Arsenal: Benjamin Pavard just the right kind of crazy

Arsenal supposedly don’t have a lot of money to spend this summer. Spending most of it on Benjamin Pavard may seem crazy. And it is. And that’s good.

Arsenal have yet to make a formal announcement regarding any transfers, so no matter how much we hear about Sokratis and Stephan Lichtsteiner, nothing is official yet. Meaning that everything is still out there in the open, and that includes funneling all of their defensive hopes into one man.

That man being Benjamin Pavard.

While we don’t know exactly how much the Gunners will have available to spend this summer (rumors have ranged between £50m and £70m), it was understood that for £40m, Pavard would take a healthy chunk out of that kitty.

Things have escalated, with Bild claiming that Pavard is indeed free to leave Stuttgart, but for the not-so-friendly price of £52m. Which, needless to say, is a heartier chunk than previously estimated.

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That’s crazy. To think that the Gunners could spend all of their money on one guy and have chump change left to address their other situations. But while it is crazy, it is the right kind of crazy. Because Benjamin Pavard has been vetted and re-vetted and he has emerged as the future of the French national defense.

So much so that he was called to the World Cup squad, when the stories of unexpected cuts this summer have been rampant. Pavard was one of the rare “surprise call ups.” But then again, it wasn’t really a surprise, was it?

Pavard played 3000 minutes for the second best defensive club in Germany – in a league that is known for open, flowing attacking play, Pavard was among the few standing up against it and doing a damn fine job of it.

As mentioned in a previous rendition of “why to dump money on Pavard,” I pointed out that he is the kind of defender we’ve been asking for. He’s not rash or aggressive. He’s calm and patient – a Per Mertesacker with more agility, who can be around for longer. The perfect pairing for any number of our stock of aggressive centerbacks.

The amount of money they’re supposedly asking for is batty. But when you think about what we are getting – a potential solution to our defensive woes, then is there any price too much?

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The answer is no. Pavard is a next-gen defender who the Gunners can build around for the future. If there is any belief from the transfer crew that he can do what would be expected of him, then fork out the money.

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