Arsenal: Benjamin Pavard put on a silver platter for Emirates move

Arsenal were optimistically linked to Benjamin Pavard, but now that the parameters of his sale have been set, the Gunners are in prime position.

Being told that a player will not be sold until the following year may seem like a hindrance to any current needs, especially as Arsenal are concerned. In such a transitional era at the club, loading up on as many options as possible in the here and now is rather important.

That way we can get a feel for who is here, who is a real force going forward, and who needs to be improved upon.

But in the case of Benjamin Pavard, the opposite is true. Stuttgart have made it clear that their hot commodity defender will not be sold this summer. Amidst a break-out World Cup campaign, this is a rather big announcement.

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He will, however, be sold next summer. A summer where he is a much more sensible investment for this club than he would be at this juncture.

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As it stands, the Gunners have so many first-team defensive options, many of whom they just don’t know enough about. Calum Chambers is ready for one final trial run before we invest full faith in him.

Rob Holding has put his sophomore slump behind him and Konstantinos Mavropanos only played a couple hundred minutes.

Of these three guys – and this isn’t even including Caglar Soyuncu – the likelihood of finding a bonafide first-team defender is pretty damn high, given the undeniable ability that each one has. In a perfect world, all three would prove masterful and Soyuncu too, then we wouldn’t even need to talk about Pavard.

But in a worst case scenario, which can often pan out here at the Emirates, we may find that, next summer, our defensive corps is even less trustworthy than they once were. Which would make the availability of Pavard extra tasty.

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Not least of all because, by next summer, the Gunners will be back in the Champions League and a much nicer destination for someone like Pavard, who certainly would like to find his way to the next level.