Arsenal and Thomas Meunier: Great player, but why?

Arsenal are being linked with a move for Paris Saint-Germain right-back Thomas Meunier. He is an excellent player, but I am not sure why they would chase him.

The transfer rumours are beginning to flood in. Most of them, of course, are utter rubbish. But every now and then, there is one that sneaks through the cracks of mire and misery to produce a genuine and accurate report of actual interest.

Find the latest episode of the Pain in the Arsenal Podcast here — Death, Decay, Despair

Arsenal, being a major club with a big fanbase that is routinely desperate for big-name signings are an easy target for the media. They get a whole lot of clicks from Arsenal fans. And so, they produce a whole lot of reports about potential signings that the club may — or may not — make.

More from Pain in the Arsenal

• 3 standout players from 1-0 victory over Everton
• 3 positives & negatives from Goodison Park victory
• Arsenal vs PSV preview: Prediction, team news & lineups
• 3 talking points from Arsenal’s victory at Goodison Park
• Mikel Arteta provides Gabriel Martinelli injury update after Everton win

One name that has surfaced this week is Paris Saint-Germain right-back, Thomas Meunier. The Belgian international has fallen out of favour at Le Parc des Princes with Dani Alves arriving last summer from Juventus and suffering from a series of injuries in the past year restricting his availability. Now 27, Meunier is reportedly keen to leave the club to find regular playing time, and, apparently, Arsenal are one of the teams interested in handing him that chance.

Meunier played under Unai Emery at PSG, and Emery was the man who signed him from Club Brugge, thrusting him into the elite echelons of European football. There is obviously a strong relationship there. He was excellent in the World Cup for Belgium and is an extremely athletic, powerful full-back who would be able to handle the physicality of the Premier League. In a vacuum, he would be a very good player to add to the team.

But the Gunners are not conducting their summer business in a vacuum. This is not a pick and mix. They must carefully and cohesively build a team and squad with limited resources, and signing a potentially £25 million right-back makes almost no sense whatsoever.

Hector Bellerin was very good prior to his ACL injury and will hopefully be ready shortly after the start of the season, while Ainsley Maitland-Niles has filled in capably in his absence ever since, especially at right wing-back in a back five, as Emery has implemented with tactical flexibility this season.

Meunier could realistically cost half of the budget. With the number of other positions that need investment this summer, many of them more expensive than right-back, why would you essentially waste half of your resources on a good but needless player? That makes no sense.

Arsenal and Emery are building a squad. That requires spreading resources evenly throughout the team. Meunier represents the very opposite of that. Good player, yes, but not a needed one. It would be just like breaking your transfer record twice in six months for out-and-out strikers. Oh wait…