Lewis Dunk and Shane Duffy impressed as Brighton and Hove Albion sealed a Premier League draw away at Unai Emery’s Arsenal on Sunday.
Tim Sherwood has encouraged Arsenal to solve their defensive problems by making a £50 million double-bid for Brighton and Hove Albion duo Shane Duffy and Lewis Dunk, while speaking to Sky Sports (6 May, 10:00pm).
It is no secret that the Gunners have once again been held back by their error-prone back line this season, a run of four Premier League games without a win meaning their only hope of qualifying for the Champions League is to win the Europa League.
The likes of Sokratis Papastathopoulos and Shkodran Mustafi have been criticised heavily and with good reason while Nacho Monreal could leave this summer when his contract expires.
As a result, head coach Unai Emery has demanded that the club find him a ‘top class’ centre-back this summer with Harry Maguire, Kurt Zouma and Getafe powerhouse Djene Dakonam reported targets (the Sun).
Former Tottenham manager Sherwood, however, believes Arsenal should instead sign the two Brighton defenders who impressed in Sunday’s 1-1 draw at The Emirates.
“[Shane] Duffy, [Lewis] Dunk, improves them straight away for not a lot of money. And gettable, realistic, you go to Brighton and say, ‘There’s £50million for the pair of your centre backs’,” Sherwood said.
“The money you’d have to pay them would fit easily into Arsenal’s budget, Arsenal straight away would be improved next season.
“There’s two guys there who love defending, want to defend and first and foremost, not interested in self indulgence and how they’re going to look themselves. They love defending.
“That’s what Arsenal miss.”
Duffy and Dunk certainly stood out at the Emirates in a game where Arsenal once again looked nervy at the back. The Gunners have now conceded 50-plus Premier League goals for two successive seasons.
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