Arsenal is set to offer a contract to Ryan Bertrand after he refused to sign an extension at Southampton.
The former Chelsea man will be a free agent in a matter of weeks after failing to agree on terms of a new deal with the Saints.
Arsenal has been interested in signing him for some time now and they considered an approach for him after letting Sead Kolasinac leave them for Schalke 04 on loan in the last transfer window.
The Gunners have just Kieran Tierney as a natural left-back now and they will need to fix that problem in the summer.
With money not in vast supply at the moment, they would want to find value in the free agency market.
This makes Bertrand an ideal player to target.
Goal.com says Arsenal is facing a battle from Milan and Monaco from outside England for his signature.
The Gunners cannot offer European football next season, while the other two teams can offer at least Europa League football.
If he is curious about experiencing life outside the Premier League, then he could jump at the chance to play with one of those teams.
Personally I would be looking for a replacement for Tierney not a stand in ,
Hasn’t kicked on this season for one reason or other and hasn’t impressed me defensively when he has played ,constantly Injured since we have signed him does not bode well for his future here .
But if we are looking for back up then I Was quite impress with Conor Townsend for westbrom ,out of contact this summer as well
He’s not been at his best since coming back this time (2 games?) but before that, he was arguably our best player. He was barely injured at all during his time at Celtic so it could just be, like Partey and ESR, the extreme demands of the Prem. Either way, Tierney is one of the few players we should be building the team around, let alone in need of replacing.
50 games missed since we signed him,looked as though he got injured again last night as well .
Depends how teams set up ,defensively he is very suspect ,and as been done countless times by proper wingers when played this season ,going forward he’s great but haven’t we heard this all before .
Saka who is 4 years younger and is actually a forward does a better job than TIerney when he’s asked to play there ,that to me says a lot .
Like I said great player going forward but not so great at the actual job we signed him for .
Ofc just my opinion .
Sorry 34 games missed since we signed him (I counted the games before because he was actually injured when we signed him )and 30 games the 6months before we signed him from Celtic ,in a 2 year period he’s been missing for 60 games from dec 2018-jan 2021 ,not counting gather games he’s missed since jan ,so I would say very very injury prone .
DAN KIT You are correct in what you say! You say it is JUST YOUR opinion, meaning it is no ones elses! In that you are technically, correct! I have learned that YOUR opinions are, to put it VERY mildly , exceedingly left field!
@ Dan kit
To say that we needs to replace Tierney is laughable…. Hes one of the best Left baks in the league……Wonder what some fans are smoking while watching gamed
Read my post properly before replying .
Dear Dan Kit
You said “he didn’t kik on” and “defensivly he was suspect”….”Saka does a better job there”….Astonishing!!!!!
Put saka as done a better job there ,please prove me wrong !
Defensively he is suspect ,that’s a fact
He hasn’t kicked on,well he hasn’t done better than last season ,hence he hasn’t kicked on
Any Arsenal fan with a knowledge of football, would not advocate getting rid of one of the best left backs in the Premier League.A guy who has recently been praised by Sir Alex Ferguson, Kenny Dalgleish, Brendan Rodgers, Gary Neville, Alan Smith to name but a few. If I am wrong please let me know.
Spot on Grandad
Would agree there!
What happened to the investment in younger players as surely we have someone in the under 23 squad who can be moved up rather than a very soon to be 32 year old in Bertrand?
The two best youth LBs we have are Bola and Lopez. Bola could barely get a look-in in League 1 and Lopez has had some really bright moments this season for the U23s but has some huge flaws, particularly positioning and error-prone when pressed. The latter will probably go out on loan next season to see if he can make some progress but the bottom line is that we don’t have anyone ready to make the step up.
Buying Bertrand is the same nonsense as signing Willian, Luiz and any other players in their 30’s who are basically looking for the last decent pay-day. Luiz pleasantly surprised me but shouldn’t we be investing in our own academy graduates, promoting the better ones to the first team. That way even if they aren’t the “top-class” player we are looking for, the first team experience will increase their market value? At least buy players in their mid-twenties who have time to adapt and work their way into the first team squad.
Good shout Grantygooner.
Personally I think it would be yet another example of wasting money needlessly.
Only PL football next year, no european games, so Cedric can be backup LB, Chambers backup RB, emergency CB and DM.
Why not call up Lopez to be backup LB? not like we have CL or european football. Lopez can play in cup games and get some reps with the first team to see if he can earn a place in the team, or if we need to sell or loan him, or even move him on.
Then again I’m no manager who prefers wasting money on over 30 players, tail end of their careers looking for a last big payday.
Instead of getting another aged player that another club does not want or think good enough there must be a player who plays regularly at left back for the U23’s that can just slot in and play when Tierney is injured or needs a rest, after all that is what the academy is for isn’t it…
There are many good young left backs out there one of whom is Josh Doig of Hibs who has just been voted Scotland’s young player of the year.He is a very talented left footed LB who would be available for around 1.5m.At 19 he would be a far better investment than Bertrand .
No! No! No! Bertrand would make no sense whatsoever…as for some earlier comments regarding Tierney, of which I sadly agree with in light of his fragility since his arrival in North London, there is one player who I think would be a perfect replacement is Robin Gosens from Atalanta…of course, it seems ridiculous to even contemplate replacing a player who, at times, has shown such promise, but if he can’t stay healthy, he simply can’t be relied upon moving forward…unfortunately we can’t have the 3/4s Tierney we’ve seen since his return from injury on the field as a regular starter and we likewise can’t afford to invest in having another player of similar quality in that same position…tough decisions ahead for this club, after all your best ability is availability
👍👍
as usual, we’re on the same page(lol) Cheers
😂
I get ripped a new one if I dare speak my opinion,as your see from the football experts above .
At least you got my post regarding his injury problems ,spent years having these kind of players .
You are perfectly entitled to your opinion which just happens to be diametrically opposite eminent ex players and arguably the finest football manager of this generation.
But my post was talking about his injury problems like I said nearly 60 games missed in 2 years ,we be all been banging on about we don’t want players like this since Wenger left .
My second point as Ive been saying is he’s great going forward but suspect defensively ,which he is ,more goals conceded coming from his side this season compared to the right side ,but we talk about Bellerin being finished .
I give a fair assessment for every player and I don’t get the hype regarding him ,great last season not so good this .
Maybe it’s Artetas doing as it looks to be regarding half the team .
And also don’t get me wrong ,going forward the best LB since Ashley Cole but I would even put Monreal as a better defender.