If Marc Guehi refuses to commit to a new deal at Crystal Palace, he is expected to be sold, with the Selhurst Park outfit determined not to lose him on a free transfer.
Which begs the question – why would Arsenal snub a golden opportunity to land a long-term defensive target? While the Gunners weigh up their options, one pundit is telling two of their biggest rivals exactly why they should be all over the Guehi deal.
Chelsea and Liverpool urged to move
On talkSPORT’s Drive show (Monday 11 August), Marc Guehi’s situation came up, with Adrian Durham making a bold claim about the defender’s impact wherever he moves, saying:
“If Chelsea go and get Marc Guehi back from Crystal Palace, I think Chelsea probably win the league.
“I know I have said Arsenal, but we are talking with a few weeks left of the window.
“So if things change dramatically – if Liverpool go and sign Guehi and Alexander Isak – there is no competition. They have won the league.
“But I think if Chelsea improve at the back, they will win the league.”
That would sting for Gooners, watching Chelsea lift another title and doing so with one of their top targets while Arsenal stood still. Like Liverpool, the Blues need a major defensive signing, and Guehi is one of the finest they could land.
Versatility and value
The ex-Chelsea man’s ability to play across the back four could be a huge asset for Enzo Maresca, especially with Levi Colwill sidelined long term with an ACL injury. As for Arne Slot, he would relish the chance to add such a versatile defender to his ranks. With Liverpool one major injury away from a defensive crisis, Guehi could be the perfect way to strengthen their backline.
But would Arsenal let their rivals lay hands on such an asset? We know Mikel Arteta has an appetite for defensive signings, and Guehi is admired at the Emirates, once seen as the ideal alternative to Gabriel Magalhães. He could be captured, and Jakub Kiwior, keen on regular minutes, could be allowed to leave – perhaps even offered to Palace as part of a deal for their captain.
If Arsenal land Guehi, they could boast one of the finest defences in Europe, if not the very best – a recipe for dominance.
Who’ll more first Gooners?
Daniel O
__________________________________________________________________________________________
ADMIN COMMENT
So here are some simple rules which I must insist commenters follow….
You agree not to give any personal abuse to other Arsenal fans. Everyone is allowed to hold their own opinions even if you disagree with them. It COSTS NOTHING TO BE POLITE TO OTHER ARSENAL FANS.
CALLING ALL ARSENAL FANS! Anyone who would like to contribute an Article or Video opinion piece on JustArsenal, please contact us through this link…
Signing Marc Guehi, can not be a priority when we haven’t quite iron out how to deal with the low blocks teams.
As I said before, we don’t need him or want him. Another CB is not a priority.
So do you think we only sign prorities? Was Mosquera a priority? Was Norgaard a priority? Was Madueke a priority? and so on… We might loose both Zinchenko and Kiwior and if that really happens, we do need anothe CB.
Of course we don’t and no I don’t think we should only sign priorities. Zinchenko isn’t a CB and yes Kiwior is a good CB but we have CBs in Gabriel, Saliba and Mosquera, plus Calafiori, White and Timber who are either CBs or who have played there.
We need 4 cb`s – minimum. Calfiori will mainly be palying as LB sharing the minute with MLS. Timber and White will have teir minutes full playing for RB so cannot really count them to be as CBs…
Thst´s the reality check.
So, if we are to sell Kiwior, we only have 3 CBs .I would welcome Guehi in this situation in open arms. Plenty of Premierleague experience and he is an absolute tank of a CB. In my opinion he is not even overpriced at £40 mils (that´s apparently what the Eagles are asking for him atm).
If we sell Kiwior, Gabriel’s backup, then yes, Guehi makes sense.
Though I hope we don’t, Kiwior did very well last season and he’s still young and growing in reputation.
If we’re going to reinforce the backline in the remaining days, it should be a top notch left winger, if anything, but that’s not even in the rumours right now.
Without Guehi we already boast one of the finest defenses in europe – i don’t doubt he must be a fine player but we could do with a left-winger and doing our utmost ensuring the fitness of Calafiore with MLS as his backup.
Defense-wise we’re already proven to be rebust, I see no reason why we cannot keep Kiwior – It’s a matter of rotating the CDs. Important thing is that we’re not sidetracked by fixation on Guehi.
The fixation on Guehi has only really been evident in reports over the last few days – about the same time, coincidentally, when other reports suggest that Eze may not be the “nailed on” transfer to Arsenal that has been thought (for many weeks now).
Who is this superstar defender you are talking of? Surely not that the Guehi at the old glaziers who repeats far too many mistakes for his age and experience?
Bit of a mess for Palace owners, who rejected more than £60M, have let his contract position wind down to just 20 days left for new contract or sell for £35M. He is also currently injured so maybe cannot have proper transfer medical in this window. If I had to call it, if this injury prevents medical, he signs 1 year contract extension, and maybe ends up never leaving the club till retirement as suitors moved on.
I don’t think either Eze or Guehi are happy with courting clubs that bids never came in earlier so they had to give their all on Sunday rather than pulled from it. Why do I make that extraordinary claim? One of the big drivers of players up for moving is wage. Is Isak acting a bit crazy? Well, should he be earning more than £120K a week, is that something you can agree with him on? Mudryk was on 4K a week before his move. Liverpool and Man City happy to smash the £300K a week ceiling, is why Rodrygo goes there (see what I did) not Arsenal.
What does Sesko most love about being at Man Utd not Arsenal? Do Eze and Guehi have preferred next club, or whichever one they end up at, the wage is different than what Palace pay?