Bringing in a player like Alexis Sanchez is all well and good, but if you’re going to place him into an unbalanced side, it’s not going to count for very much. The Chilean ace has been producing the goods on a regular basis this season, but his team-mates have thus far been completely incapable of matching him.
It’s like he’s playing at a completely different level to everybody else.
To even things out Arsene Wenger will need to pluck up some more defensive options. His current crop of defenders have been carved apart by injury. More than that, however, The Professor left his squad woefully short of quality when he let Thomas Vermaelen and Bacary Sagna leave last summer.
Relying on youngsters like Calum Chambers is dangerous. Expecting left-backs like Nacho Monreal to do a job as a centre-back is foolish.
This brings me to The Metro‘s claim that Arsene Wenger has set his sights on signing Athletic Bilbao’s highly-regarded young centre-back, Aymeric Laporte. Given his youth, his French background and his evident talent, this looks like a good fit for The Gunners.
Arsenal were originally thought to have been interested in Borussia Dortmund star, Mats Hummels. Unfortunately their interest cooled off when they found out about the German ace’s £31.3m price-tag.
I’d quickly like to note that Arsene Wenger spent about the same amount of money on Alexis Sanchez during the summer and he plays in a position where Arsenal are relatively strong.
Still, Laporte looks like an excellent option. Yes, he’s young and inexperienced, but he’s already had an opportunity to prove himself against players like Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi. Thus far, he’s done a fine job. He’s tall, physically tough and he’s smart. He positions himself well so as to deal with any danger before it really manifests himself. He wins a lot of balls in the air. He rarely loses a tackle.
In other words, he’d fit in nicely in the Premier League. If he’s cheaper than Mats Hummels, then why shouldn’t The Gunners go for it?
What’s your take? Is Aymeric Laporte the right man for the job at The Emirates?
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