Arsenal: Full-back conundrum needs sorting, asap

After Arsenal’s defeat to Manchester City, it has become ever more apparent that the full-back positions need a complete overhaul, and as quickly as possible.

After an upsetting, yet somewhat predictable, loss to the current Premier League title holders, Manchester City, Arsenal’s need for defensive reinforcements, especially in the full-back area, has become even more blatant than it already was.

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After below-par performances from Nacho Monreal and Sead Kolasinac and a horrendous showing from Stephan Lichtsteiner, the Arsenal hierarchy surely will be considering some new — and possibly younger — faces to come in as some more reliable reinforcements.

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Lichtsteiner had a particularly poor performance and was constantly exposed by Manchester City’s superstar winger, Raheem Sterling. The 34-year-old struggled to keep tabs on the pacey Englishman throughout the entirety of the match. On the opposite flank, Kolasinac played in an extremely attacking role in the game, but he did not provide his two strikers with much service throughout the 90 minutes and was exposed positionally, often finding himself either up-front or in central midfield, not left midfield as was the attempted shape.

There are clearly underlying issues that must be addressed. So what can be done?

In order to fix the problem in the full-back area, money has to be spent in the summer transfer window. With Lichtsteiner and Monreal, one would assume the two will be gone in the next year or two. The former Juventus man will most definitely be offloaded in the summer since he was only signed onto a one-year deal and his time with the Gunners has not exactly been stellar. However, his counterpart, Monreal just recently signed a year-long extension with the club that will see the Spaniard stay in north London.

Maybe the contract renewal is some genius ploy to get a sum of money and the club is planning to sell the 32-year-old in the summer, but I really doubt it. Kolasinac and Bellerin will most likely be kept at the club for the future due to the fact that it seems as though Emery sees a use for both is likely more eager to spend in other positions first this summer.

If there are attempts to replace the ageing full-backs, however, players such as Crystal Palace’s Aaron Wan-Bissaka and Leicester City’s Ben Chilwell should be considered. Wan-Bissaka plays as a right-back and is only 21 years old, Chilwell is 22 years old and would perfectly slot into the left-back position.

The two English youngsters would certainly cost a pretty penny but the club must spend if they want to address the problem area. Moreover, their prior experience of the Premier League, their age, and the athleticism with which both share make them extremely attractive, long-term targets.

Manchester City taught Emery and the hierarchy a valuable lesson. Their current full-backs against top-class wingers are simply not good enough. Now, hopefully, the club will act accordingly. The frailties in the full-back area must be addressed sooner rather than later if the club has any hope of ameliorating the underperforming defense.