In many ways this is an exciting summer for Arsenal fans as the club looks set to sign multiple players as they kick-start a new era, and a report from Goal has suggested that Mikel Arteta is targeting at least five new arrivals.
Two of those will be at full back as he needs a back-up for Kieran Tierney on the left hand side, while it looks like Hector Bellerin could also be off so a starting option on the right is needed.
They’ve been linked with multiple players and you can be sure that the rumours will keep on coming, but there are two names that keep cropping up and they would make sense in this scenario:
Ryan Bertrand – Southampton – Free Transfer
Football.London have confirmed that there’s an interest from Arsenal in the Southampton defender, while he’s also set to be a free agent in the summer so the lack of a transfer fee has to be appealing.
There’s little doubt that Kieran Tierney will start when he’s fit, but the problem is that he often has to deal with injuries so there will be chances for someone else to play, and Bertrand is a solid, experienced option who can fill in and still perform at a high level.
It’s going to be a tough spot to fill as nobody really wants to sign on as a back-up, but this will give Bertrand a final chance to play for a club that aspires to be elite so it may be the most attractive offer that he’ll get.
Signing a back-up full back is never going to be the most exciting move, but this makes a lot of sense.
Tariq Lamptey – Brighton – £25m+
This will be a harder move to pull off thanks to Brighton securing Premier League football for another year, but he’s also the type of signing that Arsenal should be looking at.
There’s no point in simply stocking the squad with solid players who won’t excite anyone and who are unlikely to elevate you to another level, so they need to take risks on exciting talents who could also be sold on for a big profit in the future.
The only knock on Lamptey is his lack of height, but if they can find a way to ensure he’s not isolated in the aerial game then he could bring so much to this team.
He’s relentless with his pace and energy in both directions as you can see he actually has the desire to defend well, while his arrival could also get the best out of Nicolas Pepe as Lamptey will require attention on the overlap and that opens up the space for Pepe to cut inside.
Lamptey has been linked on a regular basis so it does look like there’s interest there, and he would be an exciting option for that right-back slot.