There have been suggestions that Arsene Wenger may try to get by with the centre back options already available to him in the Arsenal squad, some even going so far as to suggest that he might employ either Francis Coquelin or the young academy star Krystian Bielik at the back despite both of them being defensive midfield players.
I do not think this will be the case, however, as Wenger has already spoken about the need for an experienced defender to fill in this key position after our World Cup winning German Per Mertesacker was ruled out for a long spell after picking up a knee injury in the first pre-season game.
The boss needs to get his skates on, though, or else we could find ourselves battling with the spending power of Premier League rivals Manchester United, after the Sunday Times reported that Jose Mourinho has decided that United also need another experienced player at the back, with the 26-year old England international Chris Smalling currently the oldest head available to him.
The good news for the Gunners from this report is that Mourinho is currently focused on completing the world record breaking move for Paul Pogba from Juventus, so Wenger does have a better chance of getting his man if he does it quickly. Do you think he will or is this yet another Arsenal transfer rumour that will drag on like our search for a striker?
Bob.