Arsenal opinion: Arsenal must target Júnior Firpo in the summer

Arsenal need wholesale changes to get a Champions League spot. They are in a transition phase at the moment and thus need to add reinforcements.

Their defence certainly needs reinforcing over the summer, with their back-line core ageing terribly. The likes of Laurent Koscielny, Stephan Lichtsteiner and Nacho Monreal are well into their thirties and won’t be able to perform at the highest level in the near future.

That means that at least a new centre-back and a right-back should be among Arsenal’s main summer target.

While the club does have Sead Kolasinac, the Bosnian has had his defensive issues since arriving. Though his offensive abilities are unparalleled in the Arsenal side as a full-back, his defensive abilities have let the club down at times.

Add that to the fact that Nacho Monreal is 33 years old and growing older day by day, the club needs another left-back.

While they might have their own targets, one man Arsenal should look towards is Real Betis star Júnior Firpo.

The 22-year-old has been an absolute revelation last season after making his debut in February 2018. After that, no-one could take him away from the left-back spot at Betis, with the young star making it his very own.

He played in all the games after that, before getting injured a fortnight before the end of the season. However, Firpo continued his form into this season, simply picking up from where he left before the injury. Adept at a lot of things defensively, the youngster still plays as more of an offensive full-back.

However, unlike a few Arsenal defenders, Firpo is very good in the air, composed on the field, and is more than adept at blocking, intercepting and tackling.

Combine that with his creativity and ability to find a teammate’s head consistently, and Arsenal would get a brilliant left-back. What should attract Unai Emery to him is Júnior Firpo’s work rate.

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The 22-year-old works very hard defensively and offensively for Real Betis and that has been on show time and time again.

That combined with his injury record makes him a great move for Arsenal. But the fact that Manchester City and Real Madrid are also in the race (Daily Mail) will complicate things, but not if Arsenal get there first.