Having just suffered a humiliating 5-1 defeat at the hands of Liverpool, I’d say it’s about time for a critical reassessment of Arsenal’s highly regarded centre-back partnership between Laurent Koscielny and Per Mertesacker.
Fans and pundits alike have been falling over themselves in their attempts to offer praise to Arsenal’s defenders.
Per Mertesacker has been singled out for his organisational ability, strength in the air and his authoritative air. Laurent Koscielny, on the other hand, has earned a reputation for being the most improved defender in the Premier League.
The two of them together are thought to compliment each other perfectly. Mertesacker positions himself well and Laurent Koscielny is left free to mop up anything that the big German has missed. For the great majority of this season, this has been extremely effective.
So why, then, have Arsenal conceded 5 goals at Anfield and 6 goals at the Etihad? It’s clear that Koscielny and Mertesacker are good defenders, but they don’t seem to be big game players and isn’t that the hallmark of a world class footballer?
Whatever your take, it’s clear that Arsenal need to weigh up their options in this department. They’re not exactly spoiled for choice when it comes to centre-backs and I’m sure that Arsene Wenger will use the summer transfer window to rectify this issue.
Interestingly enough, The Mirror recently linked the Gunners to Joel Veltman, Ajax’s promising young defender.
Joel’s only made 19 appearances for the Dutch side, but he’s shown enough to suggest that he has a massive future ahead of him. That’s why he’s attracting attention from clubs like Arsenal, Manchester City and Manchester United.
With all this competition for his signature, this wont be an easy deal to close. This is particularly true given Ajax’s current position. Marc Overmars, who’s director of the Eredivisie side, has spoken about his club’s desire to keep hold of Joel Veltman:
“I will fight to keep Veltman. We don’t want him to go. He is a massive talent and players have been leaving this club too early in their careers. Veltman is a sensation. We never expected him to make such an amazing breakthrough at top level. But that’s down to the work of Jaap Stam.
Joel gets defensive lessons from the biggest of all defenders. Jaap has been working on him really hard with individual coaching at Ajax.’’
Ajax clearly rate him, but they’ve been willing to let their best players go in the past. Money talks and if Arsene Wenger is willing to shell out, he could well find a solution for his current defensive problem.
What’s your take? Would Joel Veltman be a good addition to the Gunners’ squad?
Please follow @ThePerfectPass for more football related action!
ThisisFutbol.com are seeking new writers to join the team! If you’re passionate about football, drop us a line at “thisisfutbol.com@snack-media.com” to learn more.