Recent reports claim that Arsenal are inching closer to a permanent summer move for Juventus centre-back, Daniele Rugani. Previously talks have been raised with the player’s agent, Davide Torchia revealing some connection to the Premier League outfit. He was quoted saying, “Arsenal? They didn’t launch any attempts for him. They expressed a liking for him but we have respect for Juventus.”
Rugani played his early years with the Azzurri and made his Serie A debut on 32 August 2014. He would later be featured in 81 games for Empoli while registering an impressive 5 goals to his name. But his current scenario is not so pretty in the Juventus squad.
Rugani is already 23 and way below the pecking order behind the likes of Giorgio Chiellini, Andrea Barzagli and Medhi Benatia. Even Benedikt Howedes might get the preference over the Italian when he returns from FC Schalke after this season.
This obviously needs to change very soon and Arsenal can provide him with a lucrative escape to the Premier League. After all, Rugani is a proven talent in Europe’s top-flight and is already a 6-time Italy international, 44 caps for the youth sides.
His abilities are tragically hidden behind the likes of very talented veterans. The Emirates has an overbearing spell of freedom for the 23-year-old now that the club is actively seeking out defensive reinforcements.
Their current season has been woeful as per as their usual standards and something needs to change. The first thing Arsene Wenger needs to address is the backline which paints a disastrous murder scene according to their current campaign.
The Gunners hold the worst defensive record among the top-six of the Premier League and have just recently lost against Newcastle United by 2 goals to 1. It is a 93-year low where the team has lost all 5 of their first away games in a calendar year.
Per Mertesacker has already announced his retirement following this season and a replacement is more than necessary at the moment. Both Shkodran Mustafi and Laurent Koscielny have sunk to unforeseen lows this season and cost the team countless times this season.
Petr Cech was infuriated to see Mustafi allow Shane Long and Ayoze Perez get in front of him in the last two league games and score with ease. The German has deteriorated to bottom-tier-club standards and deserves the axe this summer.
The youngsters, Calum Chambers and Rob Holding have managed to appear sporadically but are nowhere close to cementing a starting berth.
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For the sake of every Arsenal faithful, it would be wise to pay Juventus whatever they ask. The Gunners certainly need some sort of restructuring going into the 2018/19 season.
