Arsenal: 5 impressive Bundesliga players Arsenal should consider signing

1. Edmond Tapsoba

Arsenal currently have 8 centerbacks on the books, but that won’t last terribly long. The potential sale of everyone but William Saliba—and the overall lack of quality—will leave some openings. In addition, Saliba will need a partner, and Tapsoba is very much that player. A towering 6’3″, his massive frame is offset by a cool composure and incredible skill on the ball.

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Leverkusen have found great Bundesliga success since January under Peter Bosz, in no small part because of Tapsoba. Bosz prioritizes centerbacks who are individually brilliant, and can hold their own against any team—many of us thought Jonathan Tah was that man, until errors continued to get the better of him, but Tapsoba is the real deal.

The reason Tapsoba is the third Leverkusen player on this list is because they have so much raw potential and skill in their team, and Tapsoba’s cool composure at the back is what allows their front line to do what it does best: score and score often—they’ve averaged 3 goals a game since Tapsoba joined and it all starts from the back.

His distribution is masterful—his short passing skill is evident, having completed over 94% since joining Leverkusen, and over 60% of his long balls have found their mark. He’s also an expert defender—He also averages 2 tackles, 1.3 interceptions, and 3.2 clearances per game, and he gets dribbled past less than once per game, something no Arsenal defender can claim.

The 21-year-old didn’t have too much to do against a toothless Werder Bremen attack, but since joining the Bundesliga he has won games 5 and drawn 1, without a single loss and 2 clean sheets to his name.  While at Vitoria this fall, he played in two Europa League matches against Arsenal, almost scoring with a masterful run in our 1-1 draw away, and clogging up our attacking play so much that set pieces and Nico Pepe had to come to the rescue in our nail-biting 3-2 win at home.

He’s valued around £20 million, and considering the strained market due to the coronavirus, he might actually go for around that price. For a centerback of his quality, that’s literal highway robbery. He will be the cornerstone of a top defense in the world. We just have to make sure it’s ours.

Now of course, this list is chock-full of Leverkusen and Gladbach players, as they were the two most impressive teams in the reopening weekend of the Bundesliga. But it’s also full of players who have not yet risen to their full potential, and who, under the guiding hand of Mikel Arteta and Arsenal, could blossom into North London superstars.