Arsenal’s second season outside of the UEFA Champions League is marked to ask questions of the club’s abilities against Europe’s best. Somehow stingy investments always creep into that conversation despite watching the club spend 60m for one player in the January window.
Arsene Wenger has added Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Henrikh Mkhitaryan this season and has bid adeiu to a few of his key players. Now the squad is deficient in a few areas and is stacked far too thin to successfully compete in multiple competitions next season.
Here are a few players the Gunners can target for a better 2018/19 campaign.
Jose Giminez
Let’s get down to the basics. Stiffen up the backline and put the boys to work when the opposition have the ball.
Arsenal are significantly poor whenever without the ball and current have a defence which can be penetrated by a second string pee wee league team.
Giminez is one of the prime European talents who has the pedigree to make it big in the Premier League. At 23, he is already a 37-time capped Uruguayan international and a regular starter under Diego Simeone.
His composure and game reading ability is one of the best for a defender of his age and could very well answer the inconsistencies of Shkodran Mustafi and Laurent Koscielny. Gimenez is also one of those technical heads who can distribute the ball from the back and challenge pacey attackers. If Atletico asks for £50m, pay it! Liverpool certainly have caught on to the memo (£75m Virgil van Dijk transfer).
Malcom
After losing Alexis Sanchez, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Theo Walcott in the last 2 windows, the Gunners do not have an out-and-out winger in the squad other than an 18-year-old Reiss Nelson.
Without the breathtaking pace on the wide areas, all of Mesut Ozil and Mkhitaryan’s creative talents are underutilised. The duo does not have the speed to wreak havoc from the wing positions and is better suited centrally.
Malcom is one of those pacey options who can do exactly what is needed – spread the floor, deliver from the wings and score whenever possible.
Christian Pavon
Another winger to fill the ranks. The Argentine is not short of skill and was heavily linked with the club all through winter. His skill bag will come in handy against Premier League fullbacks and can prove to be a wonderful option with a strong right foot.
Read More: Arsenal In Hot Pursuit Of This Sensational Bayer Leverkusen Defender: Is He Worth The Fuss?
Ideally, a fourth signing would be a goalkeeper like Jan Oblak. However, his £88m release clause might prove to be far too much for the bosses at Emirates.
