Arsenal Transfer Rumors: Ricardo Rodriguez Battle Must Be Won

Arsenal looked to have a free run at Ricardo Rodriguez over the summer but they passed. Now it won’t be so easy, with Chelsea also in the hunt.

It didn’t really occur to many that left back would be a high-priority area for Arsenal over the summer. Not until they were linked to Ricardo Rodriguez. Suddenly, it’s like the scales were taken off of our eyes. An aging Monreal and an injury-ridden Kieran Gibbs had their limitations.

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The truly great teams had greatness everywhere and for as good of a defender as Monreal is, to call him great may be a stretch. Quality, reliable, yes. All of those things. But great? I’m hesitant.

Ricardo Rodriguez, however, is a different story. The Swiss is young and already in the upper echelon of fullbacks. He may not have the name recognition of David Alaba, but neither does Wolfsburg have the name recognition of Bayern Munich. Funny how that works.

What once seemed like a free transfer run at Rodriguez, though, has now become a heated battle between Arsenal and Chelsea. Wenger looked to have the Swiss left back in his scopes and with his international room mate in the bag, he could have pushed his luck and landed another necessity.

You can’t really underplay the importance of loading up on reliable, trustworthy players like Rodriguez. I say trustworthy because he has a built-in camaraderie with Granit Xhaka and that boosts his value already. He’s at home as soon as he arrives.

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There aren’t many better out there. Just look at the numbers. 19 goals and 26 assists across just 166 appearances. That’s what Rodriguez is looking at, and he is only going to get better with a better supporting cast and a manager who knows his stuff.

Compare that to Monreal, who in his last 244 appearances has only nabbed four goals and 18 assists.

That is a big difference, ladies and gentlemen, and further proof that while Monreal is indeed a good, quality, reliable defender, he isn’t a Ricardo Rodriguez, Hector Bellerin type who can inflict damage all across the board.

There aren’t many fullbacks like that in the world of football and Arsenal look to have a direct line at landing another, meaning they would have a truly special fullback on both ends of the formation.

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That is what elite looks like. Plus, the rumors are indicating he would only cost £21. That is a bargain and a half. I suppose we shouldn’t get our hopes up though.

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