Arsenal: Layvin Kurzawa an incredibly dull opening salvo

Arsenal is reportedly nearing their first signing, and it’s not someone to get that excited about. Layvin Kurzawa is not the opening salvo we expected.

Given all the names being talked about and linked to a move to Arsenal, there is plenty of reason to be excited about any potential signing nearing a deal. You’ve got Thomas Partey who would chance the midfielder, you’ve got Dayot Upamecano who would change the defense, you’ve got Luka Jovic or Odsonne Edouard who would change the attack. Then you have Layvin Kurzawa.

According to numerous reports, Layvin Kurzawa is nearing a five-year deal to come to Arsenal which, at the age of 27, would see him largely through his playing days, assuming he stays the length of the contact.

This isn’t the opening salvo I imagined the Gunners having. There are too many high profile names to see this one as the first major signing of the Mikel Arteta era, but here we are, talking about a back-up leftback.

Kurzawa has been linked to a move to the Emirates for years. It never happened. Now, when we need him the least, it looks to be happening.

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Even still, there is a lot of reason to like Kurzawa on talent alone. He’s one of the most athletic leftbacks around, he has tremendous mobility and divides attacking and defensive play quite well. In that way, he can absolutely challenge Kieran Tierney for the starting job. The same as Sead Kolasinac does when healthy.

But that brings up the next bit of bad news. If Kurzawa is in, Kolasinac is certainly out. It’s not a move I can fully understand. The only bright side is we’d certainly make money off him, since we spend nothing on him.

That said, leftback is a position of zero need. If any money is spent on it, it’s a contrived need, and with how many actual needs the club has, we shouldn’t be drumming up any extra ones.

Again though, Kurzawa is talented, and on the off chance that we lose no money in trading out Kolasinac for Kurzawa, we come out pretty even, honestly. We get someone with a better track record than what Kolasinac had on his arrival.

This kind of transfer gets a big old shrug. If it happens, you won’t hear celebrations. You won’t hear much naysaying. You’ll probably just hear a bunch of… shrugs? It’s not an exciting signing. Not really.