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Why Arsenal Should Try And Sign This Atlético Madrid Star As An Alternative To Mustafi

The Shkodran Mustafi saga might not have ended but Arsenal are on their way to sign another central defender and this one could be a big name at that. The Gunners are now being linked with a move for Atletico Madrid’s Uruguayan defender, Jose Gimenez, and the 21-year-old could be the answer to Arsenal’s central defensive issues.

Gimenez has been on an incredible growth at Atletico Madrid and has become one of the most reliable defenders in the league. Under Diego Simeone, Gimenez played 38 games in all competitions for the club and even though they missed out on a couple of trophies, the youngster was reliable at the back.

While Arsenal still try to deal with the loss of Gabriel and Per Mertesacker due to injury, they seem to be struggling to find a proper replacement and are again not willing to spend the price that Atletico want for one of their brightest players in the side.

According to reports, Atletico Madrid have set a buyout clause of around £56 million for the 21-year-old while Arsenal are haggling at around the £40 million and this seems to be another familiar story as the London club aren’t willing to spend even £30 million to sign Mustafi from Valencia, even if he seems to be worth that money.

Truth be told, Gimenez around even the £40 million mark does seem a little excessive but this is expected as Arsenal are moving so late in the transfer window and Atletico Madrid would be wanting to protect their asset or at least make the most of it.

The Gunners though seem to have picked up a pretty decent defender to try and sign. Although Gimenez did not play every game in La Liga last season, he still is great at defending. The Uruguayan is great at blocking the ball and is one of the best players when it comes to tackling and is great at reading the game too.

The only issue that Gimenez has in his game is his passing ability, he does seem to be a little unconformable on the ball and that might not work out too well for Arsenal, who like to play the ball out of the defence and start attacks.

Even then, Gimenez is a proper defender first and for most and that is something which will add a lot of value to the Arsenal side. They do not have to play pretty football all the time and having someone who can defend will ease a lot of troubles the side have too often deal with throughout the season.

Gimenez is reportedly keen on a move to London and he would certainly go straight into the Arsenal team in place of Per Mertesacker. There might be some time spent in him and Koscielny getting used to each other as both are known to be aggressive defenders but that would work out well in the end after all.

Arsenal do not have a lot of quality options to bring in a world class defenders but Gimenez fits the bill. He is young, talented and can only get better with age but the Gunners could miss out on another top class player if they keep bargaining over the piece.

The fans need a signing from Arsene Wenger to prove that Arsenal can still bring in the quality and the talent and Gimenez could be that player who not only soothes the supporters at the Emirates for now but becomes a part of the defence for a number of years to come.