Arsenal: Jose Gimenez Link An Unlikely Progression

Arsenal’s search for a defender has opened up new avenues for Wenger, but the least likely is the most recent: Jose Gimenez.

Arsenal need a defender, in case you haven’t heard. With Per Mertesacker out until 2017, Gabriel out for up to two months and Koscielny just now returning, the stock is thin. Even with all three of them healthy, Arsenal still needs help, but Wenger tends to doubt that.

It seemed like it was all set in stone that Shkodran Mustafi would be coming to Arsenal. Valencia had financial fair play to attend to and as such, have to trim their budget. They were reportedly willing to let the class German defender go for a very reasonable £25m, a whole £15m cheaper than his buy out clause. It was a no-lose situation.

But something has caused the deal to stall. Many speculate that it is the asking price, but we don’t know for sure. Whatever the case, the seemingly fix-all solution is no longer so simple. And here we are, with just a few days before Arsenal take on Leicester City and they still don’t have a new defender.

This speed bump in the deal opened the door to new potential solutions such as SImon Kjaer and Omer Toprak. Kjaer in particular picked up steam and, again, it made total sense. 27 years old, cheap, proven. What else could we want?

Now, however, we understand that Arsenal are after one of the most highly-rated young center backs in the world: Jose Gimenez.

Gimenez had a massive breakout year last year for Atletico Madrid, paring up with his dynamic international team mate Diego Godin to form the backbone of the most impressive defense in the world of football. Gimenez made 27 appearances, totaling 2400 minutes and he rocked the socks off of each individual minute.

Oh, and he’s only 21 years old.

This young talent is one of the most renowned in the world, but that’s what gives me hesitancy to buy into it. First of all, Gimenez is one of the next generation of incredibly talented Atletico youngsters who is already being introduced into the team. He is learning from his countryman Diego Godin and he has regular time on one of the best, young teams in the world.

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That in and of itself strikes me as a massive deterrent. Wenger would have to absolutely break the bank for this guy. Atletico have supposedly set a price tag of £40m, which, correct me if I’m wrong, feels a bit out of Wenger’s price range. If Mustafi’s price tag is a stumbling block, then what is Gimenez’s?

Plus, The idea of signing another 21 year old center back doesn’t strike me as something Wenger would do. He already has Chambers (21), Holding (20) and Bielik (18). Wenger isn’t exactly a quick switch kind of guy and none of those three have been given a proper chance (in his estimation). You don’t have to tell me that Gimenez is better than those three (at least the first two thus far), but Wenger simply doesn’t abandon projects that quickly.

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A mid-20s center back seems much more Wenger-like. Someone that can partner with Gabriel. Someone who won’t get in the way of this young group he has collected.

Plus… come on, £40m?

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