Things couldn’t be going much better for Arsenal this season. The Gunners Premier League form has been spectacular. Since the club’s opening day defeat to Aston Villa, Arsene Wenger has managed to turn things around and then some. At the time of writing, the Gunners are five points clear at the top of the table.
One of the key reasons for this is the partnership between Laurent Koscielny and Per Mertesacker. In recent years Arsenal haven’t had any defensive solidarity. But this little and large duo seem to be providing an excellent base for the club to build upon. Koscielny is quick along the ground, strong in the tackle and a good distributor of the ball. Mertesacker, on the other hand, is organised, vocal and dominant in the air. The two of them compliment each other very nicely.
But beyond this pairing, Arsenal don’t have too many centre-backs to pick from. Sure, there’s Thomas Vermaelen, but he’s a risky stand-in. The Belgium bruiser hasn’t been in anything resembling ‘form’ for the last 12-16 months. Besides, once you get past Vermaelen, who else is there?
With this in mind, I’d love to see Arsenal move in for a centre-back this January. It could well be the difference between them being title contenders and title winners.
In their quest for a centre-back, it’d certainly be worth them looking at FC Porto’s current batch. Both Eliaquim Mangala and Nicolas Otamendi are world-class defenders, who would provide some real competition for Arsenal’s current first teamers.
Mangala in particular ticks a few boxes. He’s young, he’s French, he’s technically gifted and he distributes well from the back. He just so happens to be a tough tackler, strong in the air and a great reader of the game. At just 22-years-old, he’s already beginning to look like the full package.
The Papers are rife with rumours linking Mangala to a variety of different clubs. But it seems none of these clubs have made their interest known. Check out these quotes from Porto chief Jorge Nuno Pinto a Costa:
“Every day there are stories that one club or another wants Mangala but Porto have not received a single offer for him.” (Source: The Star)
If Arsenal strike quickly, they could well get their man here. We know they have the cash to make a deal happen, so let’s see if Arsene Wenger can pull off another top deal.
What’s your take? Should the Gunners move in for FC Porto’s Eliaquim Mangala?
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