As the old saying goes, you wait ages for a bus, then two come along at once! Well it may not be buses on Arsene Wenger’s mind, but instead the idea can be applied to transfer targets, with Wenger set to step up his interest in two defensive options.
Arsenal may be prioritising a striker as the next incoming player to play his trade at the Emirates, however it doesn’t stop Arsenal looking elsewhere in the market. Many will agree that as well as a striker, obtaining new options in defence is also a much needed goal this summer, with the likes of Mertesacker and Gabriel not being the safest of bets for Arsenal based on their current form. It has led to the likes of Rob Holding, Benatia and Subotic, all to be linked with a move to North London, but instead it’s two new faces that have obtained media attention today.
When it comes to Arsenal transfers being reported in the media, you should be very cautious with what you choose to believe. The two names today aren’t exactly names I thought Wenger would be interested in, but at the same time they are very Wenger-type signings. According to the media, Arsenal are lining up bids for Borussia Dortmund’s Matthias Ginter and Manchester City’s Jason Denayer. Both players are young promising central defenders and both could be looking at futures away from their respective clubs, in order to attain more playing time.
Denayer is a Manchester City academy product, despite only joining the City set up in 2013. At 21 he has made 7 appearances for his national side Belgium, but is yet to make his debut in the Premier League. Denayer has spent the last two seasons out on loan at Celtic and Galatasaray and although he has been impressive in his loan spells, he remains untested in the Premier League. Signing Denayer would no doubt be a cheap option, at least cheaper than some of the other names mentioned, but with little experience on the biggest stage, I don’t think he’s the right signing to throw into the deep end at Arsenal.
Ginter is a very promising German defender who was actually linked with Arsenal on many occasions before his transfer to Dortmund in 2014. Despite having made over 35 league appearances for Dortmund, Ginter has found himself very much in and out of the team and even had a spell with the Dortmund reserves in 2015. At 22 he is a very promising prospect and could turn into a solid centre back for many years to come. A partnership of Ginter and Chambers seems very favourable in my mind if both turn out to be as good as they are expected to. Ginter wouldn’t come cheap and Dortmund will be keen to hold onto the future star even more so now that Mats Hummels have left for Bayern Munich.
What do we think about these two defensive targets? Would they be good options for Arsene Wenger?
By AH