Could Marc Guehi give Arsenal what they are missing?

Two months ago, Arsenal appeared to be well stocked at the back, with two strong options across three of the four positions, and Rob Holding and Takehiro Tomiyasu were seen as adequate RCB backups. However, injuries have shown that’s not the case.

Jakob Kiwior looks like another great find by Arsenal, and a more than capable player to step in for Gabriel if he gets injured, or if Arteta needs to rotate. At RCB, though, Holding is simply not good enough, and Tomiyasu’s injury record doesn’t make for nice reading. Enter Marc Guehi.

Could Marc Guehi give Arsenal what they are missing?

Since leaving Chelsea, Guehi has been an ever-present for Crystal Palace and his performances have earned him three England caps, as well as all-round praise.

Make no mistake, Guehi is a quality player and one that would add depth to the Arsenal squad, both defensively and as a ball-playing centre-back, however, he is a very different profile to Saliba who he’d be expected to deputise for.

Guehi stands at just 6 foot, making him short for a centre-back, and a contrast to Arteta’s other central defensive options, with Saliba the tallest at 6’4, Gabriel 6’3 and Kiwior 6’2, showing that height is clearly something he values.

There’s also the question of positions. Arteta is fixated on specificity, and Guehi has not played the role of a RCB at Crystal Palace, instead operating in a similar role to Gabriel, where he covers a lot of ground at left-back, which is evident from his heatmaps this season, with Joachim Anderson playing on the right.

On top of that, there’s the fee. As a 22-year-old England international with two incredibly strong seasons under his belt, you’d expect him to cost £50m plus, which is a huge sum of money to pay for a backup centre-back.

Arsenal do need the extra quality in depth, and it could be that Arteta likes his versatility and sees him as a player who can step in for multiple players without the high line and intricate build-up being hindered, which could be crucial with the extra demands of Champions League football next season.

Man City have shown the value in having incredible depth in defence, and Pep is a master at utilising all his options, but Arteta has a lot to prove in that area, and Guehi may need some convincing of the amount of game time he’d get.

This is the kind of deal that Arsenal need to make to progress further, but it’s one that you’d expect to be further down the pecking order, and will likely depend on if they can get Declan Rice, and how much they pay for him.

Overall, he looks like a great fit, with the only question being whether Guehi would be content with coming to a club with a superstar centre-back ahead of him in the pecking order.