As Arsenal fans will attest, their defense is in a pretty bad state at the moment. Injuries have rocked this squad (as they do every season), but even when everyone’s fit, Arsene Wenger just doesn’t have enough options to choose from. The Gunners need Laurent Koscielny back as soon as possible, but they also need to sign another centre-back and add a decent defensive midfielder to their squad.
Should Arsene Wenger fail to add these players to his squad during the January transfer window, then it will be like he’s admitted defeat for this season. From what we’ve seen of Arsenal this year, they’re still not capable of taking on the big teams and that’s largely down to their soft centre.
This brings me to The Metro‘s claim that Borussia Dortmund’s star centre-back could be available this January. Unfortunately, it’s thought that Mats Hummels would cost Arsenal £47m. That’s a colossal fee for a defender.
It’s almost five million more than Arsene Wenger spent on Mesut Ozil two summers ago and at that time the German ace was considered one of the best midfielders in the world (that reputation has quickly deserted him during his time in London).
Still, it’s easy to see why The Professor might be interested in signing Mats Hummels. The giant German is probably the best defender in the Bundesliga, thanks to his all round ability. He’s tall, wins everything in the air, takes up smart positions and wins a lot of tackles. Because he’s got a genuine footballing brain he rarely ever gets caught out.
The only quality he really lacks is pace, luckily he’s smart enough to adapt his game around this and ensure that his team never gets exposed.
I’m not sure that he’s genuinely worth £47m, but given the state of the market and the state of Arsenal’s defense, it’s a deal that’s worth considering. Let’s just hope that Arsene Wenger has enough money in his transfer war-chest to pull this deal off.
What’s your take? Can Arsenal afford to sign Mats Hummels? Are there better options out there at cheaper prices?
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