Arsenal has a very well-balanced squad this season. They have a pool of quality attackers in their squad along with a quality lineup of defenders. But their primary enemy in this season has been injuries. Since last season, most of the Arsenal players are plagued with injuries and the team missed important players in the crucial stages of the Premier League. Mesut Ozil and Theo Walcott, two of the most important players in the squad have not played a game since almost 2013 November.
Coming back to defenders, Arsenal lured the services of French right-back Mathieu Debuchy in this season from Newcastle. Debuchy’s inclusion made Arsenal’s backline even stronger. But, unfortunately, Wenger could not use his defender to the utmost as he suffered an injury at the very beginning of the season. He came back by December but yet again got injured. Also, the center backs, Laurent Koscielny, and Per Mertesacker have not lived up to the expectations till now and they too have suffered multiple injuries. Adding to this Mertesacker has become error prone and at times acts too slow, which is not good enough in Premier League’s fast pace game style.
Arsene Wenger has been tracking the performances of New Zealand international Winston Reid, who currently plays for West Ham United, since the beginning of this season. Reid has played impressive football throughout the season so far and can be a handy pick for Arsene Wenger.
Here are 3 reasons why Arsenal should buy Winston Reid in January.
Arsenal can get a quality defender at a very cheap rate- Arsenal are reported to be interested in the New Zealand international defender. The Kiwi center back can be roped in for a mere £4 million bargain. Winston Reid has performed impressively for West Ham United and can be a handy pick for Wenger who is looking forward to add a fresh face into his team’s backline.
Winston Reid has Premier League experience- Another advantage of signing Winston Reid, is that he is not a new face in the Premier League setup. He is used to playing in the English conditions and will not take much time for him to adjust. Most players, irrespective of their quality take time to adjust to Premier League standards and Arsenal will surely not face that problem with the Kiwi defender.
Winston Reid can serve the club for many seasons- Winston Reid is just 26-years-old. Joining a club of Arsenal’s stature in his peak years of his career will be good for both him and the club. The club can lure his services for quite a few seasons and he can become a permanent solution to Arsenal’s defensive woes. Per Mertesacker has grown old and will hardly stay in the club for another two seasons. Thus, Reid’s inclusion will give Wenger a huge relief who can play comfortably alongside Laurent Koscielny.