Arsenal: One dream target to sign from every Premier League club

Liverpool

Realistically, Liverpool are never going to sell to Arsenal. And if they did, the types of players that Arsenal could attract are not those they should be buying — think the Adam Lallanas and Xherdan Shaqiris of the world. So, and I have taken this route with several other clubs, I have simply selected the one player that I would sign if money were no object, Liverpool’s not selling was not a problem, and the player would want to move. And for Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool, there is only one choice: Virgil van Dijk.

Arsenal’s biggest need by some distance is centre-half. They have plenty of options at the position, it should be said, but none are especially convincing and there is a severe need for an elite player to anchor the defence and thus improve everyone else around them. Van Dijk had precisely that effect for Liverpool, and he can make the same impact at the Emirates.

One slight problem is age. The Dutch international will turn 29 in the summer so the outrageous investment that it would take to sign him would never be recouped. For that reason, I also considered Fabinho in this spot. Signing the best defensive midfielder in the Premier League would also go a long way. But centre-back is a bigger need and Van Dijk is the best in the business.