Arsenal fans have gone into the international break in a fit of rage. They’ve just watched their club surrender two leads against opposition that they should have seen off with relative ease. Swansea City are a good side, but Arsenal shouldn’t be surrendering a lead that they earned mid-way through the second half. Even worse was the manner by which The Gunners threw away a 3-0 win against Anderlecht.
When you’re making a Belgian league side look like world-beaters, you know that something’s amiss.
That something is Arsenal’s defense. The Gunners are missing options both because Arsene Wenger failed to bring in the right recruits during the summer transfer window (having allowed both Bacary Sagna and Thomas Vermaelen to leave) and because injuries have had their wicked way with this team.
The circumstances are pretty bad. I’m sure that The Professor can’t wait for the January transfer window to open so that he’s able to try and make amends.
This brings me to The Metro‘s claim that Arsenal are ready and willing to pay £31.3m for Borussia Dortmund’s superstar centre-back, Mats Hummels. This signing is beginning to look more and more essential by the day.
There’s no doubt that this is a huge amount of money – almost as much as The Gunners spent on Alexis Sanchez in the summer. Still, I can’t help but feel that the German would be able to have as much of an impact at The Emirates as the Chilean already has during his short stay.
The 25-year-old is a huge physical presence who’s strong in the air, tough in the tackle and rather handy on the ball. He’s not the fastest footballer in the world but his positional nous allows him to make up for this particular shortcoming.
If Arsenal manage to pull this deal off they’ll be in a much stronger position moving forward. Let’s just hope that Arsene Wenger and co. are willing to put their money where their mouth is this January.
What’s your take? Is Mats Hummels the perfect solution for Arsenal?
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.