Arsenal: There is hidden sensibility to the Alberto Moreno rumors

Arsenal are being tied to the services of Liverpool outcast Alberto Moreno, and while some might laugh, there is some sensibility buried in here.

Arsenal don’t particularly need another fullback right now. Their ranks are pretty swollen with two guys to each post, and it’s keeping the likes of Kolasinac and Lichsteiner out of regular playing time in the Premier League.

So to hear Alberto Moreno linked with a surprise move to the Emirates might be a bit of a shock. And initially, I wanted to laugh at it and pay it no heed. But the more I thought about it, the more sensibility I found hidden inside this rumor.

Alberto Moreno nose-dived off of Liverpool’s radar at the turn of the 2016/17 season. He went from the present and future of the club to a great big nothing. He wasn’t hurt or anything, he just wasn’t wanted.

Yet, the previous year, Moreno had showed some serious attacking chops and, while he certainly had defensive problems to deal with, so does Hector Bellerin. Which is the first reason why I don’t see this rumor as completely farcical. Moreno is only 26, he’d be super cheap, and he is an attacking fullback.

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But then you start thinking about long-term. We have Sead Kolasinac, Nacho Monreal and Ainsley Maitland-Niles all capable of playing leftback. That’s a good stock. But Monreal is getting older and less viable, Kolasinac can’t stay healthy and Maitland-Niles is gunning for a midfield role.

Suddenly it’s not as deep as we thought.

Fast forward a year down the road, with Monreal still on the decline, if not gone, and Maitland-Niles establishing himself in the midfield, and we are left with just Kolasinac to hold down a role when he can’t stay on the pitch.

Moreno isn’t a blockbuster signing, but he doesn’t have to be. He needs to fill the gaps provided, assuming they arise, and he needs to be a competent attacker, since that is all that Bellerin is doing these days and he’s a favorite of Unai Emery.

That’s all we would need from Moreno. He can provide that, I have no doubts, and if you buy into his transfer value, he could be acquired for next to nothing.

Call it crazy, but there is a need for a cheap leftback that isn’t going to immediately demand special accommodations and starting time. Moreno still has potential and if Emery managed him once, then why not do it again?