Why Arsenal should have signed Joachim Andersen
Arsenal will feel quite frustrated by the indiscipline shown by David Luiz over the weekend after he was quite culpable for two of the goals Liverpool scored against the Gunners.
The experienced centre-back was brought into the club to bring some stability into the side but he was far from being an example.
Laurent Koscielny’s departure has further reinforced a need for a solution. Luiz’s main attributes on the pitch are his ability to pass the ball from deep and his other main attribute was his colourful personality for the dressing room.
Arsenal had other targets in mind and one of them was Sampdoria’s Joachim Andersen, who joined Lyon in the summer. The Danish international is one of the best up and coming centre-backs in Europe and Arsenal should have tried harder to sign him as he would have fixed a long-term issue at the club.
Andersen is only 24 and has a massive frame at 1.9m, which would have made him physically capable of integrating himself into the Premier League. His best quality is his extreme composure in every circumstance. The Dane neither panics while on the ball nor while defending.
He’s a very accomplished passer, which is why he often played in the holding midfield for Sampdoria. He loves a diagonal pass to the right-winger or right full-back from his preferred left centre-back position.
He often does not confront another player and is quite similar to Virgil van Dijk, who positions himself without committing to a tackle and recovers to get into a better position to win the ball back.
His calmness would have calmed the rest of the defence, which looked frantic with David Luiz in it. Arsenal have conceded 43 shots in their last two games with 18 of them against Burnley at home and that’s going to have to change.
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Conclusion
Arsenal face rivals Tottenham Hotspur in a massive game over the coming weekend which would have massive consequences on the rest of their season.
It’s important that they try and win this game to not just get one over their rivals but to have a real leap in terms of places for the top-four.