Why Arsenal signing Christian Kabasele would be a sensible move

Arsenal are eyeing up a potential move for Watford defender Christian Kabasele, according to the Sun. The Gunners are looking to strengthen their squad in the January transfer window and are keen on bringing in a defender.

Kabasele, who has been sent off twice this term, has started 13 of Watford’s 22 Premier League matches this season after missing a number of matches through suspension.

The Hornets brought the Belgium international to Vicarage Road in 2016 from Genk and Kabasele has been one of their best players ever since.

Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta is still assessing his options in the squad but central defence has been a long-term issue at the Emirates Stadium and a fresh defensive signing would make sense.

Kabasele is strong in the air and blessed with pace. The Belgian centre-back has spent three-and-a-half years at Watford and been a success, but it would be a big step up in class if he moved to Arsenal.

Kabasele has been a vital cog in the system as Nigel Pearson has turned things around at Vicarage Road. The Hornets moved out of the relegation places after a 3-0 win against Bournemouth and continued their good form under Pearson.

Of course, a number of players have been vital to the turnaround, but Kabasele has epitomised everything good about the Watford team under Pearson.

Strong, quick, and seemingly willing to put his body on the line, Kabasele has been the glue holding the Watford defence together. The 28-year-old has also been capped two times by Belgium.

Arsenal remain on the lookout for a game-changing defender, with the summer signing of David Luiz not having the impact which many had hoped for.

Things got even worse with the news that Calum Chambers will miss the remainder of the season with a knee injury, so Mikel Arteta needs to add some more depth.

Verdict

Arsenal have always been a team who prided themselves on being strong at the back. Tony Adams was the obvious leader before the likes of Sol Campbell continued the trend of the Gunners having strong central defenders.

Since then though, Arsenal have struggled to replace those players. Laurent Koscielny did well for a period, however, a number of other defenders have fallen by the wayside.

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At the moment, the likes of David Luiz, Calum Chambers and Sokratis Papastathopoulos are not doing the best job in keeping things tight at the back.

Indeed, the Gunners have conceded 31 goals. That’s more than Brighton, who are all the way down at 14th place. Therefore, the signing of Kabasele would make huge sense.