Arsenal: Defensive depth incredibly promising

Analysing Arsenal’s current squad, it seems that one of their strengths is their depth at the back, a welcome change to years past.

Looking ahead to the summer, it seems as though Arsenal will be incredibly aggressive in the transfer market. A £87m bid for Kylian Mbappé Lottin was rejected by Monaco, but the bid shows intent.

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While a central midfielder and attackers such as Mbappé and Alexandre Lacazette may be high on the wish list, I don’t think the same can be said for defenders and goalkeepers.

There may a couple of goalkeepers leaving North London, but Arsene Wenger has already declared that no new one will arrive this summer. Nonetheless, it is the depth of our defence which impresses me the most heading into the summer. Virgil van Dijk has been linked with a move to the Emirates, but I would not be unhappy if we were not able to secure his services. I would love to have him, but the Gunners have a surprisingly promising combination of depth, experience and youth at the back.

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The expected arrival of Sead Kolasinac means that the Gunner’s back five to begin next season is likely to consist of Hector Bellerin/Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Shkodran Mustafi, Laurent Koscielny, Rob Holding and Kolasinac. Those five alone have a nice blend of youth and wisdom.

While there are many things to sort out regarding personnel, behind them Nacho Monreal, Gabriel, Calum Chambers, Krystian Bielik, Kieran Gibbs and Per Mertesacker would all be ready to step in. There were rumours earlier this week that Per Mertesacker was to retire, but it now seems that that is not the case.

Mertesacker and Monreal bring experience to the table, and either Chambers or Bielik could eventually replace Koscielny in the starting eleven.

When he controversially signed his new two-year contract, Wenger said that this current crop of players could win the league title in that time frame. While that seems a little far-fetched, this defensive depth is a solid base for the team to build around.

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It is a welcomed change. Remember our defence once consisted of Mikaël Silvestre, Sébastien Squillaci and André Santos.