Could Arsenal be signing TWO defenders this month?
Arsenal has been linked with several defenders this month but they have narrowed down that list to just two players.
One is Pablo Mari of Flamengo and the other player is Shakhtar Donetsk’s Nikolai Matvienko.
The former had travelled down to London for his medical and it looked like he would join Mikel Arteta’s side.
However, the deal stalled and he returned back to Brazil. Talks have continued between the teams and it now appears that the deal is back on.
With regards to Matvienko, Star Sports is claiming that Arsenal also has a plan to sign the Ukrainian from Shakhtar. The report claims that the Gunners already have an agreement with his club in place to sign the defender but they are yet to decide on completing the move.
Should Arsenal want to sign Matvienko this month, they will simply have to press on with the move, time is fast running out.
I am not sure how to take this one to be honest, on the face of it I would suggest it is unlikely to happen if the Mari deal is completed but at the same time, Arsenal does need more than just the one centre back.
I know very little about either defender, I have no idea if either of them will be a success, it really is guesswork, however, reports I have read lead to me to feel that the Ukrainian would be the better acquisition.
Deadline day could be very interesting.
Hurry up and announce him… them… anyone…. I’m impatient.
I cannot see two defenders joining up this January as we will have Saliba coming during the summer too. I think it will be one depending on terms etc. One is just a backup option if the other fails I would think..?
Brace yourself for three defenders.Soares too is coming,and Matvienko ofcourse
Matviyenko was a LB until last season. If we go for him, it could mean we’re selling Kolasinac in the summer.
Or we’re buying a 2nd choice CB + 3rd choice LB because both our LBs are so injury prone.
I’d go with #1.
Yeah GunneRay, I think you’re right. I think Mari is a backup if Matvyenko falls through and like you say we already have Saliba coming in the summer. Both look good, but I prefer Mari just from the reaction of the Flamengo fans to him leaving! There was a good deal of dismay among their fans, which probably means he’s good and more than that consistent. Whether he can replicate that at the highest level remains to be seen, but definitely looks up to the challenge
It will be great if we can sign them together. But I doubt if we can sign 2 this window.
If Shakhtar want 30 M as the price of the buying option at the end of this season, I don’t think Arsenal could afford it without selling one CB first
The bye bye Mustafi….. and Sokratis
Luiz too…. if necessary
Which could be the case as Mustafi still certainly would be on the list to be sold?
Unless I’m mistaken,Luiz & Sokratis would be on their final year of contract too so maybe the Board could want to cash in on one of them.
That way, with Saliba arriving as well, we renew our CBs for the long term IF it turns out either or both loanees are actually good.
That’s a great position to be in I’d say.
One is the first choice, the other one is the backup. Smart not putting all your eggs in one basket.
👍 Given the prices quoted, Arsenal’s injury crisis and the financial benefits in finishing higher in the EPL table, Arsenal should bring in both!
Given what I’ve read about Mari and Matviyenko, Matviyenko seems the more exciting of the two of them. Would be nice to get both on loan, and decide if they’re worth keeping by the end of their loan. I’m not sure if they’re going to get enough game time to prove themselves though…. it’ll probably be down to how much they impress the coach during the training sessions… I hope we make the right decisions to help us make the most of this season and the next, as I feel the preparation for next season should be underway already. Arteta should know what he wants our squad to look like next season, and he should be working towards that already.
Its a nice one if we can get both of them mustafi and luiz are good but not for a club like arsenal
The best part of being a gooner,”SUSPENSE”
And there are also reports suggesting that Harry clark,a highly rated U23 youngster might get a chance to get into the squad as mustafi is injured
Well Ojee my fellow gooner, it looks as if you and I were correct when we mentioned this last night, you being the first break it and me confirming that I had read the same report.
Funny how you were lampooned over it, but here it is as you described.
Just goes to show that , sometimes, instead of trying to belittle others, a little bit of detective work gives a proper perspective.
Well done for being the first to pick up on it and report it – let’s hope we follow it up.
Ken, leave detective work to detectives, you aint no Vera. Lol
Reggie, wasn’t it you who laughed at the idea when Ojee raised it?
Or was you laughing at Jon Fox’s comment?
I made it very clear that Ojee had reported it first, so here you go again, twisting other peoples comments – ttttt!!!!
No it wasn’t me ken, wrong again.