Arsenal persist with pointless £50m Jules Kounde transfer

Arsenal want to sign another centre-back in the summer transfer window. The club have been eyeing up targets across the pitch and while almost every spot in the team is available for upgrade, the heart of defence is widely considered as one fairly well stocked.

David Luiz leaves north London this summer with the prestigious title of, probably, Arsenal’s best central defender over the course of the season. Much-maligned, being 34 years old and always prone to an error or two, the fact he leaves as someone who needs adequately replacing suggests the Gunners aren’t so strong in his department.

That said, only two sides conceded fewer goals in the Premier League last season – Manchester City and Chelsea – therefore whoever played a part in securing that record must have done an OK job. In fairness, Rob Holding, for all his limitations, also played an instrumental role.

So by that reckoning, another centre-half needs acquiring. But once again there is a counter argument, this time coming in the form of two players on the books but who spent time away: William Saliba and Konstantinos Mavropanos.

Arsenal persist with pointless £55m Jules Kounde and Edmond Tapsoba transfers that simply won’t happen in summer window

Now, the latter of those is unlikely to be playing English football next term. A return to Stuttgart in some capacity appears most likely, and if not there will be other interest.

As for Saliba…well, he’s the guy, right? The big-money £27m signing who Arsenal fought off stern competition for to secure back in 2019. All signs and all talk around the club centres around him heading back for pre-season and being granted his chance to impress. He will be an Arsenal player next season, whether as a starter or as strong competition.

Do Arsenal need to add more?

In an ideal world, Arteta will head into the 2021/21 campaign with a starting duo of Gabriel and Saliba, yet neither have played together before and their combined age is just 43. The former is a true talent and should be told that next season is his defence to command.

As for Saliba, he can’t gain any more praise than he already has, yet coming in to a Premier League side for his first taste of top-flight English action, especially after the two years he’s had in red and white, is not going to make for a seamless transition.

Holding isn’t the first step towards a top four push. A valuable squad option and presence in the dressing room, but third choice overall.

An experienced option to help develop those on the books and who won’t be overawed by big-hitting Premier League encounters makes sense. What doesn’t make sense is Arsenal persisting with their interest in Jules Kounde and Edmond Tapsoba. There is absolutely no logic behind either.

For many reasons.

Continued…

Arsenal Are Wasting Their Time With Kounde & Tapsoba

If Arsenal were to head into the coming season with Pablo Mari, Gabriel, Saliba, Holding and Chambers who can cover, it wouldn’t be the end of the world. There isn’t the blend of consistent performances or top-flight experience in there to really encourage, but Gabriel will be excellent; Mari is a solid backup; Holding at least knows the division and everything points towards Saliba being it.

Should an experience option arise in the market, then there is scope for reinforcement.

However, reliable outlet The Athletic revealed Arsenal’s interest in Sevilla’s Jules Kounde. Interest that has continued to be picked up elsewhere. If someone turned around and offered you Kounde, no matter what your current options were, you’d take it. He really is outstanding. Outstanding bordering on world-class.

He also costs £50m. At least. Which in itself begs the question: why bother? Unless KSE were part of the Titanic expedition in 1985 and stumbled across an actual warchest of cash this pursuit will only end in failure.

The same applies to Tapsoba, who also has been listed as someone Arsenal are ‘seriously interested in’ by The Athletic. He will cost even more.

Where is this money coming from? And why would it be injected into non-homegrown centre-backs of a young age with no top-flight experience?

These two would waltz into most sides on the continent and if Arsenal were to sign them it’d be marvelous. That just isn’t going to happen. Given the strength of the reports, the club are wasting time into deals they won’t secure when if they really want another right centre-back they should be expending their energy on deals that actually have a feasible chance of completion.

All of this before factoring in that the other interested parties all boast Champions League football. Arteta’s side don’t even have the Europa League. Or the Europa Conference League. Arsenal can’t win.

With so much to do, deals such as those mentioned are rabbit holes to avoid venturing into. Unless KSE are doing a David Copperfield and will pull tens of millions out of a hat, these deals won’t come off.

Is it just PR fed to sources? In all honesty, hopefully it is. It’s good to aim high but don’t stretch too far.