Good post. We’ve all been leaning towards Kerkez and Frimpong as that’s what the bulk of the rumors suggest. And it may well pan out just like that.
But sometimes the most obvious thing might not be what happens, and we may want a left back who can tuck in a bit more and offer us, effectively, a back three, especially if Frimpong has license to go higher and support Mo.
Then again, maybe both Kerkez and Frimpong will be signed, and when we need more defensive solidity a midfielder will drop back into the space so Virg and Konate are not too stretched out with too much ground to cover?
One other thought is that the engine that both Frimpong and Kerkez possess might mean they can do the lot, or near as damn it, and will put lots of miles on the clock going up and down the flank.
8 defenders is ideal depth. I do like to have one or two CB’s who can play either inside or outside in a pinch. Losing fullbacks to injury can happen and it helps when you have a player already on the roster who can do the job in a pinch rather than having to make purchases in January to fill holes.
That’s part of what made Milner so valuable when he was here. He primarily played midfield but he did a credible job at RB in a pinch when we needed him.
I’m thinking we get Kerkez+Frimpong for defence. Then we get a striker, either Alvarez or Isak. A lot of smoke from the Wirtz story but I find myself not believing right now until there’s way more evidence something will happen.
A case might well be made that we get in Hato (if available) even if we get Kerkez in. It might mean an overkill of LBs but there’s every chance that Gomez is being moved on and Hato can do a job as a LCB and that versatility makes him get plenty of minutes.
Not concerned about Hato’s relative lack of minutes initially atleast , but we don’t have a backup in the LCB position. Hato might just provide that. It’s important to conserve VVD as well at this stage in his career.
If can also mean horses for courses. Our wingbacks do put in quite a lot of miles on their legs. 4 seems ideal. It might be 5 for a couple of seasons considering Robbo still has some legs in him but that extra versatility of Hato playing as a LCB at times might allow us to let go of Gomez.
If we’re talking Hato as an alternative option to Kerkez then I’d hope we’d be looking at Hincapie at Leverkusen too.
Less of your Kerkez/Robo types and more like White/ Timber types on the right for Arsenal. Has the ability at full back but could also play CB with a view to being an heir to Virg on that left hand side.
Albeit is doing an awful lot of work here. It is the entire point of why they carry such numbers. Both clubs have blurred the lines between FB and CB such that they as a default play at least 3 players you have identified as a CB and not uncommonly play 4. City have on occasions even played 5 when Stones has filled in for Rodri in front of a back 4 of 4CBs. They make up for this by having fewer recognized FBs on the books. So with that context it is pretty clear that these not comps to judge what we need against.
Other important context to consider is whether the club actually rates the players they have on their books or whether some of their numbers are from transfer busts they are stuck with. That is definitely the case with Chelsea, which is part of why they ended up having to go to Palace and cancel the loan for Chalobah to get him back in January.
If you play only 2 CBs are a time, AND you have no elevated concerns about injury potential for any of your group, AND you rate each of the group and are happy to use them, then 4 is plenty.
So when you apply that to us, the question marks on whether our 4 are enough are whether we’re planning on using Quansah and/or Gomez to fill and do RB by committee. Or if there are concerns about the quality and/or readiness of Quansah and/or Gomez. Or there is a lack of faith in Gomez’s fitness. Under any of those scenarios we’d probably need another defensive body in some capacity.
But a situation in which we bring in a LB to replace Tsimi, buy Frimpong with a view to playing RB, and the injury concerns with Gomez are alleviated by selling him and bringing in a new CB, then as long as Slot is genuinely happy with Quansah you’d think that group of 4 would be plenty
Long old reply to my quick and dirty post to add context to the discussion (as per my follow up posts) ALBEIT i appreciate that its still a talking point
