Arsenal: Daniele Rugani can finally make up for lost time

Arsenal have been tied to Daniele Rugani for years, and it’s looking like he’d have been better off making the move at first mention.

Ever since Daniele Rugani made the move from Empoli to Juventus, he has been linked with a subsequent move to Arsenal. Arsene Wenger wanted him, Ivan Gazidis wanted him, now Unai Emery, Raul Sanllehi and Edu want him too.

When he was a wee 22-year-old, the deal seemed to have a lot of traction, but Rugani and Juventus decided to stay together. He wanted to earn his spot on the Juventus first team and that was that. It didn’t take care of the links, which hung around in perpetuity, but it did take a back seat to other defensive transfer targets.

Now, Rugani is linked with a move again, this time it is reportedly a two-year loan deal that would see us getting the prime years out of Rugani, who is now 25 and needs to start making a dent in some playing time.

And that’s the thing. Rugani stayed at Juventus, but in doing so, he still has yet to play 2000 minutes in any given season. In fact, he’s only averaging 1381 minutes per season over the past four years in Turin.

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For a 25-year-old, that doesn’t cut it. Especially not one with aspirations like Daniele Rugani has. It’s looking like he should have taken that move to the Emirates way back when, because I think we can all agree what he would have gotten far more minutes under his belt and been able to develop better as a player instead of falling back into limited time and limited guarantees.

By making the move to Arsenal now, Rugani can make up for lost time because all signs point to him sliding right into the starting XI. With Rob Holding still out and Shkodran Mustafi still Shkodran Mustafi, Rugani would join Calum Chambers and Sokratis as the three centerbacks competing for two starting roles.

That said, Daniele Rugani has been stuck behind Bonucci and Chiellini, who aren’t getting any younger, so the opportunity may still be there for Rugani to slip in to the Juve starting picture after so many years waiting.

Or, he can be a part of something great at Arsenal, be the solution to the last remaining problem, and play on the biggest stage in international football, all at a club that is going to truly value him as a player and give him the opportunity he hasn’t quite had yet.