Arsenal: Of course they are ‘prepared’ to sell Sead Kolasinac

Arsenal are reportedly ‘prepared’ to sell Sead Kolasinac should Barcelona make a move as has been rumoured. Well, ain’t that the shock of the century.

In one of the most shocking reports of the summer, Arsenal are allegedly willing to see a player who plays at a position that they have highlighted as a weakness for a £20 million profit.

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The news broke this week. Barcelona have reportedly named Gunners’ left-back Sead Kolasinac as a potential solution to their back-up left-back position, with Jordi Alba shouldering the playing responsibility for many years now. And Unai Emery is allegedly willing to sell, for the right price, of course.

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That price is reported to be in the region of £20 million. That would unquestionably be a terrific deal for a team that is already wanting to invest some resources into the very position that Kolasinac is apparently able to play.

Because of his plain defensive shortcomings, Emery rarely trusted Kolasinac in a traditional left-back role. His offensive threat was unique, bombarding his way down the left flank like a freight train, and so using him as a wing-back made a lot of sense and was a tactical ploy that Emery and the team gained a lot of joy from throughout the season, but there was far more hesitance to trust him in a more traditional full-back position.

Ally those fears with the suggestions that Emery wants to shift to a more permanent back four, which does align with his historical norms, the 4-3-3 shape being his go-to system at his two former clubs — Paris Saint-Germain and Sevilla — before moving to north London, and it is easy to see that Kolasinac does not really fit the future direction of the team.

https://twitter.com/Arsenal/status/1136553050158620673

That has led to wide-ranging reports claiming that left-back is one of the primary positions to target this summer, Kieran Tierney of Celtic the chief name in this area. If investment is going to be made at the position, why not try to recoup at least some value from the players that are being replaced?

It was initially believed that Kolasinac would be kept at the club as a reserve option at the position. But Nacho Monreal is not necessarily going anywhere, Arsenal extending his contract by another year earlier in the season, and Ainsley Maitland-Niles can play on the left side in a pinch. If another body was bought in, Kolasinac could be seen as expendable.

£20 million, therefore, for an ‘expendable’ asset is quite the return. Given the limited budget that Emery is working with this summer, rumoured to be around £40 million, any money that can be recouped through player sales is invaluable. A potential Kolasinac sale for that price, then, could be extremely useful.

So yes, of course Arsenal are ‘prepared’ to sell Kolasinac. In fact, it would not completely surprise me if they were actively shopping him. This report, then, does not really say anything of note.