Kieran Tierney’s domination in the Premier League also highlights why Arsenal need to sign Tariq Lamptey to create a dream full-back duo. The Gunners will need a right-back in the summer and the Englishman would be the perfect acquisition.
Only three full-backs have made more than 20 Premier League appearances this season and been dribbled past fewer than 10 times. Tierney tops the list having only been dribbled past once, while Lamptey is in second place, as the youngster has only been dribbled past nine times.
The Gunners will be in need of a right-back in the summer transfer window, and Lamptey would certainly be a good signing. The statistics of the youngster and Tierney highlight that Arsenal can follow Liverpool’s model of having dominant full-backs in defence and attack.
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Trent Alexander-Arnold and Andrew Robertson have arguably been the most crucial players in a team that has won the Premier League and the Champions League in the last three years under Klopp. They are the focal point of Liverpool’s build-up play and are much less threatening when they are absent from the side.
Arsenal have their own version of Robertson in left-back Kieran Tierney, a player with similar traits who likes to bomb forward. However, whilst Tierney certainly goes a long way in helping Arsenal formulate the Liverpool full-back model, it is a different story for the right-back position where Arsenal need to provide competition for Takehiro Tomiyasu with a more attacking-minded full-back.
According to the Daily Mirror, the Gunners and the Manchester side were interested in signing Lamptey in the January transfer window. And it is a deal that Edu should aim to pursue in the summer.
The Gunners have been prone to defensive mistakes in recent years, but the shrewd acquisition of Tomiyasu from Bologna on transfer deadline day for a bargain fee of £19.8m, has changed Arteta’s fortunes. Since joining the club, the Japanese international has been faultless, and when he is not available for selection the team’s defensive solidarity takes a major hit, suddenly making the defence look a whole lot weaker when he is not available.
The signing of Lamptey would be a major statement stamped down by Edu and the club, as the youngster is regarded as one of the best right-backs in the country when fully fit. His acquisition would give Arteta a healthy selection headache, and he could favour the right-back in games against opposition who provide lesser quality over Tomiyasu, so Arsenal are more dangerous in their attacking phase of play.
Despite being primarily known for his threat when in the attack, the fact that Lamptey ranks alongside Tierney as one of the full-backs in the Premier League defensively this season should prove to Edu that the Gunners should pursue a deal in order to enhance Arsenal’s defence and create the necessary depth amongst the full-back positions.
