Arsenal is looking to strengthen the defence in the next few months and should target the younger generation.
With the defence causing all sort of self-inflicted problems Mikel Arteta knows which part of his squad to strengthen.
The Gunners have been linked with the likes of Dayot Upamecano, and Merih Demiral. These names are impressive not just because they are good defenders but because they are some of the youngest defenders in Europe at the moment.
Dayot Upamecano remains one of the coolest young defenders around, he is a colossus, while Demiral has been very impressive for Juventus when he can get a game.
I am impressed by Arsenal’s pursuit of these young defenders and I believe that is the way to go.
Younger defenders are the perfect fit for Arteta’s new system. The relentlessness of the press the Spaniard is demanding from the team can make older players injury-prone.
Younger defenders also have room for development and that will make it easier for Arteta to get his ideas through to them.
Arsenal does have a few young defenders already, Kieran Tierney (22), Konstantinos Mavropanos, (22) and the incoming William Saliba (18), however, they also have a few that are getting on and frankly, are not that good.
Players like David Luiz at 32 and 31-year-old Sokratis need to be offloaded and Shkodran Mustafi is probably on his way as well. That means there could be at least two spots that need replacing.
There is no guarantee that more over 30 signings will work and anyway, experience will come from the likes of 26-year-old Sead Kolasinac and 24-year-old duo Rob Holding and Hector Bellerin who are fast approaching their good years.
If Arsenal wants to rebuild for the future then they need to start by signing players for the future.