Arsenal have now gone 12 years without winning the Premier League title, with last season’s 2nd-place finish the club’s highest finish for years. After such a prolonged period without the League crown, its clear that there are some gaping holes in the squad that need to be plugged this summer, if Arsene Wenger is ever going to win the title again. The most urgent need is a world class striker, who can cover for Giroud upfront and give the opponents something different to think about.
One position that has been overlooked this summer is the centre back position, where currently Arsenal have only one world class defender in the form of Laurent Koscielny whose reading of the game, anticipation of opponents and positional awareness is all excellent. However in the form of Per Mertesacker and Paulista, he has two partners who have often frequently shown lapse of concentration, which has led to nervous moments all season long.
This is not the first time Wenger is facing this problem earlier when he had a much younger Koscielny and Mertesacker along with club captain Thomas Vermaelen, injuries crippled the defense and left the team in shambles. He will be smart to invest in a proper full back who can compliment Koscielny at the back. The problem with Paulista is that he is very similar to the Frenchman, the best defensive partnerships usually involve contrasting styles. That’s what made Per and Koscielny so good. Koscielny was the proactive defender that would attack the opposing attack. Mertesacker would sweep up the back. One player who has been linked with Arsenal this summer is Borussia Dortmund defender Neven Subotic.
Since moving to Dortmund in 2008, Subotic has made over 200 appearances for the club. The Serbia international was a key part of the Jurgen Klopp side that won back-to-back Bundesliga titles in 2011 and 2012 and finished as runners-up in the Champions League in 2013. It has been reported that the player has asked for a transfer request after falling down the pecking order following the arrival Thomas Tuchel.
From the outside it might not look like that there is a desperate need for defender, given the limited options in the striking department but one must not forget that there are more positions at the back and all of them need an adequate cover, if Arsenal are going to have any title ambitions. The Gunners previously missed out on Subotic’s Dortmund partner Mat Hummels. However through Borussia Dortmund’s best days, it was a partnership of Subotic and Hummels that kept the team in every major competition.
The commanding centre back, is extremely capable of playing with the ball at his feet, possesses solid technical skill and has good positioning sense. At 26, he’s heading into the peak of his career and I think the Emirates could be the perfect breeding ground to help him realise his full potential in London. Wenger will be smart to snap him this summer given the circumstances surrounding his future.