According to the latest Arsenal transfer rumours one of the bits of business that Arsene Wenger, assuming that the Frenchman is going to be in charge for next season, will be doing is to sign a new left back and according to a Daily Mail report we are going to have to do battle with Premier League rivals Liverpool to get the player we want.
That player is the Lorient and Portugal international star Raphael Guerreiro. The 22-year old is expected to be the first choice Portuguese left back at this summer’s Euro 2016 competition and he has apparently been on Arsenal’s radar for a couple of years with former Arsenal midfielder and current scout Gilles Grimandi having watched his progress in the French league.
But while Guerreiro will be playing for his country this summer it looks like the current Arsenal left back Kieran Gibbs will be watching the international tournament from home after he was left out of the latest England squad by Roy Hodgson. I like Gibbs as a player but it is clear that Nacho Monreal is our first choice and most of Gibbs’ 15 EPL appearances this season have been as a sub and often as a makeshift winger.
At 26-years old has Gibbs finally decided that he needs to leave Arsenal to get the regular football he needs to help his international career. And if so, will Arsenal’s long standing connection with Lorient help us to beat Liverpool to the transfer of their talented young defender?