Arsenal: Stephan Lichtsteiner what Petr Cech should be

With Unai Emery now officially Arsenal’s new head coach, the links are pouring in, and Stephan Lichtsteiner is as sensible a link as they come.

Arsenal’s transfer links are picking up rather quickly, and given the frugality that the club is supposedly going to exercise this year, the best judge of how viable a transfer option is is their reported cost.

Free, for instance, is a good cost. Anyone that is out of contract will not cut into the transfer budget except, perhaps, in terms of wages, but that amount would be minuscule compared to paying a fee and then heaping on wages.

As such, hearing Stephan Lichtsteiner linked is exciting. The well-traveled, former Juventus right back is out of contract and searching for new club options, of which, Arsenal is an obvious one.

Lichtsteiner has been linked to the Gunners before for the same reason that he is being linked now – Hector Bellerin is alone. Mathie Debuchy previously got in the way, but now that Debuchy is gone, Bellerin is quite literally alone.

No matter how much potential Bellerin has, this past year he simply was not good enough. Not only was he not good enough, but there was nothing the club could do about it, as they had no other rightbacks.

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They even tried Calum Chambers again, which is futile.

Lichtsteiner is one such option. He has a fantastic track record of being a consistent performer on sides that win things, which is always a welcome addition for the Gunners. Especially seeing as how Arsenal are getting younger across the board. Their veteran presence is not as strong as it once was, and with Laurent Koscielny facing a long-term absence, it is even less.

Petr Cech is one of the few veterans that the club has, who has been around the world and faced the toughest of opposition.

So essentially, Lichtsteiner is another Cech. He is someone that can provide guidance, veteran leadership and a reliable presence in the locker room and in training, while also being a reliable option on the pitch.

But he shouldn’t be any more than that. Cech should be a deputy to a young keeper. Lichsteiner should be the deputy to Bellerin. That is, until a time should come where a steady, reliable presence is valued on the pitch over youthful promise.

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Of course, in Lichtsteiner would still find plenty of playing time across the other competitions, like Cech should. it’s a valuable investment that isn’t even much of one, from a monetary perspective.

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