Over the last seven days or so, The Gunners have proven to be a much improved defensive unit. In past weeks, Arsenal’s attacking players have been all too willing to bomb forward without any kind of regard for their team-mates left exposed at the back. I’ve lost track of the number of times that an Arsenal attack will break down leading to a dangerous counter-attack from the opposition.
Things have got better as The Gunners have started to defend as a team, but it’s clear that there’s still work to be done with Arsenal’s back-four. they need to be better coached and I’d argue they need a couple of new recruits.
It’s not just the injury crisis that Arsenal are struggling through that necessitates this. Arsene Wenger would be short of options even if everybody was fit and well. He just didn’t give this part of the pitch its due attention during the summer transfer window.
Hopefully he’ll rectify this situation this January. This brings me to The Metro‘s claim that Arsenal are ready to ‘beat Manchester United’ to the signing of Aston Villa’s star centre-back, Ron Vlaar.
‘Concrete Ron’ is widely regarded as one of the best defenders in the Premier League. I’m not surprised that Louis Van Gaal’s also interested, the Dutchman will have seen him in action whilst he was in charge of Holland’s international team.
Ron Vlaar is quick along the turf, strong in the tackle and imposing in the air. Most of all, he’s reliable. He’s driven and he’s hard-working and he makes smart decisions. I don’t expect that he’d start slipping up (or that errors would be introduced to his game) if he were to move to a top club.
With the aforementioned source suggesting that the 29-year-old would cost as little as £8m, I can’t help but feel that Arsene Wenger would be foolish to miss out on this opportunity. He’s a good player who plays in a position that Arsenal need to fill. It should be a no brainer.
What’s your take? Is Aston Villa’s Ron Vlaar the right choice for The Gunners?
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