Arsenal are keen on signing Barcelona defender and World Cup winner Samuel Umtiti who lost his first-team spot at the Catalan club to the new arrival in Clement Lenglet in the recently concluded season.
According to a report from the Daily Star– while Arsenal boss Unai Emery prefers the Barca centre-back who would cost him a major chunk of his transfer budget, the scouts are preparing a list of alternate options in case they fail to poach the French defender from the Spanish giants.
The 25-year-old, who has a contract at Barcelona until 2023, remains keen on staying at the Camp Nou and has asked the club to not entertain any offers for him coming their way.
Umtiti endured an injury-stricken 2018/19 campaign with a recurring knee injury and managed only 15 appearances for the club across all competitions.
Samuel Umtiti at Emirates: An excellent move by Emery
Arsenal, who lost the Europa League final thus missing out on Champions League football for next season, have a lot to introspect but at the forefront are their shambolic defensive displays which culminated in the London club conceding 4 goals in the Europa League final against their rivals Chelsea.
The issues at Arsenal start from the back and the defence has been a cause of worry for the club for some time now. Umtiti could provide the much-needed stability to the Gunners backline and could prove to be a fruitful addition for years to come, seeing the average age of the defenders and the lack of a left-footed centre-back at the club.
The French international possesses a number of positive traits from competent dribbling to having a calm and composed attitude when on the ball which helps him in building the play from the back, something the Spanish manager is trying to implement at the north London club.
The 25-year-old has exceptional passing skills averaging an excellent pass success rate of 92.9% per game. He usually plays short passes in the build-up but likes to play crosses in order to switch the play, something which is essential for a modern-day centre-back.
The Blaugrana defender who stands at 6ft possesses fine aerial ability- he managed an average of 1.1 successful aerial duels per game. His spatial awareness and ability to read the game allows him to stand apart from most defenders out there which were clearly seen in his interception rate of 1.1 where he played the large part of the season with an injured knee.
Arsenal’s lack of Champions League football and their reported budget for the transfer window probably renders this a non-starter but we have seen more bizarre and unlikely transfers go through before this. From a footballing point of view this makes sense for Arsenal and Emery who require a player exactly in the ilk of Umtiti but whether they can entice him and Barcelona is a different matter.
Stat Courtesy: Transfermarkt, Whoscored