With only a reported £45 million to spend this summer according to football.london, it is likely to be an interesting transfer window for Arsenal.
After missing out on Champions League football for a third season in a row, this summer could see plenty of Arsenal first-teamers who have been with the squad for some time to be sold in order to bring new blood into the club, and one position that is likely to see developments is central-defence.
Shkodran Mustafi infuriated supports to no end with a slew of comedic defensive errors that cost Arsenal important points whereas Laurent Koscielny’s Achilles heel injury showed it’s extent as the now 33-year-old defender looked his age for most of the campaign, which is why it’s no surprise defenders have been linked with a move to north London, and a new name has come up.
According to Le 10 Sport, Unai Emery is a big fan of PSG defender Presnel Kimpembe, who could be shown the exit door this summer if the French super club splash the cash on Dutch wonderkid Matthijs de Ligt, who the Guardian report has had an offer from the Ligue 1 champions.
A reunion between Emery and Kimpembe, on paper at least, sounds like a positive and ambitious signing for the Gunners, but when you look into the numbers from WhoScored, it paints a picture that maybe the World Cup winner isn’t exactly what Arsenal need.
Compared to Sokratis and Mustafi last season, Kimpembe only outranks the duo in tackles won per 90 with 2.3 and the least amount of fouls conceded per game at 1.2, and that is with the French defender playing fewer games that both defenders.
The Gunners should be looking for a centre-back who is by far and away an improvement on what they currently have given the fact they conceded the second most amount of goals out of sides in the top-six, and for what PSG will likely be expecting for Kimpembe, the 23-year-old is simply a risk not worth taking for Arsenal.
Arsenal fans, what centre-back should the club sign this summer? Let us know!
