Why Arsenal should have signed Ibrahima Konate when they had the chance
Earlier in the year, Arsenal had shown an interest in signing Ibrahima Konate. The RB Leipzig centre-back is one of the most promising young centre-backs in Europe along with his French U21 and club partner Dayot Upamecano.
The duo shared the pitch in the European U21 championship and Arsenal would be making one of the best purchases of the summer if they can get this deal over the line after already securing the services of William Saliba, who has been sent back on loan to St. Etienne to continue his development
Saliba and Konate have the potential to become the best centre-back pairing in the coming years. Konate is a fantastic athlete, as he’s very strong, quick, tall and is capable of initiating attacks by making driving runs from defence to midfield. He’s just an absolute powerhouse.
Arsenal are in desperate need of defensive reinforcements and have been in need of it for a long time now. They got David Luiz in as a quick fix but there are already signs that this might have been a move to appease the fan base and not very clearly thought out.
They’ve got a fantastic attack and have added to it by getting Nicolas Pepe. They’ve also got Dani Ceballos from Real Madrid on loan, who is a crafty midfielder and will create plenty of chances for the front-three.
Rob Holding’s and Hector Bellerin’s injuries have been a real problem. Unai Emery will be hoping that Holding comes back as soon as possible as he would not have conceived that the problems in defence would be so severe.
Arsenal should have prioritized the defence this season and it might end up being a costly mistake.
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Small margins will make all the difference and it was evident last season, as the Gunners just missed out on a top-four spot and fell short in the Europa League final.
Konate would have helped settle those fine margins and getting him while he’s still 20 would’ve helped the Gunners avoid the big fees that defenders are going for nowadays.
Arsenal can’t spend the big bucks like they used to and it looks like the Gunners will just have to score more goals to win games.