Arsenal: Lukas Klostermann different name, different position, same story

Bild is reporting that Arsenal are interested in RB Leipzig defender Lukas Klostermann. The 22-year-old, though, is simply a different name playing in a different position, but is the same story as many others already linked this summer.

Arsenal have been linked to a variety of players this summer, many of them being centre-halves. My opinion of many of them has been the same: Do they really offer a substantial and immediate improvement on what is already present in the squad?

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At the centre-half position especially, with the young trio of Konstantinos Mavropanos, Rob Holding and Calum Chambers all impressing at different points in the past two years or so, does it really make sense to sign another who is not of a wholly new level?

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And now there is another name to add to the mix, just at a different position: Lukas Klostermann, who has, according to German publication Bild, allegedly turned the Arsenal heads after a series of impressive performances for RB Leipzig at both right-back and left-back, though it is thought that his more natural home is on the right flank. The question that immediately comes to mind is ‘why’?

Not only have Arsenal already signed a right-back this summer in Stephan Lichtsteiner, even if it may be a 34-year-old right-back who is clearly not seen as a long-term option at the position, but they have an everpresent figure who, while a little underwhelming these past two seasons, is hardly the most pressing issue in the team and deems replacing him a priority.

It is a very similar scenario to that of Caglar Soyuncu or Benjamin Pavard. Why buy a player who is not all that different to what is already in the squad unless if they are something special? And that question is even more pertinent when the other problems that require investment this summer and the budget that this club is working under are considered.

Arsenal simply cannot afford to sign a player like Klostermann. He is not a direct upgrade on Hector Bellerin necessarily and, while he may be able to play at left-back and the versatility is nice to have, he does not offer anything else exceptional to make him an absolute must-sign.

Now, it could be the case that Sven Mislintat believes that he can sell Bellerin, replace him with Klostermann, and raise some further funds to spend in other areas. If that is the case, then these rumours make a little more sense. But Bellerin has stated that he expects to stay in north London and there has been a decreasing number of reports linking him with an exit. It seems unlikely.

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And so Klostermann is simply a different name, playing in a different position, but a part of the same, old story. He isn’t necessary, and in a summer of desperate needs and tight budgets, such an acquisition does not quite add up.