As just about everybody knows, The Gunners will be looking for fresh defensive recruits during the January transfer window. They’re drastically short in this area and simply can’t afford to wait and hope that everything turns out okay. Arsene Wenger needs to act and he needs to act as soon as possible.
With Laurent Koscielny’s ankle injury making him a constant doubt, it’s clear that Arsenal could use a new centre-back or two. In truth, however, they could probably use new additions across their back four.
This brings me to The Metro‘s claim that Arsenal are prepared to go head-to-head with Chelsea in a battle to sign Ipswich’s well regarded young defender, Tyrone Mings. Given that he’s been labelled ‘the new John Terry’, it strikes me that Arsene Wenger beating Jose Mourinho to the punch could be a bit of a coup.
He currently operates as a left-back (where Arsenal have Kieran Gibbs and Nacho Monreal), but he’s thought of by some as a future centre-back. Given that he’s 6 foot 3 inches tall, positions himself well and wins a lot of tackles, it’s certainly possible that he’ll be moved into the centre at some stage.
There certainly seems to be some degree of truth about Arsenal’s interest. Check out these quotes courtesy of Arsene Wenger:
‘We are not on any special case. There are a few young players we follow yes. He [Mings] is one of the players we follow but we are not on anything there.’ (Source: The Metro)
They may not be ‘on anything’, but it’s good to know that Mings is on The Gunners’ watch-list. This is exactly the kind of player that Arsenal need at this moment in time. It’s thought that the 21-year-old could be available for as little as £8m. It’s certainly worth testing the waters. Let’s just hope that Chelsea aren’t up for a scrap.
What’s your take? Should Arsene Wenger be chasing this defensive prodigy?
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