Arsenal are on the hunt for a new central defender to partner Laurent Koscielny in defence and one name on the wanted list is supposedly Napoli defender Kalidou Koulibaly.
Koulibaly is a well known Arsenal target so there is no real need to dive into the depths of discussing his strengths and weaknesses. One thing for sure is that he would certainly be an upgrade on the mix of Per Mertesacker and Gabriel. Mertesacker isn’t getting any younger and he is slowly losing the little pace he still has. His physical capabilities on the pitch are only going to grow worse and with the professional game in England so heavily focused around pace and physicality, Per could soon see himself very out of favour. Gabriel on the other hand still hasn’t truly adapted to the Premier League and after a year and a half at the club, he really needs to improve and adapt soon, otherwise he too could find himself very out of favour at Arsenal. Our only real possible partner for Koscielny at the moment therefore, is in my opinion, Calum Chambers. The youngster however is still very unproven and has had dips in form in the past, which has lead to some terrible errors. So whether he is ready or not to be a regular Arsenal player, leading in defence remains up for debate.
The latest developments on Koulibaly is that although Arsenal have reportedly shown an interest in the 25 year old, an official offer still hasn’t been submitted. Meanwhile Arsenal have now attracted some rivals for the defender’s signature, with Premier League sides Chelsea and Everton also interested in securing the Napoli man.
Arsenal of course have Champions League football to offer next season, unlike the other two sides mentioned in the report. However whether Wenger and co will actually make a suitable offer remains to be seen.
The Gunners may have to be quick to make their move before other clubs start swarming, but at a reported price of £34 million, perhaps this will be another one that Arsenal steer well clear of.
By AH
Koulibaly …wenger would never pay more than 20 mill for a defender
so no, just no
errr…did i say no?
Yes. Wenger doesn’t pay big for defenders
I was shocked he paid £16 million for Chambers
Koscielny was signed for around £8 million
If he gets a CB probably around £12 million or less
No Hummels, No Koulabi unfortunately
Chambers is English, remember? He has to pay inflated price to secure English kids, as there is a home grown quota and they are a rare commodity
Wenger paid 30 m for Xhaka
who is a defender.
16 m for Chambers a CB/RB.
16 mill for Gabriel a CB.
12 mill for Debuchy a RB.
So Wenger has been prepared to invest
74 mill in defenders in the past two seasons.
But with Chambers and Gabriel yet to prove themselves
Debuchy a flop and Xhaka new Wenger may well
be reticent to drop another 25 mill in the defensive end right now
especially with the need to get a striker.
David… Xhaka is a midfielder…
You’re doing it again! Stop making things up!
Seriously, I really laugh a lot whenever I see “Arsenal have CL league football to offer next season”…that is now our shield and a guarantee that we will get any player we want…lmao..it is becoming too much in our articles on here….
We are in an era where Mhiktaryan and Zlatan left BVB and PSG respectively who are in the UCL so sign for ManU…so our CL football isn’t that special afterall….
Now, about KK, we are certainly not in for him..check recent years Wenger’s record breaking signings have been midfieders not even a single top 9…
Arshavin
Cazorla
Ozil
Xhaka..(That’s the order we started)….
So how do you expect Wenger to pay 20m for a CB…not in this lifetime!
Wenger bought Sanchez for 35 mill.
Sanchez has scored 42 goals in
two seasons. As good as most 9’s
in the EPL.
Except Sanchez was playing as a winger NOT a no9
Please note the agent involve with the players you mention that have gone to manu, even the pogba that manu is after is a client of the same agent, from what i have recall this agent only has eyes for one thing and thats MONEY, the highest bidder, and if champion league comes along more MONEY.
Wenger tries to avoid having dealings with this particular agent, who seem like he would sell is own child while he gets is percentage cut