Arsenal, at the moment, find themselves in a difficult situation. Unai Emery’s exit was expected to give the Gunners a little push up the table with Freddie Ljungberg expected to take the club through a honeymoon period – after all, Emery was the problem right?
In the two games since Emery’s sacking, Arsenal have failed to secure a win as they most recently succumbed to a 2-1 loss at home to Brighton,only days after their 2-2 draw with relegation-threatened Norwich.
There have been a lot of talking points from Arsenal’s last two games, heck, there have been a ton of talking points from Arsenal’s entire season, a lot of which revolve around the negatives of the clubs performances as there have hardly been any positives for the Gunners throughout the 2019/2020 Premier League campaign.
One negative that stands out above the rest is Arsenal’s backline, which as their performances and results suggest, is not good enough to perform at such a high level.
Arsenal’s defenders has let the club down one too many times this season.
The likes of Sokratis, Shkodran Mustafi and David Luiz are simply not good enough to man Arsenal’s backline, but because of a lack of better alternatives within the club, Arsenal have had to stick with them all through the season, with Mustafi only just recently getting his first appearance of the season in the 2-2 draw against Norwich.
Arsenal must take advantage of the January transfer window to fix their defensive problems, and one realistic signing that could help them do just that is Leipzig centre-back, Dayot Upamecano.
Upamecano is a fast, no-nonsense centre-back who is great at distributing the ball, covering passing lanes, and stealing the ball off of incoming attackers. The 21-year-old is widely regarded as one of the best young centre-backs in Europe.
Upamecano’s abilities have not matured up to the point where he can be regarded as a world-class player, however, what he can offer Arsenal, at this current time, is good enough to shore up their backline to a large extent, for the second half of the Premier League campaign.
Upamecano’s contract will be up at the end of next season thus giving Leipzig an incentive to listen to offers for him going into January and beyond. Due to the urgency of Arsenal’s situation, Freddie Ljungberg’s side would be wise to make a move for the young Frenchman once the January transfer window opens up.
David Luiz has won 50% of the duels he has contested so far this season, which, for a player in a club of Arsenal’s caliber, is below par, especially considering Upamecano has a decent record of winning 67.1% of the duels he has contested in the Bundesliga this season.
Upamecano would reportedly cost Arsenal a fee within the region of £40m.
Considering the club’s current dilemma as well as the alternatives that will be available during the January transfer window, £40m would be a fair price for Arsenal to pay for one of the best young defenders in Europe who not only has immense potential, but can also make significant contributions to Arsenal’s backline.
