have been linked with numerous central defenders already, one being 18 year old William Saliba from Saint-Etienne who made an impressive debut season for his side who finished 4th in Ligue 1. Perhaps a player for the future but would be a fantastic addition this summer as most believe he is good enough to slot in for Arsenal right away.
Barcelona centre half Umtiti has also been linked with a move to the Emirates, however that seems increasingly unlikely considering the current financial situation Arsenal find themselves in. Mario Hermoso however, seems like the perfect alternative to Umtiti. Currently at Espanyol, the 23 year old left footed defender has quality on the ball and has earned his call up to the Spain National team. He is available for around £18m this summer if Real Madrid choose not to take up the £6m buy back clause in his contract.
Arsenal are supposedly in talks with Sampdoria over 23 year old Danish centre back Joachim Andersen, who would be an outstanding addition to Arsenal’s leaky defence. A ‘no-nonsense’ defender doesn’t come around very often these days, and if we were to replicate Liverpool’s signing of Van Dijk, Andersen could be the answer.
Left Back
Again – defence is a clear issue for Arsenal. Monreal’s future is uncertain despite his recent contract extension, as is Sead Kolasinac’s – who has been liked with a move to Spanish giants Barcelona and a return to Schalke. Even though Kolasinac’s contribution at wing back has been far from poor, most critics feel he just isn’t consistent enough with his final ball and arguably even less consistent with his defensive ability.
That being said, Arsenal have been linked with 22 year old Celtic star Kieran Tierney, who has been priced at £26m by his current club. The gunners will have to battle out with French side Lyon who are also keen to secure his services. Ultimately, he is a quick and smart full back who would fit Unai Emery’s approach very well.
Centre Midfield
With Aaron Ramsey now at Juventus, Arsenal lack a workhorse and a box-to-box style midfielder. Ultimately, a very hard position to fill, especially with Arsenal’s lack of transfer funds. I feel this should be a priority, to bring in a central midfielder to replicate the positive impact Ramsey had on our performances last year. Someone to take control of the game like Ramsey did against Spurs both home and away, in the first leg against Napoli and so on.
There are all sorts of rumours floating about as you’d expect, but someone claiming to be Granit Xhaka’s cousin and confirming his £55m move to Inter Milan seems to be a step too far. However, it’s not beyond the realms of possibility that Arsenal could see some departures from midfield in order to generate some funds.
As I previously mentioned about the potential transfer or Joachim Andersen in defence, midfielder Dennis Praet is said to be included in the deal with Arsenal paying £50m for the pair. Dennis is a technical midfielder who actually had a trail at Arsenal back in 2010, but his physicality wasn’t up to scratch. He could potentially become a Ramsey replacement and at the age of 25, we could secure a top quality player for the long term rebuild of this club.
I mean, if you look around, there are plenty of capable players that could stroll into the Arsenal team at the moment, but finding a player of a good enough quality, young enough to secure him for the future and also being cheap enough is the real challenge. That same issue is with any signing Arsenal make this summer, whether its a back up goalkeeper or new defenders. It’s going to be a long, tedious summer but we need to just ride with it, keep our expectations low and see where Unai takes this team.
As for this blog – I’m hoping to make it a regular place for Arsenal fans to come and get the latest Arsenal news, stats, gossip, quotes and media – all in good time. It would be good to hear some feedback so let me know what you think on Twitter.
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