Premier League Arsenal need a centre-back – how about Barcelona’s World Cup and La Liga winner Samuel Umtiti?
With Arsenal’s defensive deficiencies exposed yet again during another season of underachievement in North London, you’d think the opportunity to bring a World Cup winner and two-time La Liga champion to the Emirates would be too good to turn down.
But there is a reason why Barcelona have made their £25 million centre-back Samuel Umtiti available for transfer this summer – and the rise of Clement Lenglet is just one factor.
According to Sport, Arsenal have been offered the chance to snap up a defender who has been linked with a move to the English capital even since the Arsene Wenger days. Mikel Arteta is open to the idea, it seems.
But while no one could even dream to doubt Umtiti’s ability or his proven track record at the very top level of the game, the nagging concerns lie in his fitness rather than his form.
The former Lyon youngster has missed a grand total of 38 games in all competitions since the start of the 2018/19 season with a persistent knee problem seeing France’s 2018 hero slip down the pecking order in Catalonia.
If there’s one thing Arsenal don’t need, it’s another injury prone centre-back. And with Dayot Upamecano, Ben Godfrey, Nathan Ake, Marash Kumbulla and Ruben Dias all potentially available over the summer, there may be better options out there.
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