Arsenal: Joachim Andersen remains the best idea of the summer

Arsenal’s transfer trail of Joachim Andersen has gone cold, but it has to be reignited, as the Danish centerback remains the best idea of the summer.

Arsenal need defensive help more than anything this transfer window, and Joachim Andersen was the perfect solution. 23-years-old, proven in Serie A, the exact specimen that we would want in a defender.

But apparently combining him with Dennis Praet was an absolute necessity, which would have cost us £50m, and that’s silly. I will say what I’ve been saying—get Joachim Andersen and forget Dennis Praet.

Lyon also recently submitted a bid for Andersen in the region of £15m and had it rejected, but if the Gunners were to offer the same fee they are ready to offer for William Saliba, it’s likely they could snag his services.

Some say that William Saliba is the better option, because he is more of a long-term investment, but I really don’t like this strand of thought. Joachim Andersen is only 23.

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It’s like saying that Matteo Guendouzi is an investment in the future, but Lucas Torreira isn’t. That’s the same age difference as between Joachim Andersen and William Saliba. In both cases, both have present-day viability with future impact. The difference is, again, in each situation, that Andersen and Torreira both have more immediate value to the team, while Saliba and Guendouzi have a lot of growth and acclimation.

And again, while we need future investment on this defense, we have a lot of players for the future, namely the likes of Dinos Mavropanos, Krystian Bielik (if we can keep him) and Zech Medley. We could always use more future investment, but we should be far more concerned with the current state of this defense.

Laurent Koscielny is likely exiting, which leaves Sokratis as our only reliable first-team centerback. If you bring in a 23-year-old like Andersen who can slot into a reliable role and still provide future upside, you kill two birds with one Dane.

I don’t understand the logic of buying Saliba only to loan him back. I do understand the logic behind signing someone who can help the team now and later.

Andersen is the best idea that the Gunners have had this summer transfer window, but it feels like this is an idea that they aren’t all that invested in anymore, and I just don’t understand why. Defense is the priority, and Andersen can fix all that for a modest fee. Get it done.