David Ornstein has revealed that Arsenal will be looking to add a new left-back to the ranks this summer, and the reasons why both Ryan Bertrand and Patrick Van Aanholt were overlooked.
The pair were both amongst Arsenal rumours claiming to be on our shortlist to join the club last month, having supposedly been available for a reasonable price thanks to the fact that their contracts both end this summer.
David Ornstein insists that our interest was never serious however, despite the strong reports, with Mikel Arteta believing he had adequate cover within the club already.
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The journalist moved onto reveal the club’s forward-thinking plan for the position in his column at The Athletic, and are keen to bring in a younger player with the potential to earn the first-team role from Kieran Tierney, in hope that the Scot can help to develop his younger counterpart.
There is a clear belief that the former Celtic defender is in the top tier of left-backs, and should he be able to pass some of his talent onto the younger generation could only be a blessing.
The report doesn’t name any targets with the criteria however, but one player I would love to see come in as Tierney’s understudy would be Aaron Hickey.
The 18 year-old recently made the move from Scotland to Serie A, supposedly rejecting the advances of Bayern Munich to join Bologna instead.
Hickey has picked up 10 league appearances since making the switch, despite being hampered by Coronavirus, and appears to be a player with huge potential.
Would Arsenal be better off adding an experienced option who was more willing to sit on the bench, than a young hopeful who could grow disgruntled with a lack of playing time?
Patrick
No more aged players looking to retire at AFC, rather have some reserves promoted.Surely they cannot be as bad as Kolasinac or Cedric (at LB) or as Mustafi /Luis as CBs or Xhaka/Elneny at CM or Willian / Cabellos / Laca / Eddie as attacking options. See the impact Saka, ESR are having.
End that safe back/side passing, stats of 100% pass accuracy and what not, go back to the basics – receive the ball, one-two touches and pass forward. Stop that disastrous play from the back, till we have the right players to fit the philosophy. Till then 10-15 is the max we can achieve with what we have.
One player cuts it for me this summer
Omar Richards and on a free
The plan to bring in a young understudy for Tierney is the sensible thing to do.Apart from Hickey who is mentioned in the article, Josh Doig of Hibs is a very promising young player who has attracted a lot of interest this season.Either would be a worthwhile acquisition .We really have to shut the door on players, who may be experienced, but are past their best.
The problem is, for the remainder of this season, we are closing the stable door after the horse has bolted.
What we’re MA and Edu thinking by letting both AMN and Kolasinac leave, without either signing a replacement, or believing that we had a ready made cover from the reserves?
Tierney has already proved to be injury prone, despite being a top player of course, yet they seem to have ignored this in their haste to reduce the wage bill.
Like Grandad, I think the Hibs player Doig, looks a very good prospect, but it’s the rest of this season that will see the inadequate planning of our manager and his side kick.
They gambled. Like they gambled with the chelsea agent, like they gambled with Saliba, like they gambled by not playing ESR sooner.
It’s easy to gamble when you’re job is not on the line, though.
I agree Ken.Someone who plays with the intensity of Tierney is bound to suffer muscle strains without adequate periods of rest.He simply cannot play every match,particularly in a unique season where games come thick and fast.Are any of our Academy youngsters likely to step up soon?
Joel Lopez, ex Barcelona LB in the Academy U23’s.