Arsenal are still pursuing the services of Jonny Evans from West Brom and have reportedly offered Mathieu Debuchy as a swap along with £10m cash amount. Arsene Wenger got the boost to go after the 32-year-old after Manchester City turned their attention to Aymeric Laporte.
Arsenal’s defence have been one of their worst enemies this season with Wenger struggling to adapt to the back three formation. The injuries to Laurent Koscielny and Nacho Monreal have forced out the structure the side had in the past. Even though they both have returned to first-team football, the former has fallen short of his usual standards.
Shkodran Mustafi is the best option in the backline but has lacked the cutting edge to really lead the side defensively. Calum Chambers is still as inconsistent as he has been previously making his impressive technical abilities his greatest curse.
Rob Holding is still one of the best young prospects in the country and is a key figure in the club’s future. But without a run of games for the senior side, his development has stalled in recent times.
Per Mertesacker is bound to retire after this season, and maybe Evans is being considered as his replacement. But will a 30-year-old veteran settle for a sporadic role at such a juncture of his career? Highly unlikely and Wenger might just be forced to drop one of the starters in the backline to make way for Evans.
Mathieu Debuchy has fallen out of favour with the manager and might not be so heavily missed at the Emirates.The 32-year-old has featured in only 8 games this season and in total just 30 for Arsenal ever since his arrival in the summer of 2014. Debuchy last appeared for the North London side in the 4-2 loss to Nottingham Forest in the third round of the FA Cup.
Debuchy’s career under Arsene Wenger mostly turned sour due to injury concerns which prevented him from getting a favourable run of games. The Frenchman’s short one-and-a-half year stint with Newcastle United impressed Wenger who signed him to replace the very talented Bacary Sagna.
Debuchy is clearly frustrated with the limited minutes he has received and Wenger has utilised the player to discount himself a staggering £10m for the Evans deal who has been priced at £20m by West Brom. Albion will receive an experienced defender in return who will provide a lot of depth on the defensive end.
If one views the deal from a neutral point of view, Arsenal is clearly getting the better part of it and West Brom might not agree to the fee that the Gunners have offered.
