Arsenal’s attack is so close to perfect. Between the likes of Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Alexandre Lacazette, Mesut Ozil and several others, the Gunners have tremendous quality that is enough to rival anyone in England.
They’ve recently been linked with an attempt to make it even better in light of the injury to Danny Welbeck, with Lille man Nicolas Pepe apparently on their radar.
A move for Pepe would add some real class to the Arsenal squad, and with Unai Emery looking to build a Premier League-winning side, his arrival would go a long way.
However, would it complete the Arsenal team? Perhaps not.
Arsenal hve a lot of quality up and down the pitch, but one area in which they’re still lacking somewhat is in defence. The Gunners have a fair amount of depth, but at centre-back, there is a significant lack of quality.
Sokratis has been decent since his arrival, whilst Shkodran Mustafi has also been okay this season; but neither player would get close to the Chelsea, Liverpool and Man City teams.
That’s inherently a big problem, and so perhaps Arsenal could look to improve in that regard.
They could look at plenty of options, but Premier League defender Nathan Ake, who plays for Bournemouth, could be the best of the lot.
Ake, of course, is proven in the Premier League, owing to his time both at Chelsea and at Bournemouth. The Dutchman, who is able to play across the defence and in central midfield, has developed significantly over the last few years, and especially since his move south.
Best utilised as a central defender, he’s built up a steady reputation for being a robust and strong-minded defender that is increasingly hard to break down. Whilst he’s got a lot in his locker, he is first and foremost a solid centre-half, and he’s helped Bournemouth improve significantly defensively.
That said, he’s also a very good footballer from the technical side of things. He’s a very modern defender, in that he’s a brilliant passer and dribbler. Happy to carry the ball out from the defence, he’s always on the look-out for a risky ball, and so he’s an excellent player to have for teams that like to build from the back.
At 23-years-old, Ake is a player with bags of potential, but he’s also a fantastic player for the present. He’s already proven that he’s good enough to turn out at a higher level than Bournemouth, and he’s the perfect player for someone like Emery to turn into a top-tier defender.
Thoughts?
