Arsenal: Now Or Never In Daniel Rugani Transfer Pursuit

Arsenal have been linked to Juventus youngster Daniele Rugani for some time but the chase is heating up now more than ever. Will Arsenal get their guy?

Recurring rumors have sprung up surrounding 21 year old center back Daniele Rugani. The Juventus center back was an impressive specimen at Empoli last season but this season he has found just three minutes of play time at the Turin outfit. Three minutes is usually not enough time to satiate one’s appetite for the game, so the rumors are abuzz.

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Arsenal look to be leading the chase for the young center back, although as the Metro reports, numerous offers for Rugani have been rejected by Juventus previously. Tuttosport highlights Arsenal’s supposed ‘desperation’ to land the defender, despite having a pretty good defensive situation at the moment.

Rugani is under contract until 2020 so it’s not something that Arsenal can just wait out. They are going to have to shovel out some cash to land the Italian.

Arsenal FC

In terms of practicality, there may be a small niche to fit Rugani into. Arsenal is running a trifecta at center back, with Per Mertesacker, Laurent Koscielny and Gabriel Paulista all quality enough to be pulling in game time. Gabriel may be getting a raw deal as of late, but that is a topic for another day. This trifecta works well because it allows for flexibility and security.

The problem with that trifecta is that Mertesacker and Koscielny have both eclipsed 30 years of age. Mertesacker is declining far faster than Koscielny, who is not declining at all, but before long, that duo is going to be Koscielny and Gabriel. So on and so forth, it’s the circle of life.

Calum Chambers is just 20 years old and figures to grow into a central defender’s role with the versatility to play central midfield and right back. That still leaves Arsenal in need of more cover at central defense when Laurent Koscielny moves on. Which, let’s hope, isn’t for another decade.

Rugani would fit the bill perfectly. The problem is that he would run into a similar situation at Arsenal as he is finding at Juventus. Currently, the young Turin starlet is sitting behind Giorgio Chiellini (31), Leonardo Bonucci (28) and Andrea Barzagli (34). Chiellini and Barzagli do not have many more years to give and Bonucci can’t do it alone. Rugani needs only play the waiting game if he wants a career at Juventus.

If he came to Arsenal, he would be sitting behind Mertesacker (31), Koscielny (30) and Gabriel (25). Going by age alone, that would indicate that he actually has a better shot of ascending the totem pole at Juventus.

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However, Arsenal is known to always give youngsters a chance, and with Rugani as out of favor as he is, Arsenal could go for a classic poaching. However, the longer they wait, the less likely it is to happen as Rugani will inch closer to a bigger role. It reminds me a lot of the Edinson Cavani situation. He may well have been poaching material a few years ago but now that Zlatan is moving on, all Cavani has to do is wait. There is no point in moving on.

I would like to see Rugani in an Arsenal kit, but with how slowly and deliberately Wenger approaches transfers, I do not see it happening.