Why Arsenal must splash big to sign Daniele Rugani in January
According to a report from the Sun, Arsenal were very close to agreeing on a season-long loan deal for Juventus defender Daniele Rugani.
In the end, the deal broke down and the Gunners, instead, went on to sign David Luiz from Chelsea on the deadline day.
Given just how poor Arsenal were defensively last season, their fans were happy to see the club sign a new central defender in David Luiz.
The Brazilian is a Premier League winner, highly experienced and one of the best ball-playing defenders in the division. But there has always been an error attached to his game and the Arsenal fans are starting to see it with their naked eyes.
The Gunners are yet to keep a clean sheet with Luiz in the side and have let in eight goals in total since he was partnered with Sokratis Papastathopoulos, including two against Watford during the entertaining 2-2 draw at Vicarage Road on Sunday.
Sokratis was badly at fault for the first, sloppily gifting possession to Tom Cleverley to score from an Arsenal goal kick, before Luiz made an error for the second, clumsily tripping substitute Roberto Pereyra for the penalty.
Pereyra stepped up to take the penalty and made no mistake in helping Watford salvage a point.
The north London giants’ defensive woes just don’t seem to go away and that was once again documented in the capitulation at Watford.
They might possess one of the best attacks in the Premier League but their defence is simply not up to top-four standard. With that in mind, Unai Emery should aim to bring in a central defender in January and Daniele Rugani would be the right fit at the Emirates.
Rugani, 25, was expected to leave Juventus in the summer after falling further down the pecking order following the arrival of Merih Demiral and Matthijs De Ligt.
He hasn’t played in three of Juventus’ games so far this season, with Maurizio Sarri opting for De Ligt to partner Leonardo Bonucci in central defence following Georgio Chiellini’s knee ligament injury.
While the Turin giants preferred to keep Rugani, it is very clear the defender isn’t in Sarri’s plans this season.
The Italy international has been a constant topic of transfer chatter for years, as his development has stalled since he first emerged as a star prospect. But he could do himself a favour by leaving Juventus in January.
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In Rugani, Arsenal would get a solid defender known for his strength and aerial ability. However, his most impressive attribute is his wonderful technique which allows him to be comfortable in possession.
The Italian’s positioning and game awareness allow him to be at the right place and at the right time. The former Empoli man is an excellent distributor of the ball and likes to be calm under pressure situations.
Verdict
The Juventus defender has all the attributes needed to be a success in the Premier League. All in all, Rugani could be one of the shrewder signings for the Gunners in the Emery era.