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Arsenal signing this promising young defensive duo would put an end to the shaky performances at the back

Why Arsenal should buy Genk duo Carlos Cuesta and Jhon Lucumi

According to the Sun, Arsenal legend Martin Keown has urged the Gunners to sign Genk’s defensive duo Carlos Cuesta and Jhon Lucumi despite conceding four goals to Liverpool in the Champions League.

Arsenal have failed to sign a good central defender since they bought Laurent Koscielny from Lorient in 2010. The Gunners have struggled defensively in the past few seasons.

Shkodran Mustafi was their first-choice centre-back in the past three seasons alongside Koscielny but the German is prone to making errors, which led the Spaniard to look for an alternative option at the beginning of the season.

Laurent Koscielny

Arsenal bought David Luiz from London rivals Chelsea on the deadline day of the summer transfer window. His experience let him into the mix from the second game week itself and from then, the Brazilian has been a regular starter. Emery has backed Sokratis Papastathopoulos and David Luiz as his first choice pair to start at the heart of the defence.

However, the Brazilian has already made two fouls inside the box while he has struggled to combine with Sokratis. They have managed just two clean sheets and have already conceded 14 goals in the Premier League this season.

Luiz is 32 years old and buying him at this age, he looks like a short-term option for the Gunners due to Arsenal’s limited budget. Sokratis’ arrival at the Emirates Stadium at the beginning of the last season was also probably due to the limited budget.

However, the former PSG boss signed 18-year-old William Saliba from Ligue 1 club Saint-Etienne, showing his intention to slowly build a squad for the future.

William Saliba

Saliba was sent back on loan at the Ligue 1 club as a part of the deal, leaving Arenal with limited options at the back. Rob Holding and Mustafi are the only defenders on the bench for Arsenal.

Lucumi is 21 years old and is playing his second season in the Belgian first division. He has shown the ability and promising signs of becoming a great central defender.

Cuesta is one year younger than Lucumi and even though he is playing in his first league season, he has combined very well with the fellow Colombian this season.

Bringing the duo to the Emirates stadium will put the senior players on their toes. It will be either play better or sit on the bench situation for them. Given the young age, the duo can work out a combination with Saliba and lead the Gunners back to their glory days.