Both Arsenal and Manchester United have endured difficult starts to the season.
Sky Sports pundit Charlie Nicholas has questioned why Arsenal didn’t sign Chris Smalling in the summer as he bemoaned the club for making the wrong choices in the summer.
Former Arsenal striker Nicholas has claimed that the Manchester United flop, who is now on a season-long loan at Roma, is ‘better than’ what the North London club already have.
It has been yet another season of struggle for Arsenal, who dropped points away at Vitoria in the Europa League on Wednesday afternoon.
Speaking to Sky Sports, Nicholas expressed his views on the club after that match in Portgual, as he pointed towards their poor summer.
“Arsenal don’t sign personalities,” Nicholas told Sky Sports. “Sadly I have to go way back to David Dein and he would sit down with Arsene Wenger and ask what kind of character he was signing. That’s gone now. It’s as if Arsenal sign players because they are desperate.
“Why not – and I don’t know how much he would have cost – go and get (Chris) Smalling from Manchester United in the summer before he went to Roma?
“Because he’d be better than what they had. They could’ve had (Gary) Cahill from Chelsea and sat him in the defence. He is better than what they have and is also a leader, but they missed out.”
David Luiz was the player Arsenal turned to in the summer, with the former Chelsea man making the short trip across London.
And whilst Luiz has won the Premier League title before, he isn’t exactly renowned for his defending, so he is seemingly just adding to the problems that are already at the club.
The pressure is mounting on the manager, as there are already calls for him to be axed and if they lose to Leicester City at the weekend then those calls will only get louder.
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