Gilles Grimandi advises Arsenal against signing Layvin Kurzawa

According to recent reports it looks nailed on that the PSG left-back Layvin Kurzawa will be joining Arsenal on a free transfer in June, if the French giants can’t be persuaded to let him leave now.

But it seems that Gilles Grimandi, who was Arsene Wenger’s top French scout for the last 13 years of Le Prof’s reign until leaving last year, is not very happy that the Gunners are keen on bringing the Frenchman to the Emirates and does not think it is a good move at all as he doesn’t fit “the profile”.

“Would I have signed Kurzawa?” Grimandi was quoted as saying on Late Football Club by The Star. “No. I watched him at Monaco, I think that he is a boy who has quality, a boy who certainly has the potential to be one of the best in his position, but sadly he is lacking in certain areas.

“I don’t see him improving, I don’t see him as a boy who has the hunger to attain the highest level. For Arsenal, he does not have the profile that matches the club’s project.

“There are youngsters who are coming up, he is already a certain age. I don’t see the point in Arsenal getting Kurzawa.”

That is a bit worrying to me; Kurzawa is only second string behind Juan Bernat at PSG, and has never played in more than 20 Ligue 1 games in any of his 5 seasons at the French Champions.

I can see that the attraction for Arsenal is the fact that he is yet another free transfer, but it seems to me after listening to Grimandi, that he would be happy to carry on being second string at Arsenal.

Grimandi, who played under Wenger for five years, has been studying players in France for the last 14 years (he was behind many of Wenger’s best purchases and now works with Patrick Vieira at Nice), so I think I would definitely be listening to his advice about any available French players. Wouldn’t you?

24 Comments

  1. We need to bring up youth from academy & system as we always done on flanks! It wouldn’t be no Bellerin without injuries from Sagna, not so fast at least.

    Matter of planning this, training with first team specially when we as short in thay postion. Each position should be backed up, period. We happen to have 1 quality LB injured all season in Tierny, Kolas. Bring another LB instead of a youngster to get a run until Kolas and Tierny back seems best move than Kurzawa but indeed if we have no young player to bring in, Kurzawa would be helpful. 5 years contract seems long though…

    What about RB, we only have one, Bellerin all season long, how can we not be looking at this for weeks? We been troubled most of games with Niles obliged to defend and cover for Pepe who used to nit run back at all?

    Crazy as CB, all defense!

  2. do not think the fans will listen…

    fans want big name big tag and even a reserve player from a big club is good for them

      1. Sanogo was quality….you probably did not watch the Bayern game and etc….

        hes injury prone like Diaby and Rosicky

        injuries have cause him to lose confidence, determination and etc

    1. Can you please list me just one single scout that has never recommended a
      Player that dis not turn out to be a success?
      Even the likes of Fergie, Wenger, Pepe, Mourinho, Klopp etc have all recommended some donkey beauties in their careers.

      It’s a flimsy business signing any player as you don’t know how they will turn up😊

      1. Exactly…. a player can be very talented

        but can be destroyed by injuries, confidence and lacking of self-discipline by partying

  3. Grimandi will certainly draw the ruth of Kurzawa for his coming out in the media blatantly against him. You don’t do that to a fellow footballer like yourself of the past or in the present.

    Anyway, I think the versatile prolific young left winger/left full back in Saka is being converted to a left back in the team by Mikel Arteta the Arsenal head coach. And I think Arteta should stick to the emergency plan that called for this with the view of making the plan permanent sooner or later despite the fact that the club have on their books 2 top draw left backs in kolasinac and Tierney but the latter is currently injured and the former regularly suffered from hamstring injury which makes it a concern.

    True, for option and to cover, Arsenal might need to open the cheque book this January window to import a top quality right back unfailingly as the club only have the converted to right back position. Niles to cover for Bellerin. And if us Gooners are patient, some of our youths that could includes a top promising right back and left back could come through.

    Therefore, Arsenal need not to panic sign any full backs during this January transfer window but could do it next summer. In fact, to me Arsenal may need not to sign any new players atall this January window but could sell as they have so many youths in their rank to call upon when necessary.

  4. Kurzawa is another player who never lived up to his potential due to injuries, like Alexandre Pato

    Rather than getting PSG’s third choice LB, better groom Saka in that role

    1. I’d rather groom Saka at his natural wing position. He’s going to be star in that position. He can cover LB but I’d want him on the wing

    2. Why do we need to groom Saka to play Left Back? The last thing we need is an inverted full-back. We have Tierney don’t we? He will be our LB for a decade.And didn’t we recruit a young Spanish Left Back last season who was going to be the future?
      To me, Tierney will be first choice when fit, Kolasinac will be sold this summer and replaced with Kurzawa as back up costing nothing. Sounds like good planning for a change

      1. How about an inverted keeper then Phil or an inverted kick off, an inverted goal, an inverted throw in, an inverted cup of tea and an inverted end to that silly word “inverted”. Give the internet a new buzz word and they will be all over it lies flies round an inverted honey pot. Ugh!

  5. Grimandi might turn out to be right. But then, he might be totally wrong. The answer is in the future, and nobody knows the future.

    What the future holds for Kurzawa is important. Every player signed comes with this huge risk of not working out for the club, no matter the hype and stats surrounding him. But has it stopped clubs taking that risk? No.

    I think it makes sense to go for a player like him, at a time like this. Tierney the expected first choice has an injury-blighted first season. He may get not make too much difference by the time he comes back in March. The season would be too far gone. He will need time to gradually work his way back to form, and he might not have that time before the season winds down.

    Kolasinac, ditto. In and out of the treatment room. While he’s at that, suppose something happens to Saka? An innocuous, freak injury. Something that totally blind-sides the coach? Not to be unexpected in this situation if his young body is overplayed and breaks down. Too risky in my opinion.

    Kurzawa will come in with hunger to win a place in the process of time and that is what we need. Plus, we would not have overplayed this wonderful young man who has filled in very nicely so far and is doing a good job.

    1. GUNNERPHILIC, Nostradamus “knew the future”. I was at schoOl with him and he told me we would never win thE title while Kroenke owns us. Right so far and he will be for ever more, til that piece of filth sells up.

  6. Its on free transfer so not too worried. The problem comes from relying only on Kurzawa. what if he is n’t good ? We need to have back up plans.

  7. To buy freebies and expect a Morris Minor to be an Aston Martin is sad. Multi Billionaire owners Kroenkes and son, let their American team Colorado Rapids plunge down the table, they are doing the same to Arsenal. We are being orphaned in a loveless relationship. We in reality need constant quality players, NEVER cheapo/freebies. We will always need TOP players. We are Arsenal FC a top club or is that only in the past? Is it that now we can expect to be ordinary with the loveless Kroenkes and rely on lower level players?

  8. We have enough second rate players, what is the point of bringing in another. Even if kol goes in the summer we have a ready back up in the impressive Saka.

  9. But Salenhi wont listen, he is an authority unto himself when it comes to transfers. Kurzawa is a third rate injyry prone defender that a club like arsenal shouldnt be looking to sign.

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