Arsenal: 3 reasons Jonathan Tah trumps Dayot Upamecano

1. Routine

This kind of piggy-backs on the last point, but what makes Tah so attractive is that, while he’s past the point of being the most hyped centerback in Germany, he’s never had his quality drop off. He’s still putting in the same shifts, doing the same high-quality work, living up to the same standards that launched him to the top of many transfer radars just two years ago.

But when you keep doing something without the hype and grandstanding that Upamecano is currently getting, your quality performances become commonplace. They’re no longer news. The fact that Tah plays 2000+ minutes every season, dominates the air, shuts down opposing attackers and scores his fair share of headed goals is just regular.

There’s less risk with Tah because of this. His biggest flaw is that he only plays for Bayer Leverkusen. They’re just big enough that our fears should be quelled, but small enough that they don’t often get targeted when there are shinier prizes close by.

With guys like Saliba and Holding and Mavropanos, I want a guy who is more settled. More established. That guy is Jonathan Tah.

Also, side note, it’s a lot easier to continuously type ‘Tah’ than ‘Upamecano.’ But that point didn’t make it into the top three. Call it an honorable mention.