The one player Arsenal should sign in January (and it’s not Antoine Semenyo)
Arsenal’s injury crisis continues. A few weeks ago, they were dealing with a new injury every other day, and just when fans thought everything was calming down a bit, Arsenal were hit with a couple of injuries in quick succession ahead of some of their most important games of the season.
Declan Rice missed the match against Aston Villa last night, and everyone could notice his absence during the match. However, some players were also missing in other positions, raising the question of whether Arsenal should try to sign anyone in the winter transfer window.
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Obviously, the Gunners have signed quite a few players over the summer, making their squad much stronger than in recent times. But even for teams with deep squads, injury crises can arise, and that’s what ended up happening with Arsenal.
They were left without a single right-back on several occasions, and Mikel Arteta was forced to play his best player in Rice out of position to replace injured full-backs.
The only player Arsenal should sign in January (and it’s not Antoine Semenyo)
This begs the question: Should Arsenal consider signing a right-back in January?
The Gunners already have two of the best right-backs in the entire league, but Ben White continues to get injured far more often than anyone would like, leaving Jurrien Timber as the only player on the team to play that position in very many games over the past year and a half.
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This would obviously also pose problems for Timber, who himself suffered a torn ACL upon joining the club a few years ago.
Arsenal should at least consider signing Givairo Read from PSV, a player who has been rumored at various Premier League clubs.
Manchester City are the team that have been most linked to Read – and they would probably end up signing him too – but perhaps that shouldn’t be the case.
I’m not saying it’s time for Arsenal to move on from Ben White because he gave the club a lot before he started getting injured.
But Read is available. He fits what Arteta wants to do with his defenders. He is young, creative on the offensive side, which Arsenal sometimes also needs.
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Choosing him certainly wouldn’t be the worst decision Arsenal could make. They would have a much more reliable right back, even younger and providing more offensive help. And Read would also help Timber rest when needed.
And who knows, maybe if they sign him, Read will end up challenging Timber for the starting spot. Not immediately, but Read has a lot of potential, so no one can rule him out.
This article was originally published on www.paininthearsenal.com under the title The only player Arsenal should sign in January (and it’s not Antoine Semenyo).