Arsenal: 15 left-back & right-back summer transfer targets

Lee Buchanan – Derby

Already linked with Arsenal this summer, Derby left-back Lee Buchanan has been one of few bright sparks in an otherwise dismal season for the Rams. Surviving on the final day of the Championship season by the skin of their teeth, they’re set for their own squad overhaul as Wayne Rooney seeks to build a side capable of moving up the second tier.

Supremely composed in possession and full of beans, his energetic displays in what has been a breakthrough campaign for him will surely see him plucked by clubs higher up the football pyramid.

Being English will suit the quota requirements, while he also fits the profile previously mooted.

What Arsenal are embarking on, or at least should be embarking on, is a total reset. A hard one. That means binning contracts to players in their twilight and bringing in hungry youngsters who, with proper scouting, can form part of the club’s medium and long-term future. Players who in four years’ time won’t have their feet up on a beach and instead be developed and either starting matches for the club or providing serious competition.

Equally, if they don’t work out they can be sold on with plenty of their career still to come. Individuals such as Buchanan fit that mould, although his signing would likely another addition while he develops, possibly away on loan.