Emmanuel Frimpong says Arsenal should sign Napoli’s Kalidou Koulibaly

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Serie A challengers Napoli value Koulibaly at £90m so the chances of him signing for Premier League Arsenal look decidedly slim.

Emmanuel Frimpong clearly knows where Arsenal’s problems lie and, speaking to talkSPORT, the former Gunners youngster has identified Kalidou Koulibaly as the man who could drag Unai Emery’s stuttering side into the Champions League again.

For the third season in a row, Arsenal are playing Thursday night football. And with the North London giants looking far from convincing at the start of the Premier League season, overwhelmed by Liverpool and fortunate to get anything against Aston Villa and Watford, it is far from certain that Arsenal will be back among the big boys in 2020/21.

Their defence remains as error-prone as ever with a partnership of David Luiz and Sokratis Papastathopoulos looking like an accident waiting to happen. Rob Holding, who hasn’t played a league game in a year, appears Emery’s most stable option at the back and that speaks volumes.

So just imagine the impact Napoli stopper Koulibaly, who is arguably the closest challenger to Virgil van Dijk for the title of the world’s best centre-back, would make at the Emirates.

The Senegal international is not only a fearsome physical specimen, he also boasts exceptional reading of the game and a superb passing ability. He’s the full package, even if the odd red card or own goal is not as rare as it should be.

And Frimpong, the outspoken Arsenal fan who began his career in red and white, would love to see Koulilbaly snapped up.

“Our defence is certainly weaker, when you compare it to Liverpool or Man City,” says the now-retired 27-year-old.

“David Luiz has been making some mistakes, and in my opinion there’s little difference between Luiz and Mustafi; I would rather see Callum Chambers selected.

“They need to be buying better defenders, like Koulibaly, who can make a big impact on Arsenal’s team.”

Unfortunately for Arsenal, Napoli aren’t going to cash in any time soon. And even if they do, the Gunners will have to stump up somewhere in the region of £90 million, according to the Metro.