Arsenal: What answers are hidden within the club’s loan ranks?

Arsenal need two major things in the coming transfer window, but might those two things be found within the club’s loaned ranks?

There are two things that Arsenal desperately need more than anything else in the coming summer months: Defensive help and wingers too. You can make an argument for creative midfielders too, but those would have to fall third on the list for me (and for you too, because I’m telling you so).

Defense and wingers, with a budget that probably isn’t going to be as high as we’d like it to be for what the club actually needs. If you want a defender like Matthijs De Ligt, who is going to take all of our budget and then some to secure.

So let’s realistically talk internal solutions. And I don’t mean players that are here right now, but rather, players that are out on loan and can come back in the summer to be evaluated then.

There are three names in particular that strike me as potential solutions, though they may be… a bit of a stretch. Well, two are a stretch, the other one is more of a sure bet, if ever there was one.

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And then there is Calum Chambers, who I have not given up hope on all year as he’s been plodding away as a defensive midfielder at Fulham. Unai Emery has already showed a tendency to to utilize defensive midfielders as centerbacks, so if he has one that already does that, then we have more options right? And besides, Konstantinos Mavropanos and Chambers were the future of the defense at the end of last year.

Speaking of players who can do both, Krystian Bielik has the same perks as Calum Chambers, but a few extra years to play with. He also was one of the most touted young players in the Arsene Wenger regime and he’s become quite popular during his time at Charlton Athletic.

That’s defense, right? Two young players with a lot of hype and a lot of ability that we’ve seen performing at the top level (well, one more than the other). Not bad.

And wingers? That’s an easier one to answer – Reiss Nelson. I don’t think I have to make a case for him. But if you want another, because two is better than one, y’all remember Takuma Asano? Yeah, I’m not counting on him to be a solution either.

But I’m counting on him to be a legitimate option. Why? He’s fast. For now, yes, that’s it. That’s a fantastic start, because we have zero speed right now.

Two options at two necessary positions. It may have some of you rolling your eyes saying “that’s not enough to get us to compete” and I still agree with you there. But it’s a start. And in a world that is unfriendly to the diminutive pocket book of this superb club, a start is something pretty important.