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Arsenal Should Sign Benedikt Howedes But They Will Not
By Josh Sippie
Arsenal’s defense has been rather inconsistent this year and it may be time to start looking for a little help. Benedikt Howedes is the perfect option.
Arsenal are consistently tied to Schalke captain Benedikt Howedes, but despite the arguably perfect fit, Wenger will not move for the German. After all, we already have so many center backs.
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January is all about reinforcements. Any glaring holes that needed filling should have been filled in the summer (except in Arsenal’s defensive midfield). This mid-season transfer window is here to repair the damage the team has taken over the course of the year. By that standard, A move for a centerback should be somewhere on Arsenal’s list. However, Wenger composes lists in a bit of a different spirit, and the likelihood he moves for a centerback are slim to none.
What Arsenal currently have at center back has served them well. Per Mertesacker has had resurgences in form from time to time, but he still shoes degrees of being inadequate. Laurent Koscielny has actually been a little inconsistent as well. However, a lot of that has to be blamed on Arsenal’s lack of a defensive midfielder.
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The point of the defensive midfielder is to wear down the attack before they get to the defense. Because Arsenal did not have a physical specimen in this spot on the pitch, Koscielny and Mertesacker had to deal with the brunt of the opposing attack.
It is the same argument used to defend Wojciech Szczesny’s time in goal in his last, fateful half season. He may have had some moments of bizarre lapses in concentration, but his defense was sketch at best. It’s not up to a goalie to completely stop an attack. He needs his team mates and they were unreliable.
However, now that Arsenal have that able-bodied defensive midfielder, hopefully at least, in Mohamed Elneny, look for that defense to improve. It will – again, ideally – take the pressure off Arsenal’s defense if Elneny can at least bog down the opposing attack.
Not only will the defense start to look better, but by Wenger’s token, Arsenal have five centerbacks: Per, Koscielny, Gabriel, Monreal and Chambers.
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In reality, Arsenal have three, the former three on the list. Monreal can double as a centerback in dire situations, but keeping him on the left is crucial. Chambers may have a future at center back, but he has been primarily used at right back and at defensive midfield, mostly because he is not ready to fulfill the requirements of being a center back.
In that regard, Howedes would be the perfect transition, as I indicated not long ago. Arsenal do not necessarily need a long term solution because Chambers will fill that. But they could benefit from a short-term solution. Mertesacker does not have much time left. This could be his last year as a bonafide starter. Koscielny is 30 as well and he has had injury problems in the past.
Adding someone like Howedes would be a perfect fortification of a rather important position on the pitch. Plus, as mentioned in my previous article, the combination of Howedes and Gabriel would work just like Koscielny and Mertesacker. Hard to argue with the results they procured.
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But Wenger won’t do it. Even if Debuchy moves on. There is no great need and as we saw when both Vermaelen and Jenkinson left in the same transfer window, Arsenal have been thinly staffed on defense before.