According to The Sun, Arsenal are interested in the services of Martin Hinteregger. The Eintracht Frankfurt defender has emerged as a transfer target for the Gunners as they aim to add more defensive reinforcements in the winter transfer window. However, they could face stiff competition from league rivals West Ham United in the pursuit of the centre-back.
Hinteregger’s resurgence at Frankfurt
Hinteregger has enjoyed a lot of success since moving to Frankfurt at the start of this year. He initially arrived at the German metropolis on loan before his move was made permanent in the summer, for a fee of €9 million.
Hinteregger’s arrival had helped Frankfurt deal with their injury crisis in defence last season. Evan D’Nicka missed a majority of the campaign while the likes of David Abraham and Simon Falette weren’t performing well. As a result, coach Adi Hutter brought in the ex-Augsburg star in January.
His commitment and dogged defensive nature meant Hinteregger instantly became a cult hero at Frankfurt. His style of play tuned in well with Hutter’s aggressive approach as the Austrian ended up building a solid defensive foundation, even though SGE kept on conceding goals.
Hinteregger has not only impressed with his defensive traits but also his aerial prowess. Indeed, the centre-back has notably scored three goals in the ongoing campaign – a tally bettered only by in-form striker Goncalo Paciencia.
Should Arsenal make a move for Hinteregger?
For hardcore Bundesliga viewers, Hinteregger is a much-maligned figure, purely due to his inconsistency. The Austrian is arguably having his best season in the Bundesliga so far. But even then, he has appeared tentative and lacked a sense of responsibility, at times, which resulted in Frankfurt’s mixed run of form.
Moreover, the SGE defender is not an ideal player for Unai Emery due to his lack of ball-playing capabilities. Much like Sokratis, he is only capable of threading in meaningless, vertical passes, which clearly doesn’t bode well for a team that likes to dominate possession. In fact, Hinteregger is perhaps the worst ball-playing defender at Frankfurt right now, though Falette also makes a strong case.
While the 27-year-old’s commitment and aggression could add a new identity to the Arsenal setup, his error-prone nature coupled with his lack of technical prowess means he is nowhere near suited to the club’s identity. Hence, the Gunners should just drop their pursuit of Hinteregger and instead, focus on a more technically gifted centre-back.
