Mikel Arteta’s defence have looked much more assured compared to previous seasons. The introduction of William Saliba and Oleksandr Zinchenko to the side has enhanced the backline.
Despite the starting quartet of Ben White, Saliba, Gabriel Magalhaes and Zinchenko proving to be solid, the understudies to these players still need addressing, especially the left-centre back role.
Gabriel was forced to start in the Europa League tie against FC Zurich as Arsenal do not have another left-footed centre-back in the team who can replace the Brazilian, which could ultimately lead to fatigue later on in the season. But, Edu can address this dilemma in January by exploring a deal for an old target.
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In the summer, Arsenal were linked to Eintracht Frankfurt defender Evan Ndicka according to German outlet BILD. The Frenchman also reportedly gained interest from Liverpool and Newcastle in the same window.
The Frenchman’s contract is set to expire at the end of the 2022/2023 season, which means that the Gunners can sign him on a cut-price deal in January or on a pre-contract for a free transfer for him to join at the end of campaign. Ndicka is currently valued at £21million by CIES Football Observatory.
Ndicka becomes an even more attractive signing when you consider his versatility. The youngster has also played at full-back last season and was very impressive in this role against Barcelona at the Camp Nou when Frankfurt famously won 4-1 against the Catalan side in the quarter-final of the Europa League earlier last season.
Arteta could be following Leipzig’s blueprint from when they had both Dayot Upamecano and Ibrahim Konate as their starting centre-backs. The Spaniard could utilise a similar pattern by having Saliba and Ndicka in the backline.
Both of the Leipzig defenders were French youth internationals, but Julien Nagelsmann had them starting alongside each other in the Bundesliga, which helped the team qualify for the Champions League on multiple occasions. This could be Arteta’s thinking behind the potential signing of Ndicka and bringing Saliba back into the group ahead of the new campaign.
Both Saliba and Ndicka are French youth internationals, and they would play perfectly alongside each other due to Ndicka being a left-footed centre-back and Saliba being the opposite. Gabriel needs more competition for his role and a left-footed centre-back would be an ideal acquisition.
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