Arsenal and Samuel Umtiti: Wait, that’s all Barcelona want?

Arsenal’s quest for defender is not going well, but Samuel Umtiti is suddenly much more realistic thanks to a sensible asking price from Barcelona.

Arsenal were supposedly out of the race to sign Samuel Umtiti because he was determined to stay and fight for his place at Barcelona despite being the third horse in a two-horse race all year long. He’s much too talented to be on anyone’s bench, especially after proving himself on the biggest stage in the 2018 World Cup.

The Gunners looked like the perfect solution to all parties involved, allowing Umtiti to find himself as the anchor of a team with a promising future ahead, but up until recently, this rumor was simply dead in the water.

Now, Barcelona have reportedly named an asking price. And I hate to bring this to your attention, but they are doing their usual Barcelona thing and asking for £92m.

No wait. They aren’t. They’re only asking for £53m. For a 25-year-old, World Cup winning defender who anchored his country to the trophy.

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I understand that we only have that £45m to spend, but if you’re willing to go all out to spend stupid amounts of money on Wilfried Zaha, who we don’t need nearly as much as we need defensive help, then why aren’t we going all out trying to secure a bit of extra funding for someone like Samuel Umtiti, who would absolutely revolutionize the face of this defense?

It’s crazy that this is still such a mummed rumor. Umtiti should have been one of our top targets all summer long. He checks all the boxes in terms of what we would want out of a centerback, he’s got a ridiculous pedigree, and if he’s at all up for the move, the money can be found.

One good sale and we can afford him. That’s all it takes. And honestly, you may think me crazy for this, but give me Umtiti and this is instantly a successful window. The defense is beefed up, that’s what we needed most. From there, focus on selling some guys to fund a new left back and an attacking option.

I make it sound so easy, right? But seriously, nobody has a bad thing to say about Umtiti, nor should they. He’s a 25-year-old with the pedigree of a 30-year-old. And he’s going for an honest price.

I don’t suspect that this rumor will go far though, unfortunately. His name isn’t Zaha, which automatically makes him a miss.