Arsenal: Virgil van Dijk Falls Short Of Solution

Arsenal are being heavily linked with Southampton’s Virgil van Dijk. However, the towering defender falls short of the solution to the Gunners’ defensive issues.

The summer transfer window is drawing near and Arsenal have a whole host of positions that are in need of an upgrade. An elite level striker, a pacy, direct winger, an athletic, experienced left-back and a tough-tackling, defensively-astute midfielder are all on the wish list of many fans.

Another position that has been touted as one that is in desperate need of some significant investment is centre-half. For many years, the Gunners have been defensively leaky at best, often exposed against the better teams, blitzed by pacy counter attacks and carved open by quick, fluid strikes.

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This year, the same issues have again reared their ugly head, leading many to suggest that new personnel at the heart of the defence would be a wise acquisition in the summer. And the name on everyone’s lips is Southampton’s Virgil van Dijk, The towering defender has impressed since making the switch from Celtic last summer, showcasing a dominant aerial ability, enough pace to deal with speedy strikers that like to run in behind, and an accomplished understanding and reading of the game.

And the latest transfer reports suggest that Arsene Wenger is a huge fan of van Dijk, and is preparing a £50 million bid to rival interest from likely champions Chelsea. As an individual player, van Dijk would undoubtedly be an improvement on those options already available to Wenger. But he would fall short of the solution of Arsenal’s defensive deficiencies.

Why? Well, their defensive woes do not stem from subpar players playing at an unattainable level for the abilities. Rather, it stems from the system that Wenger employs. Wenger has always prioritised attacking football, demanding his full-backs to push forward and join the attacking moves, asking his midfield to be creative, taking risks, rather than playing safe and limiting the possible exposure from an opposing counter.

Signing van Dijk will not solve those issues. While he may be a more polished defender than Shkodran Mustafi or Gabriel Paulista, and would provide the perfect compliment for Laurent Koscielny’s more aggressive, rash style, he would not be able to overcome the defensive ill-discipline that Wenger’s system allows.

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Arsenal do need to address their defensive issues that have plagued them in recent years. But simply throwing money and players at the problem will not solve it. There needs to be a more insightful, dramatic change, and that starts with Wenger.

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