Why Arsenal should have signed Dayot Upamecano from RB Leipzig

According to a report from the Daily Mail, Arsenal had a £55m bid rejected for RB Leipzig’s defender Dayot Upamecano during the final days of the summer transfer window.

And the Gunners didn’t follow it up with an improved offer for the RB Leipzig defender, and instead, signed David Luiz from Chelsea on the transfer deadline day.

For a club that started the transfer window with a supposed measly sum of £40million to spend, the Gunners have done very well in the summer transfer window.

Nicolas Pepe arrived from Lille, while William Saliba joined and returned on loan to Saint-Etienne for the next season. Dani Ceballos arrived on loan from Real Madrid as well.

That was then followed up with two deals for defenders on deadline day, with Kieran Tierney joining from Scottish champions Celtic and David Luiz surprisingly swapping across the capital from Chelsea.

Some may think that Luiz is a direct replacement for former skipper Laurent Koscielny, who joined French club Bordeaux, but the Brazilian’s acquisition could mean that Shkodran Mustafi is no longer needed even as a cover.

Luiz, 32, is a proven Premier League material and one of the best ball-playing centre-backs in world football, yet he has been regularly criticised for his lack of positional awareness and sudden switch off at the back.

He is a short-term fix for Arsenal’s defensive problems and while Unai Emery saw the huge potential in William Saliba while signing him, the Frenchman won’t be a part of the Gunners’ squad this season.

The north London giants did enjoy a solid transfer window but this was the prime time for them to bring in Dayot Upamecano as well, considering Luiz and Sokratis are in their 30s and have shown signs of ageing.

Upamecano, 20, is one of the most exciting young centre-backs in Europe. The powerful, authoritative and ball-playing defender has the potential to develop into one of the most impressive defenders in the game.

He is already a regular for RB Leipzig and made 22 appearances for the Bundesliga club in all competitions last season.

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The France Under-21 international would have been an excellent signing for the Gunners. Had he arrived at the Emirates Stadium this summer, then the fans would have celebrated the capture of a highly-rated centre-back very much capable of excelling for their club for more than a decade.

Verdict

However, that hasn’t been the case as Emery missed out on Upamecano. Had Arsenal followed up with a better offer for the Leipzig defender they could have landed a rough diamond ahead of the new season, who knows?