Arsenal and Aaron Wan-Bissaka: Great player; wrong position

Arsenal are reportedly desperate to sign Aaron Wan-Bissaka this summer. The Crystal Palace right-back is a terrific player, but he plays the wrong position to be worthy of substantial investment.

As the Unai Emery era at Arsenal unfolds, there is clearly going to be great turnover among the personnel at the club. Arsene Wenger was the master in north London and he subsequently moulded the squad into the shape that he wanted. A new manager begets changes among the player personnel.

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We have seen this process undergo over the past year. Some of Wenger’s favourites have departed — Olivier Giroud, Theo Walcott, Alexis Sanchez, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Aaron Ramsey — and some rather un-Wengerian players have been signed — Sokratis, Lucas Torreira. And this summer, the Emery-inspired project is set to continue.

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What players and positions that Arsenal pursue will be fascinating, revealing what they believe about the current strengths and weaknesses of the squad and many of the players that were at the club under Wenger. And this weekend, reports have surfaced of another player that the club are allegedly ‘desperate’ to sign.

Crystal Palace right-back Aaron Wan-Bissaka has apparently impressed Emery and Raul Sanllehi to the extent that they are willing to go extreme lengths to secure his signing in the summer. He is rumoured to be valued at £40 million, with the Gunners considering using Reiss Nelson and/or Ainsley Maitland-Niles as makeweights in a possible transfer. If this sounds farfetched, that’s because it is.

Nevertheless, the links do provide a frame for an important discussion regarding the possible transfer priorities of the club this summer. Wan-Bissaka, in and of himself, would be a terrific signing. A blossoming full-back who could be a world-class starter for a decade. That is the perfect type of acquisition that Emery and Sanllehi should be trying to make.

But there is one rather clear problem with any potential move: the position. Wan-Bissaka is a right-back. Even with Hector Bellerin recovering from a torn ACL, likely to miss the first few weeks of the season, it is not exactly a position that is desperate need of bolstering this summer. And that is put into even greater perspective when other needs of the team are considered.

Arsenal do not have unlimited funds. There are only so many players that they will be able to sign and so many positions they will be able address. Is it sensible to spend £40 million to help a position that is well down on the priorities of need? Surely left-back, centre-back, central midfield and winger, at the very least, must be considered as greater needs than right-back? And that is without any sales being made.

Wan-Bissaka is a terrific player and he would be a terrific signing. But Arsenal must be pragmatic. For a successful summer, they must recognise their needs elsewhere and spend accordingly. And Wan-Bissaka does not fit into that remit.