Charles Watts doesn’t believe that Arsenal are going to be in a position to be able to sign Ryan Bertrand this window.
The Evening Standard has claimed that Arsenal are monitoring the situation of Bertrand down at Southampton with his contract down to the final six months, with Mikel Arteta potentially looking for more depth in that area following the departure of Sead Kolasinac this window.
However, speaking on the latest edition of his show, Watts believes that whether it be Bertrand or any other left-back that Arsenal might be looking at, he doesn’t think that they’ll be able to grab a new one until the summer window rolls around.
He said: “Whether that’s something they would really be able to do this month, I think is, probably unlikely, just because he’s a starter at Southampton. And although he’s only got a few months left on his contract, I think they’d probably see it is worthwhile just keeping him till the end.
“It’s probably one that’s more likely to go till the summer if Arsenal do look to do that one. I still think – and this is just a hunch, it’s not based on any information – I still think it’s more likely that Arsenal probably won’t sign a left-back this window and they’ll wait until the summer to do that when they do have options there.”
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TIF Thoughts on Watts’ claim about Ryan Bertrand and Arsenal…
If Watts’ words end up being true here, then it should see a few alarm bells ringing amongst the Arsenal fans. Because that is putting a lot of faith in Kieran Tierney, now the club’s only available natural left-back to be fit, healthy and available for every game going forward, because whilst someone like Bukayo Saka has filled in there on occasion, it’s far from his best position.
If Arsenal are to turn their season around and move up the table, then they need to be at their best in every aspect of the game, and having to shoe-horn in Saka, or someone else for that matter, at times this season could end up costing them crucial points in their attempts to rescue their campaign.