Arsenal were recently said to be eyeing a complete overhaul of our defence, with at least five defenders having been linked with the exit door, but things look different at present.
David Luiz was one who entered into the final fortnight of his contract, before agreeing a new one-year deal, and now looks set to stay.
Shkodran Mustafi was also said to be on the transfer list for the coming window, along with Rob Holding and Sokratis, but the German is now in line for a new contract, The Sun believes.
Mustafi has been a mainstay of our backline since the restart, missing only 45 minutes of action since the Coronavirus pandemic put a halt to proceedings, and as a whole has become a key figure under the guise of Mikel Arteta since his return as coach in December.
Rob Holding still has three years left on his contract, and has also impressed since the restart, despite being shy of match action this term due to injury.
Sokratis may well be allowed to find a new club, while Hector Bellerin is currently being linked with a potential move also currently.
We will of course be welcoming William Saliba to the first-team squad, having agreed a deal last summer which would see him link up with our first team before the new season.
Has Mustafi done enough to warrant being considered a first-team regular going into the new season? Could he potentially partner Saliba ahead of Pablo Mari’s return from injury? Which defenders are simply not up to the standard?
Patrick
This worries me, the current defence have been found out time and time again not only this season but in recent seasons. Rob Holding is the only decent central defender we have, and he has had a confidence crisis this term. Really as a minimum we should be looking to get one CB and one CDM to sort that spine out that has been dysfunctional for over 10 years now. All of these problems stem from Wengers latter tenure.
Totally agree Trudeau.I never mentioned him because he is one I would definitely keep.
Spot on Sanjay.Unless we improve the defensive spine of the team, we will continue to flounder below the top four.The lack of financial muscle will limit our activity in the transfer window but our priority must be to bring in a quality DM and CB.Despite his decent form of late,Mustafi will never be a commanding CB and along with Sokratis and Luis I would endeavour to sell him, easier said than done.
It is worrying. But then, I for one wouldn’t be surprised by Arsenal’s lack of activity in the areas we all know needs it most. We have been here for years. Pundits and ex-Arsenal players have talked endlessly about it. And yet, here we are still. Falling lower in the league every year. It comes back to the owners who are not willing to invest in decent players. Only happy to renew contracts (cheaper option). Things will never change for as long as the fan base continues to passively pay into the club and it’s ideals!
Don’t put the blood pressure medication away just yet then ☹
When you consider we have Leicester, Spuds and Liverpool in the next 3 games..
..Yep, you might want to keep that medication close by, Sue! 😤🥵 🤬
😂🙈☹
I’m constantly amazed at how most writers and posters on this site have collective amnesia when it comes to Callum Chambers.
He was arguably the best of a poor performing lot before his injury. Shouldn’t he be part of the discussion?
Chambers is being overlooked because he wont be back until dec/jan. 9 Month recovery + 2 months to get fully fit and add to that the usual hamstring injury that follows an acl injury.
Mustafi is a good defender who is prone to take risks tackling and the occasional crazy actions. Previous managers had no coherent defensive structures which exposed both the defenders and midfield, Arteta has imposed a good structure which leaves players less exposed and have more help from teammates.
Sokratis is definitely going and luiz is being kept only till saliba is settled. One of holding or chambers will be sold to fund our transfer budget.
That would mean Holding, since Chambers is injured until late 2020/early 2021. I’d hate to see him go, but decisions do have to be made…
over the last few seasons fans and pundits have been on Mustafi’s back game in, game out because of his errors, yes they have been pretty big ones at times but the guy is in some really good form right now and he looks a totally different player.
his stats have always had him as one of our best defenders since he arrived.
people only remember the bad things, the mistakes, never the good stuff
Since Arteta has been here he has tried to give the defenders some security.
In Wengers later years we were a defensive shamble, no cover from midfield or anything.
now the team has structure, they are a unit that defends together and we can see the difference in our defensive displays.
I think Sokratis will definatly go, maybe mavrapanos aswel, but i cant see Mustafi going in the summer if he carries on playing like this and i have to say well played to him because he’s not quit, hes shown character and i can admire that considering all the crap hes been given, been booed from his own fans for well over a year, i take my hat of to him
Amazingly, you all have an obsession with buying new players. Buy buy buy. It’s the only way. Do you remember Southampton before Hassenhuttl was brought in? Mark Hughes spoke of club lacking quality players but the Austrian solved it without buying a single player. All of you amaze me but you are brainwashed. Saints beat Citeh yesterday and are 14 in table without any new player.
Mustafi has great spells, and terrible spells. Essentially the German Otamendi. Hard to win a title with him starting a full season. Sokratis is surely surplus to requirements though and is done at this level. If we didn’t re-sign David Luiz, I would say keep Mustafi, get rid of David, but that is not what has happened. I do not feel comfortable having both David Luiz and Mustafi in the team ever. And we have so many CB’s that a decision needs to be made.
Holding is another CB we need to consider letting go if Arteta doesn’t see the potential in him. Chambers obviously unsellable since he’s injured. Tough decisions to make and it depends on who we get in. If we get in someone we like, I think we let Mustafi go. So next season it’s( David Luiz, Holding, Chambers, Saliba, Mari, New CB). And six is still a whole lot in itself, which is why Mari confused me when we signed him permanently. That may be a sign we are not getting any new CB’s at all folks. How long can Arsenal continue to not take this position seriously tho??????