Arsenal and Dani Alves: The Stephan Lichtsteiner logic smart

Arsenal are reportedly attempting to sign Dani Alves on a free transfer. It is a very similar move as the Stephan Lichtsteiner one last summer. Despite Lichtsteiner flailing during his one year at the club, the logic was sound, which is a good thing regarding Alves.

In the 2017/18 season, Hector Bellerin played more than 3000 minutes of Premier League football. He played another 450 in the Champions League and topped 3500 minutes in all competitions, the equivalent of nearly 40 complete matches. That is a lot.

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He also did so while dealing with a series of niggling injuries, most damagingly to his ankle. He lacked the same sharpness of previous seasons, clearly hampered by physical issues, and played through the pain on several occasions, Arsene Wenger leaning heavily on him throughout the year. The reason for that was obvious: there was no one else to turn to. For Wenger, it was Bellerin or bust.

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Consequently, when Unai Emery replaced Wenger last summer, surveying the squad and considering the needs of the team, a reserve right-back was viewed as a priority. However, there were also gaping holes at goalkeeper, defensive midfield and centre-back. There was also not a lot of money to spend, and so Arsenal had to look for cheap solutions to their right-back conundrum. Here, Stephan Lichtsteiner entered the equation.

A year later, Lichtsteiner is gone. He was one of the most problematic players in the squad last season and was completely untrusted by the end of the year, his ageing legs clearly catching up to him. The signing did not work out. But that does not negate the logic of the move in the first place. What Emery attempted to do by signing Lichtsteiner — signing an experienced back-up on a free transfer — was actually very smart. It just didn’t quite come off.

Now with Lichtsteiner gone, Arsenal are in the same position. Bellerin is also now coming off a torn ACL and won’t be ready for the start of the new season, while Carl Jenkinson is expected to leave the club at some point. A new right-back is needed.

But the same constraints are also present. There are plenty of other positions that also need investment and not a lot of money to use, a reported £40-45 million transfer kitty given to Emery to work with. And so, a cheap solution to the problem is again the name of the game.

Although the Lichtsteiner move itself did not pan out as Arsenal would have liked, the thinking was meritful. It, therefore, makes sense to dip back into a similar market: an ageing, experienced right-back who can back up Bellerin for a year or two and not cost all that much to bring to the club. Enter Dani Alves.

The Brazilain 2019 Copa America winner is now 36 years old. He left Paris Saint-Germain with the expiration of his contract in the summer and is available on a free-agent transfer. Having played for Barcelona, Juventus, PSG and racking up over 100 international caps, there are few players in world football that boast his experience. Although very much in the twilight of his career, he should have the nous and know-how to fulfil a deputy role for a season or two.

The process of the Lichtsteiner move was the right one, even if the result was not. So dipping back in to fund a similar transfer is a sensible move. And that is precisely what Alves would be to Arsenal. Bellerin needs help. Lichtsteiner couldn’t provide it. Can Alves?